Updated October 21, 2026. Quick answer: The Earned Income Worksheet in the Schedule 8812 instructions figures the earned income used for the additional child tax credit. It combines wages, nontaxable combat pay and self-employment profit, subtracts two small items, and line 7 goes on Credit Limit Worksheet B line 3 or on Schedule 8812 line 18a.
What this worksheet is for
The worksheet opens with its own rule: “Use this worksheet only if you were sent here from Credit Limit Worksheet B, earlier, or the instructions for line 18a.” Line 18a is the earned income line of Part II-A of the schedule, covered at Schedule 8812 lines 15 to 20. The earlier worksheet is at Credit Limit Worksheet B.
The worksheet line by line
| Line | What the worksheet says |
|---|---|
| When to use it | “Use this worksheet only if you were sent here from Credit Limit Worksheet B, earlier, or the instructions for line 18a.” |
| Two rules | “Disregard community property laws when figuring the amounts to enter on this worksheet.” “If married filing jointly, include your spouse’s amounts with yours when completing this worksheet.” |
| 1a | “Enter the amount from line 1z of Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR” |
| 1b | “Enter the amount of any nontaxable combat pay received.” “Also enter this amount on Schedule 8812, line 18b.” |
| Next | “Next, if you are filing Schedule C, F, or SE, or you received a Schedule K-1 (Form 1065), go to line 2a.” “Otherwise, skip lines 2a through 2e and go to line 3.” |
| 2a | “Enter any statutory employee income reported on line 1 of Schedule C” |
| 2b | “Enter any net profit or (loss) from Schedule C, line 31, and Schedule K-1 (Form 1065), box 14, code A (other than farming).” |
| 2c | “Enter any net farm profit or (loss) from Schedule F, line 34, and from farm partnerships, Schedule K-1 (Form 1065), box 14, code A” |
| 2d | “If you used the farm optional method to figure net earnings from self-employment, enter the amount from Schedule SE, line 15.” “Otherwise, skip this line and enter on line 2e the amount from line 2c” |
| 2e | “If line 2c is a profit, enter the smaller of line 2c or line 2d.” “If line 2c is a (loss), enter the (loss) from line 2c” |
| 3 | “Combine lines 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, and 2e.” “If zero or less, stop. Do not complete the rest of this worksheet.” |
| 4 | “Enter the Medicaid waiver payment amounts excluded from income on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8s, unless you choose to include these amounts in earned income.” |
| 5 | “Enter the amount from Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 15” |
| 6 | “Add lines 4 and 5” |
| 7 | “Subtract line 6 from line 3” |
| After line 7 | “If you were sent here from Credit Limit Worksheet B, enter this amount on line 3 of that worksheet.” “If you were sent here from the instructions for line 18a, enter this amount on line 18a of Schedule 8812.” |
A worked example
Illustration, not an IRS example. Every input is invented. Suppose a filer with wages and a Schedule C profit, no combat pay, no farm income and no Medicaid waiver payments.
| Item | Illustration |
|---|---|
| Line 1a (suppose Form 1040 line 1z is) | $20,000 |
| Line 1b (no combat pay) | $0 |
| Line 2a (no statutory employee income) | $0 |
| Line 2b (suppose Schedule C line 31 is) | $15,000 |
| Line 2e (no farm profit) | $0 |
| Line 3, computed: lines 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b and 2e combined | $35,000 (computed) |
| Line 4 (no Medicaid waiver payments excluded) | $0 |
| Line 5 (suppose Schedule 1 line 15 is) | $1,060 |
| Line 6, computed: line 4 plus line 5 | $1,060 (computed) |
| Line 7, computed: line 3 minus line 6 | $33,940 (computed) |
The $33,940 on line 7 goes where the worksheet sends it, depending on whether the filer came from Credit Limit Worksheet B or from the line 18a instructions.
Where the number comes from
Line 1a is Form 1040 line 1z, covered at Form 1040 line 1z. Combat pay is covered at Form 1040 lines 1h and 1i. The self-employment lines come from Schedule C and Schedule SE, covered at Schedule C lines 31 and 32 and Schedule SE lines 1 to 4.
Where it goes next
The worksheet ends with two destinations: “If you were sent here from Credit Limit Worksheet B, enter this amount on line 3 of that worksheet.” “If you were sent here from the instructions for line 18a, enter this amount on line 18a of Schedule 8812.” The additional child tax credit that line 18a feeds is entered on Form 1040 line 28, captioned “Additional child tax credit (ACTC) from Schedule 8812.”
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Instructions for Schedule 8812 (Form 1040), the current file irs.gov served on 2026-10-21 (sha256 in the kit data). The Earned Income Worksheet 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
- Using community property rules. The worksheet says “Disregard community property laws when figuring the amounts to enter on this worksheet.”
- Forgetting a spouse on a joint return. The worksheet says “If married filing jointly, include your spouse’s amounts with yours when completing this worksheet.”
- Continuing after a zero. Line 3 says “If zero or less, stop. Do not complete the rest of this worksheet.”
Related: Credit Limit Worksheet B, Schedule 8812 lines 15 to 20, Form 1040 line 1z, Form 1040 lines 1h and 1i, Schedule C lines 31 and 32, and Schedule SE lines 1 to 4.
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Answer againSources
- Instructions for Schedule 8812 (Form 1040), Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040s8.pdf
- Form 1040 (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 21, 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.