Updated October 17, 2026. Quick answer: This guide reads Form 1040 from line 1a to line 38, except line 8: the income lines first, then the deduction, tax, credit, payment, and refund or amount owed lines. The form itself says to “Add lines 1a through 1h” for wages and earned income on line 1z, and the last of these lines reads “This is your adjusted gross income”. Find your line in the tables below.
Picking the Schedule C business code for your work (2025 chart): Schedule C business codes.
Related reading on this site: IRS Publication 17.
Form lines read one part at a time: Form 8283 Section A, Form 4684 Sections C and D and Form 3520 Part IV.
Retirement forms read line by line: Form 8915-F lines 8 to 15, Form W-4P Step 1 and Form W-4P Step 2.
IRS worksheets read line by line: EIC Worksheet A, EIC Worksheet B and Capital Loss Carryover Worksheet.
Business use of your home (Form 8829), the saver’s credit (Form 8880), clean vehicle credits (Form 8936) and amended returns (Form 1040-X), read line by line: Form 1040-X lines 4a to 5, Form 1040-X lines 6 to 11 and Form 1040-X lines 24 to 30.
IRS worksheets from the 2025 Form 1040 instructions, read line by line: Simplified Method Worksheet, Social Security Benefits Worksheet and Standard Deduction Worksheet for Dependents.
Sales of business property (Form 4797), passive activity losses (Form 8582) and depreciation (Form 4562) for 2025, read line by line: Form 4562 lines 1 to 5, Form 4562 lines 14 to 20 and Form 4562 lines 21 to 23.
Foreign tax credit (Form 1116) and alternative minimum tax (Form 6251) for 2025, read line by line: Form 1116 line 1a, Form 1116 lines 2 to 5 and Form 1116 lines 15 to 19.
Schedule D and Schedule E (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule E lines 3 and 4, Schedule E lines 5 to 11 and Schedule E Part III.
Schedule 8812 (child tax credit and additional child tax credit) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule 8812, Schedule 8812 line 3 and Schedule 8812 line 27.
Line-by-line IRS form guides for 2025: Form 2441 line 2, Form 2441 lines 10 and 11 and Form 2441 lines 16 to 21.
Schedule C and Schedule SE (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule C lines 20 to 22, Schedule C lines 24a and 24b and Schedule C lines 25 and 26.
Form 8962 (premium tax credit) for 2025, read line by line: Form 8962 lines 7 to 8b, Form 8962 line 26 and Form 8962 lines 30 to 34.
Schedule 3 (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule 3 lines 6l, 6m and 6z, Schedule 3 lines 7 and 8 and Schedule 3 lines 13z, 14 and 15.
Schedule 2 (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule 2 lines 1d to 1z, Schedule 2 lines 17a and 17b and Schedule 2 lines 17z and 18.
The income lines in one table
Each row links to the page that reads that line, or that pair of lines, from the 2025 Form 1040 and its instructions. The right column is the caption printed on the form.
| Line | What the form calls it |
|---|---|
| Line 1a | “Total amount from Form(s) W-2, box 1 (see instructions)” |
| Line 1b | “Household employee wages not reported on Form(s) W-2” |
| Line 1c | “Tip income not reported on line 1a (see instructions)” |
| Line 1d | “Medicaid waiver payments not reported on Form(s) W-2 (see instructions)” |
| Lines 1e and 1f | “Taxable dependent care benefits from Form 2441, line 26” and “Employer-provided adoption benefits from Form 8839, line 31” |
| Line 1g | “Wages from Form 8919, line 6” |
| Lines 1h and 1i | “Other earned income (see instructions)” and “Nontaxable combat pay election (see instructions)” |
| Line 1z | “Add lines 1a through 1h” |
| Lines 2a and 2b | “Tax-exempt interest” and “Taxable interest” |
| Lines 3a and 3b | “Qualified dividends” and “Ordinary dividends” |
| Lines 4a and 4b | “IRA distributions” |
| Lines 5a and 5b | “Pensions and annuities” |
| Lines 6a and 6b | “Social security benefits” |
| Line 7 | “Capital gain or (loss). Attach Schedule D if required” |
| Lines 9, 10 and 11 | “This is your total income” and “This is your adjusted gross income” |
The deduction, tax, credit and payment lines in one table
Lines 12 to 38 cover the deduction, the tax, the credits, the payments, and the refund or amount owed. Each row links to the page that reads that line, or that group of lines, from the 2025 Form 1040 and its instructions. The right column is the caption printed on the form.
| Line | What the form calls it |
|---|---|
| Line 12 | “Standard deduction or itemized deductions (from Schedule A)” |
| Lines 13a and 13b | “Qualified business income deduction from Form 8995 or Form 8995-A” and “Additional deductions from Schedule 1-A, line 38” |
| Lines 14 and 15 | “Add lines 12e, 13a, and 13b” and “This is your taxable income” |
| Line 16 | “Tax (see instructions)” |
| Lines 17 and 18 | “Amount from Schedule 2, line 3” and “Add lines 16 and 17” |
| Lines 19, 20 and 21 | “Child tax credit or credit for other dependents from Schedule 8812” and “Amount from Schedule 3, line 8” |
| Lines 22, 23 and 24 | “This is your total tax” |
| Line 25 | “Federal income tax withheld from:” |
| Line 26 | “2025 estimated tax payments and amount applied from 2024 return” |
| Line 27 | “Earned income credit (EIC)” |
| Line 28 | “Additional child tax credit (ACTC) from Schedule 8812” |
| Lines 29, 30 and 31 | “American opportunity credit from Form 8863, line 8”, “Refundable adoption credit from Form 8839, line 13” and “Amount from Schedule 3, line 15” |
| Lines 32 and 33 | “These are your total other payments and refundable credits” and “These are your total payments” |
| Lines 34, 35 and 36 | “This is the amount you overpaid” and “Amount of line 34 you want applied to your 2026 estimated tax” |
| Line 37 | “This is the amount you owe” |
| Line 38 | “Estimated tax penalty (see instructions)” |
How the income lines add up
The wages lines come first. Line 1z is described on the form as “Add lines 1a through 1h”. The rest of the income lines each report one kind of income, and the form then says “Add lines 1z, 2b, 3b, 4b, 5b, 6b, 7a, and 8. This is your total income”. Line 8 is the line for additional income from Schedule 1 and is not read in this guide.
After total income comes the adjustments line, “Adjustments to income from Schedule 1, line 26”, and then adjusted gross income, which the form describes as “Subtract line 10 from line 9. This is your adjusted gross income”. That figure is what the lines further down the return start from. See Form 1040 for the form overall and Schedule 1 for the schedule that feeds lines 8 and 10.
Edition and line numbers
This guide reads the 2025 Form 1040 and its instructions, the files irs.gov was serving as current on 2026-10-17. The instructions say “The lines on Forms 1040 and 1040-SR are the same.” Check the tax year printed on the form you are filling in, because line numbers and captions are those of that year’s form.
What this guide leaves out
This guide reads lines 1a to 38 except line 8. Line 8 and the parts of the form after line 38 are not read here. For tax rates see the 2025 tax brackets and for the estimated tax payments that feed later lines see Form 1040-ES.
Common mistakes
- Entering a number from a wage statement on the wrong line. The form’s caption for line 1a is “Total amount from Form(s) W-2, box 1 (see instructions)”, so line 1a asks for box 1 and no other box.
- Treating line 1z as a separate income source. The form describes it as “Add lines 1a through 1h”, so it is a total of the lines above it.
- Starting later lines from total income. The form describes adjusted gross income as “Subtract line 10 from line 9. This is your adjusted gross income”, so it already reflects line 10.
Related: Form 1040, Schedule 1, 2025 tax brackets, and Form 1040-ES.
Sources
- Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf
- Instructions for Form 1040 and Form 1040-SR (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.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.