Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Line 6 is for other taxes, listed by type and amount, such as income taxes paid to a foreign country. Line 7 adds line 5e and line 6 to give the taxes-you-paid total. Line 6 takes one total, and some taxes the instructions send elsewhere.
What line 6 asks for
The caption reads “Other taxes. List type and amount:”. The instructions say: “Enter only one total on line 6 but list the type and amount of each tax included.” They name what to include: “Include on this line income taxes you paid to a foreign country and generationskipping tax (GST) imposed on certain income distributions.”
What to put elsewhere
Two exclusions are stated. For territory taxes: “Don’t include taxes you paid to a U.S. territory on this line; instead, include U.S. territory taxes on the appropriate state and local tax line.” See Schedule A lines 5b and 5c and Schedule A line 5a for those lines. For estate tax: “Don’t include federal estate tax on income in respect of a decedent on this line; instead, include it on line 16.”
Credit instead of deduction
For foreign taxes the instructions add that you “may want to take a credit for the foreign tax instead of a deduction.” “See the instructions for Schedule 3 (Form 1040), line 1, for details.” The form used to claim the foreign tax credit is covered on the Form 1116 page.
Where the numbers come from
Line 6 comes from the tax records for each item you list, kept by type. Line 7 is arithmetic. The form says “Add lines 5e and 6”. Here is a labelled illustration of that arithmetic, not an IRS example. If line 5e were $12,000 and line 6 were $300, line 7 would be $12,000 plus $300, or $12,300.
Where it goes next
Line 7 is the total of the taxes-you-paid part. It is included in the amounts that the total line adds: “Add the amounts in the far right column for lines 4 through 16.” “Also, enter this amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 12e”. See Schedule A lines 17 and 18 for that step and the Form 1040 line 12 page for the Form 1040 side. 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 several separate amounts on line 6. The instructions say “Enter only one total on line 6 but list the type and amount of each tax included.”
- Putting territory taxes on line 6. The instructions say “Don’t include taxes you paid to a U.S. territory on this line”.
- Putting estate tax on income in respect of a decedent on line 6. The instructions say “instead, include it on line 16.”
Related: Form 1116, Form 1040 line 12, Form 1040, 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.