Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Lines 6 and 7 pick the amount that counts from line 5 and total it. Lines 8 and 9 use your income to find a decimal amount from the table printed on the form. Line 10 multiplies, line 11 applies the tax limit from the Credit Limit Worksheet, and line 12 is the credit that goes to Schedule 3, line 4.
IRS worksheets read line by line: Form 8880 Credit Limit Worksheet.
What lines 6 to 12 ask for
The captions read “In each column, enter the smaller of line 5 or $2,000” for line 6 and “Add the amounts on line 6.” for line 7. Line 7 then warns “If zero, stop; you can’t take this credit”.
Line 10 says “Multiply line 7 by line 9”. Line 12 says “Enter the smaller of line 10 or line 11 here”. The instructions add for line 7 that you “Add the amounts from line 6, columns (a) and (b), and enter the total.”
Lines 8 and 9: income and the decimal amount
Line 8 says “Enter the amount from Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 11a”. A footnote adds “See Pub. 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements, for the amount to enter if you claim any exclusion or deduction for foreign earned income”. The instructions repeat it as a caution: “You’ll need to refigure the amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 11a, if you’re claiming any exclusion or deduction”.
Line 9 says “Enter the applicable decimal amount from the table below.” The table is printed on the form and depends on the amount on line 8 and your filing status, so read it directly on your form rather than from a summary. Its note reads “If line 9 is zero, stop; you can’t take this credit.”
Line 11: the tax limit
Line 11 says “Limitation based on tax liability.” The amount comes from the Credit Limit Worksheet printed in the instructions. Before using it, the instructions say to “figure the amount of any credit for the elderly or the disabled you’re claiming on Schedule 3 (Form 1040), line 6d.” The worksheet is a set of numbered steps on page 2 of the form, so work through it there. It uses your Form 1040 line 18, which is explained at Form 1040 lines 17 and 18.
Line 12: the credit
Line 12 is titled “Credit for qualified retirement savings contributions.” The form says to enter the smaller of line 10 or line 11 and carry it “here and on Schedule 3 (Form 1040), line 4”.
Where the number comes from
Line 6 comes from line 5 of each column. Line 8 comes from your Form 1040. Line 9 comes from the table on the form. Line 11 comes from the Credit Limit Worksheet. The Form 1040 income lines are explained at Form 1040 lines 9, 10 and 11, and the first half of Form 8880 is on the lines 1 to 5 page.
Where it goes next
The credit on line 12 is entered on Schedule 3, line 4. That line is explained at Schedule 3 line 4, and the credits total it joins is covered at Form 1040 lines 19, 20 and 21.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Form 8880, Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions, which carries its own instructions on its second page. 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’s own header says “Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.” 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.
Common mistakes
- Continuing after line 7 is zero. The form says “If zero, stop; you can’t take this credit”.
- Guessing the line 9 decimal. The form says “Enter the applicable decimal amount from the table below.”
- Skipping the tax limit on line 11. The caption says “Limitation based on tax liability.”
Related: Schedule 3 line 4, Form 1040 lines 17 and 18, Form 1040 lines 9, 10 and 11, saver’s credit, and Form 8880.
Sources
- Form 8880, Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions, with its instructions (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8880.pdf
- IRS page for Form 8880 and its latest developments (not a source of any figure on this page): irs.gov
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.