1z — Total Wages Updated for tax year 2025

What this line means

The sum of all your wage-related income from lines 1a through 1h. This is a simple addition line — add up everything reported on the wage sub-lines above it. If you only had a regular W-2 job with no special situations, this equals your line 1a amount.

Does this apply to you?

• Every filer who has income on any of lines 1a through 1h completes this line
• You had a single W-2 job and this equals your line 1a amount
• You had income on multiple wage sub-lines (W-2 wages plus tips, household wages, or other categories)
• You are a military member who elected to include combat pay on line 1i (note: 1i does not add to 1z)

Easy to overlook

Line 1i (combat pay election) does not add to line 1z The nontaxable combat pay election on line 1i is only for calculating the Earned Income Credit. It is not included in your total wages on line 1z. Including it here would incorrectly increase your taxable income. Line 1z is the sum of lines 1a through 1h only. ¹ [SOURCE: IRS Form 1040 instructions — Line 1z computation]

Line 1d (Medicaid waiver exclusion) is a subtraction If you entered an amount on line 1d for excludable Medicaid waiver payments, that amount reduces line 1z. It works as an offset against the wages already reported on line 1a. Missing this subtraction means you pay tax on income the IRS says you can exclude. ² [SOURCE: General filing pattern — math errors on wage subtotals]

Watch out for this

Simple math errors when adding the sub-lines. Tax software handles this automatically, but paper filers sometimes miss a sub-line or double-count an amount. The IRS will correct math errors and send you a notice, but the correction can delay your refund by weeks.

Related lines on your return

• Lines 1a through 1h — Form 1040 — All wage sub-lines that feed into this total
• Line 9 — Form 1040 — Total income; line 1z is the first component
• Line 25a — Form 1040 — Federal tax withheld from your W-2s