Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: This worksheet figures the standard deduction for someone who can be claimed as a dependent. It compares an earned-income amount with a cap for the filing status, then adds extra amounts for age or blindness. The answer goes on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 12e.
What this worksheet is for
The line 12 instructions say “If you checked a box on line 12a, use the Standard Deduction Worksheet for Dependents to figure your standard deduction.” The worksheet repeats the test: “Use this worksheet only if someone can claim you, or your spouse if filing jointly, as a dependent.” The chart for people born before January 2, 1961, or blind carries the same warning: “if someone can claim you, or your spouse if filing jointly, as a dependent. Instead, use the worksheet above.” The general rules are on the Form 1040 line 12 page and the 2025 standard deduction page, and this worksheet is part of Form 1040 worksheets.
The worksheet line by line
| Line | What the worksheet says |
|---|---|
| 1 | “You were born before January 2, 1961.” “You are blind.” “Spouse was born before January 2, 1961.” “Spouse is blind.” “Total number of boxes” checked |
| 2 | “Is your earned income” (with a footnote star) “more than $900?” “Add $450 to your earned income. Enter the total.” “Enter $1,350.” |
| 3 | “Enter the amount shown below for your filing status.” |
| 4a | “Enter the smaller of line 2 or line 3.” “If born after January 1, 1961, and not blind, stop here and enter this amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 12e.” |
| 4b | “If born before January 2, 1961, or blind, multiply the number on line 1 by $1,600 ($2,000 if single or head of household)” |
| 4c | “Add lines 4a and 4b. Enter the total here and on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 12e” |
Line 3 prints a dollar amount for each filing status. Read it from the worksheet in your own instructions. The worksheet defines earned income in a footnote: “Earned income includes wages, salaries, tips, professional fees, and other compensation received for personal services you performed.” “It also includes any taxable scholarship or fellowship grant.”
A worked example
Illustration, not an IRS example. Every input is invented, and the line 3 amount is supposed to be higher than line 2 in both cases, so line 4a equals line 2.
| Case | Result |
|---|---|
| Case A: earned income $500, no boxes checked | Line 2 is $1,350, line 4a is $1,350, enter $1,350 on line 12e |
| Case B: earned income $3,000, single, one box checked on line 1 | Computed: line 2 = $450 + $3,000 = $3,450; line 4a = $3,450; line 4b = 1 x $2,000 = $2,000; line 4c = $3,450 + $2,000 = $5,450 |
Where the number comes from
Earned income is built from other lines: “Generally, your earned income is the total of the amount(s) you reported on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 1z, and Schedule 1, lines 3, 6, 8r, 8t, and 8u”, less line 15 of Schedule 1. The wage side is explained on Form 1040 line 1z. The boxes on line 1 mirror the age and blindness checks on the return. For the dependency question itself, see the claim a parent as a dependent calculator.
Where it goes next
Line 4c ends the worksheet: “Add lines 4a and 4b. Enter the total here and on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 12e”. If no box on line 1 applies, line 4a is the end: “stop here and enter this amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 12e.” Line 12e then carries into the deductions that reduce income, covered at lines 14 and 15.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Instructions for Form 1040 and 1040-SR, the current file irs.gov served on 2026-10-18. It is byte-identical to the archived copy, and the Standard Deduction Worksheet for Dependents in it is for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. Check the tax year printed on the worksheet in your own instructions and use that year’s line numbers, because a different year’s worksheet can number or word its lines differently.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the worksheet when someone can claim you. The instructions say “If you checked a box on line 12a, use the Standard Deduction Worksheet for Dependents to figure your standard deduction.”
- Using the age and blindness chart instead of the worksheet. The chart itself says “if someone can claim you, or your spouse if filing jointly, as a dependent. Instead, use the worksheet above.”
- Stopping at line 4a when line 4b applies. Line 4a sends only some filers to the end: “If born after January 1, 1961, and not blind, stop here and enter this amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 12e.” Everyone else goes on to line 4b.
Related: Form 1040 line 12, 2025 standard deduction, Form 1040 line 1z, claim a parent as a dependent calculator, and lines 14 and 15.
Sources
- Instructions for Form 1040 and 1040-SR (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf
- Form 1040 (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.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.