Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Line 5d adds lines 5a through 5c. Line 5e applies the overall limit on state and local taxes: the smaller of line 5d or the limit printed on the form. If your income is above a set level, or you completed certain forms, the instructions send you to a worksheet instead.
What line 5d asks for
The caption on line 5d is simply “Add lines 5a through 5c”. Those are the income or sales tax line, the real estate tax line and the personal property tax line, covered on the Schedule A line 5a and Schedule A lines 5b and 5c pages.
What line 5e asks for
The caption reads “Enter the smaller of line 5d or $40,000 ($20,000 if married filing separately).” “If Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 11b is more than $500,000 ($250,000 if married filing separately), or if you completed Form 2555, Form 4563, or excluded income from Puerto Rico, see instructions”.
The instructions for line 5 state the overall rule: “The deduction for state and local taxes is generally limited to $40,000 ($20,000 if married filing separately).” “State and local taxes subject to this limit are the taxes that you include on lines 5a, 5b, and 5c.”
When the worksheet applies
The instructions for line 5e say: “If Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 11b is equal to or less than $500,000 ($250,000 if married filing separately), and you didn’t complete Form 2555 or Form 4563, or you didn’t exclude income from Puerto Rico, enter the smaller of line 5d or $40,000 ($20,000 if married filing separately).”
Otherwise, “complete the State and Local Tax Deduction Worksheet to figure the amount to enter on line 5e.” The worksheet is in the instructions, and this page does not compute its reduction. The instructions’ What’s New note describes the change this way: “The overall limit is reduced if your modified adjusted gross income is more than $500,000 ($250,000 if married filing separately) but will not be reduced below $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing separately).” Line 11b is explained on the Form 1040 lines 9, 10 and 11 page.
Where the number comes from
Line 5d is the sum of your three tax lines, and line 5e is the smaller of that sum and the limit, or the worksheet result if the worksheet applies. Here is a labelled illustration, calculated by the form’s own comparison, not an IRS example. Suppose line 5d were $12,000 and the $40,000 limit applied. The smaller of the two is $12,000 so line 5e would be $12,000.
Where it goes next
Line 5e carries to line 7, which the form describes as “Add lines 5e and 6”. See Schedule A lines 6 and 7 for lines 6 and 7. The schedule is introduced on the Schedule A (Form 1040) page, and the return it attaches to is explained on the Form 1040 page.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Schedule A (Form 1040) and its 2025 instructions, the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-18 (byte-identical to the archived copies). They are the files for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. The schedule says “Attach to Form 1040 or 1040-SR.” 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
- Entering line 5d when it is larger than the limit. The form says to enter “the smaller of line 5d or $40,000 ($20,000 if married filing separately).”
- Skipping the worksheet at higher income. The instructions say “complete the State and Local Tax Deduction Worksheet to figure the amount to enter on line 5e.”
- Forgetting the other forms that trigger the worksheet. The form refers to “if you completed Form 2555, Form 4563, or excluded income from Puerto Rico, see instructions”.
Related: Form 1040 lines 9, 10 and 11, Form 1040 line 12, Form 1098 box 10, and Schedule A (Form 1040).
Sources
- Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040), Itemized Deductions (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040sca.pdf
- Schedule A (Form 1040), Itemized Deductions (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040sa.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 18, 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.