Updated October 17, 2026. Quick answer: Line 1e takes your taxable dependent care benefits from Form 2441, line 26, and line 1f takes your employer-provided adoption benefits from Form 8839, line 31. Neither number is copied straight from a W-2: the benefits show up on your W-2, but you work out the taxable part on the other form first, and then carry the result to the return.
More IRS forms and schedules for individual filers, read line by line: Form 8839 instructions, Form 8839 Part III employer adoption benefits and qualified adoption expenses on Form 8839.
Line-by-line IRS form guides for 2025: Form 2441, Form 2441 lines A, B and 1 and Form 2441 line 8.
Schedule 3 (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule 3 line 2.
What goes on line 1e
The line is captioned on the form as “Taxable dependent care benefits from Form 2441, line 26”. The instructions say what to enter: “Enter the total of your taxable dependent care benefits from Form 2441, line 26.” The number on line 1e is therefore a result from another form, not a box you read off your wage statement.
The instructions also say where the raw benefit figure appears: “Dependent care benefits should be shown in box 10 of your Form(s) W-2.” Box 10 is the starting point, and Form 2441 is where you work from it.
Where the line 1e number comes from
The order of work matters. The instructions put it this way: “But first complete Form 2441 to see if you can exclude part or all of the benefits.” So you complete Form 2441 before you fill in line 1e, and the line 26 result from that form is what you carry over. If the benefits are fully excluded there, the amount flowing to line 1e follows from what Form 2441 shows, and the return does not ask you to guess it.
Wage statements are covered box by box on other pages. For the wages themselves, see Form 1040 line 1a, and for the other lines in the same block see line 1b, line 1c and line 1d.
What goes on line 1f
The form’s caption reads “Employer-provided adoption benefits from Form 8839, line 31”. The instructions repeat the same source: “Enter the total of your employer-provided adoption benefits from Form 8839, line 31.” As with line 1e, the number comes from the supporting form.
The W-2 location is a different box here: “Employer-provided adoption benefits should be shown in box 12 of your Form(s) W-2 with code T.” Box 12 codes are explained on the box 12 codes page, and how box 12 relates to box 1 is on the box 12 versus box 1 page.
Checking whether part of the benefit can be excluded
For adoption benefits the instructions send you to the other form’s own directions: “But see the Instructions for Form 8839 to find out if you can exclude part or all of the benefits.” They add a second possibility for some families: “You may also be able to exclude amounts if you adopted a child with special needs and the adoption became final in 2025.”
Those two sentences are the whole of what the 1040 instructions say about exclusions on this line. Whether any of your benefit is excluded is decided on Form 8839 and its instructions, so this page does not try to answer that question. Use the form, then bring only the line 31 result back to the return.
Side by side
The two lines work the same way, and the table sets out the differences in where each number starts and ends.
| Line | What the form calls for | Where it appears on your W-2 |
|---|---|---|
| 1e | “Taxable dependent care benefits from Form 2441, line 26” | “Dependent care benefits should be shown in box 10 of your Form(s) W-2.” |
| 1f | “Employer-provided adoption benefits from Form 8839, line 31” | “Employer-provided adoption benefits should be shown in box 12 of your Form(s) W-2 with code T.” |
Where it goes next
Both lines feed the line 1 total. The form’s caption for that total reads “Add lines 1a through 1h”, so whatever you put on 1e and 1f is added to your wages and the other earned income lines. The total is described on the line 1z page. Lines 1g and 1h are next to these two on the form: see line 1g and lines 1h and 1i. The whole return is outlined on the Form 1040 page, and the line 1 block carries into Schedule 1 only where the instructions say so.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Form 1040 and its 2025 instructions, the files irs.gov was serving as the current ones on 2026-10-17. The instructions state a rule about the two versions of the form: “The lines on Forms 1040 and 1040-SR are the same.” The lines discussed here are 1e and 1f on the 2025 form. Check the tax year printed on the form you are filling in, and use the line numbers on that year’s form. For the full run of lines, see Form 1040 line by line.
Common mistakes
- Entering the box 10 or box 12 figure without finishing the other form. For line 1e the instructions say “But first complete Form 2441 to see if you can exclude part or all of the benefits.”
- Looking for adoption benefits in box 10. The instructions put them in “box 12 of your Form(s) W-2 with code T”, and the line 1f figure comes from Form 8839, line 31.
- Skipping the exclusion check on line 1f. The instructions say “But see the Instructions for Form 8839 to find out if you can exclude part or all of the benefits.”
Related: Form 1040, W-2 box 12 codes explained, W-2 box 12 vs box 1, and Schedule 1 (Form 1040).
Sources
- Instructions for Form 1040 and Form 1040-SR (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf
- Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 17, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.