Updated October 17, 2026. Quick answer: Line 1z is the total of the income block at the top of the return. The form’s own caption tells you to add lines 1a through 1h, so you add your wages and the other lines in that range and write the sum on 1z. The instructions refer back to this number in several places, including total income on line 9.
IRS worksheets read line by line: Schedule 8812 Earned Income Worksheet.
Related reading on this site: IRS Publication 596.
IRS worksheets read line by line: EIC Worksheet A.
IRS worksheets from the 2025 Form 1040 instructions, read line by line: Standard Deduction Worksheet for Dependents.
Line-by-line IRS form guides for 2025: Form 2441 lines 12 to 15, Form 2441 lines 16 to 21 and Form 2441 lines 22 to 31.
What line 1z is
The form defines the line in its caption: “Add lines 1a through 1h”. The lines in that range are 1a through 1h, which are wages from W-2s, household employee wages, tip income, Medicaid waiver payments, dependent care benefits, adoption benefits, Form 8919 wages and other earned income. Line 1i, the combat pay election, comes after 1h and is outside the range.
Each line is covered on its own page: 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e and 1f, 1g and 1h and 1i.
Where the number comes from
Line 1z is the one line in the block you compute yourself. The inputs are the lines above it, each with its own source: the form’s own captions include “Total amount from Form(s) W-2, box 1” and “Wages from Form 8919, line 6”. Fill in the lines that apply to you, and add them.
A labelled illustration, not an IRS example, with the total computed by adding: suppose line 1a is $48,000 and line 1b is $2,000 and line 1e is $1,500 and line 1h is $500 and the other lines are blank. Line 1z would be the sum of $48,000 + $2,000 + $1,500 + $500, which is $52,000. The numbers are made up to show the addition the form describes. The instructions also give a general rule for cents: “include cents when adding the amounts and round off only the total.”
Where it goes next
The form carries line 1z into the total income line: “Add lines 1z, 2b, 3b, 4b, 5b, 6b, 7a, and 8. This is your total income”. So the value you write on 1z is the wages part of line 9, alongside interest, dividends, retirement income, social security, capital gains and the additional income from Schedule 1.
Adjusted gross income follows on the form: “Subtract line 10 from line 9. This is your adjusted gross income”. More on the schedules behind those lines is at Schedule 1, Schedule B and Schedule D.
Where else the instructions use line 1z
Line 1z appears in several worksheets. For the standard deduction, a footnote defines earned income: “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 minus the amount, if any, on Schedule 1, line 15.”
For the earned income credit, the worksheet starts with it: “Enter the amount from Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 1z”. In the social security benefits worksheet, line 1z is one of the amounts combined: “Combine the amounts from Form 1040 or 1040-SR, lines 1z, 2b, 3b, 4b, 5b, 7a, and 8”. The social security side is on the SSA-1099 page.
Ministers and the earned income credit
One special rule uses line 1z by name. It applies to ministers, members of religious orders who have not taken a vow of poverty, and Christian Science practitioners who file Schedule SE, and only when the amount on line 2 of that schedule includes an amount that was also reported on line 1z. In that case the instructions say to “Determine how much of the amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 1z, was also reported on Schedule SE, Part I, line 2.” Most readers will not need that rule. The point for everyone is that line 1z feeds later calculations, so an error here travels. The overview is on the Form 1040 page and in Form 1040 line by line.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Form 1040 and its 2025 instructions, the files irs.gov was serving as the current ones on 2026-10-17. The instructions state a rule about the two versions of the form: “The lines on Forms 1040 and 1040-SR are the same.” Line 1z is the same line on both versions of the 2025 form. Check the tax year printed on the form you are filling in, and use the line numbers on that year’s form. For the full run of lines, see Form 1040 line by line.
Common mistakes
- Adding line 1i into line 1z. The form’s caption is “Add lines 1a through 1h”, and 1i is not in that range.
- Rounding each line before adding. The instructions say “include cents when adding the amounts and round off only the total.”
- Treating line 1z as total income. The form says “Add lines 1z, 2b, 3b, 4b, 5b, 6b, 7a, and 8. This is your total income”, so 1z is only one input to line 9.
Related: Form 1040, Schedule 1 (Form 1040), SSA-1099 decoded, and 2025 tax brackets.
Sources
- Instructions for Form 1040 and Form 1040-SR (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf
- Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 17, 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.