Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Part IV, lines 25 to 32, collects the line 24 result from each category of income onto one form. Lines 25 to 31 each take the credit for one category, and line 32 adds them. If you file more than one Form 1116, the instructions say which one carries the summary. For 2025 the part must be completed even with a single form.
What Part IV is and what changed
The part heading reads “Summary of Separate Credits From Parts III”. The 2025 instructions list a change: “Lines 25 through 32 in Part IV must now be completed even when filing only one Form 1116.” The form tells you what to enter: “Enter amounts from Part III, line 24, for each applicable category of income.” and “Don’t include taxes paid to sanctioned countries.”
Lines 25 to 31: one line per category
Each line is a caption on the form, tied to the category boxes at the top of Form 1116. The instructions give no separate paragraph for each line; they say to “Enter the credits from line 24 of all of your Forms 1116 on lines 25 through 31” of the form you use as the summary.
| Line | Form caption |
|---|---|
| 25 | “Credit for taxes on section 951A category income” |
| 26 | “Credit for taxes on foreign branch category income” |
| 27 | “Credit for taxes on passive category income” |
| 28 | “Credit for taxes on general category income” |
| 29 | “Credit for taxes on section 901(j) income” |
| 30 | “Credit for taxes on certain income resourced by treaty” |
| 31 | “Credit for taxes on lumpsum distributions” |
The category boxes are covered on the category of income boxes page.
Which Form 1116 carries the summary
The instructions say “If you are filing more than one Form 1116, complete Part IV on only one Form 1116 (the one with the largest amount entered on line 24) to summarize the credits you figured on all of your Forms 1116.” and “File the other Forms 1116 as attachments.” There is one exception: “If you completed a Form 1116 for category g (lumpsum distributions) or e (section 901(j) income), don’t use Part IV of that Form 1116 as your summary”, unless you are filing both of those categories and no other.
Line 32: the total
The caption is “Add lines 25 through 31”. The instructions have no separate paragraph for line 32. It is one of the two numbers compared at line 33, which is on the lines 33 to 35 page.
A computed illustration, not an IRS example: if line 27 is $1,000 and line 28 is $400 with nothing on the other lines, line 32 is $1,000 plus $400 and that is $1,400.
Where the number comes from
Every entry on lines 25 to 31 comes from line 24 of the Form 1116 for that category. Line 32 is the sum. The line 24 result itself is explained on the lines 20 to 24 page.
Where it goes next
Line 32 is compared at line 33: “Enter the smaller of line 20 or line 32”. The instructions note “Generally, line 32 will exceed line 20 only if you have U.S. capital gains or qualified dividends that are subject to the capital gain rate differential”. See the lines 33 to 35 page for lines 33 to 35.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Form 1116, Foreign Tax Credit (Individual, Estate, or Trust), and its 2025 instructions. They are the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-18, the files for the tax year 2025 return filed in 2026. The form header says “Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-NR, 1041, or 990-T.” Check the tax year printed on the form you are filling in and use the line numbers on that year’s form, because a different year’s form can number or word its lines differently. The whole form is walked through on the Form 1116 line by line guide page.
Common mistakes
- Skipping Part IV because there is only one Form 1116. The instructions say “Lines 25 through 32 in Part IV must now be completed even when filing only one Form 1116.”
- Including taxes paid to a sanctioned country. The form says “Don’t include taxes paid to sanctioned countries.”
- Completing Part IV on every Form 1116. The instructions say “complete Part IV on only one Form 1116”.
Related: Form 1116, Schedule 3 line 1, 1099-INT foreign tax boxes, and foreign tax credit and the NIIT.
Sources
- Instructions for Form 1116, Foreign Tax Credit (Individual, Estate, or Trust) (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1116.pdf
- Form 1116, Foreign Tax Credit (Individual, Estate, or Trust) (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1116.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.