Updated October 17, 2026. Quick answer: Line 11 of Schedule 1 is the educator expenses deduction. The instructions say an eligible educator can deduct up to a stated amount of qualified expenses paid in 2025, with a higher joint maximum when both spouses qualify. The amount comes from your own records of classroom and professional development costs, reduced by the items the instructions list.
What line 11 asks for
The schedule’s caption is just “Educator expenses”. The instructions fill in the rule: “If you were an eligible educator in 2025, you can deduct on line 11 up to $300 of qualified expenses you paid in 2025.” For married couples they add “If you and your spouse are filing jointly and both of you were eligible educators, the maximum deduction is $600.” The instructions then caution that neither spouse can deduct more than $300 of their own qualified expenses on line 11.
Who is an eligible educator
The instructions define the term: “An eligible educator is a kindergarten through grade 12 teacher, instructor, counselor, principal, or aide who worked in a school for at least 900 hours during a school year.” If you do not fit that description, the line does not apply to you.
Where the number comes from
The number comes from your own receipts, not from a statement mailed to you. The instructions say “Qualified expenses include ordinary and necessary expenses paid” and list two kinds: “For professional development courses you have taken related to the curriculum you teach or to the students you teach” and expenses “In connection with books, supplies, equipment (including computer equipment, software, and services), and other materials used in the classroom.”
They also say what is left out: “Qualified expenses don’t include expenses for home schooling or for nonathletic supplies for courses in health or physical education.”
Before you enter the amount, the instructions say “You must reduce your qualified expenses by the following amounts.” The list includes “Any reimbursements you received for these expenses that weren’t reported to you in box 1 of your Form W-2.” For more, they point you to “Tax Topic 458 or see Pub. 529.”
Where it goes next
Line 11 is one of the adjustments in Part II of the schedule. The form’s caption for line 26 reads “Add lines 11 through 23 and 25. These are your adjustments to income.” The instructions say “The amount on line 26 is entered on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 10.” The totals are explained on the page for lines 25 and 26, and the schedule as a whole on the Schedule 1 (Form 1040) page.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Schedule 1 and the 2025 Form 1040 instructions, the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-17. They are the forms for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. The schedule says “Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.” Schedule 1 has no separate booklet, because its line instructions sit inside the Form 1040 instructions. Check the tax year printed on the schedule you are filling in and use the line numbers on that year’s schedule, because a different year’s schedule can number or word its lines differently.
Common mistakes
- Claiming more than the cap. The instructions say “you can deduct on line 11 up to $300 of qualified expenses you paid in 2025.” and give joint filers a combined maximum, so check the limit before you enter an amount.
- Counting home schooling costs. The instructions say “Qualified expenses don’t include expenses for home schooling”.
- Forgetting to subtract reimbursements. The instructions say “You must reduce your qualified expenses by the following amounts.”
Related: Schedule 1 (Form 1040), Form 1040, and Form 1040-SR.
Sources
- Instructions for Form 1040 and Form 1040-SR (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf
- Schedule 1 (Form 1040), Additional Income and Adjustments to Income (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040s1.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.