Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Line 6 is the total value of all your traditional IRAs on December 31, 2025, plus any outstanding rollovers. Your IRA custodians should send a statement of each account’s year-end value, and the total of those goes on the line.
IRS worksheets from the 2025 Form 1040 instructions, read line by line: IRA Deduction Worksheet.
What line 6 asks for
The form’s caption starts “Enter the value of all your traditional IRAs as of December 31, 2025, plus any outstanding rollovers.” The instructions say the same thing: “Enter the total value of all your traditional IRAs as of December 31, 2025, plus any outstanding rollovers.” The word all matters. It means every traditional IRA you own, not just the one you took money from.
Where the number comes from
The instructions say “A statement should be sent to you by January 31, 2026, showing the value of each IRA on December 31, 2025.” That fair market value figure is covered on the Form 5498 box 5 page. Add the values for every traditional IRA, then add any outstanding rollover described next.
If you recharacterized a contribution, the instructions say to “enter on line 6 the total value, taking into account all recharacterizations of those amounts, including recharacterizations made after December 31, 2025.”
Outstanding rollovers
The instructions define the term: “An outstanding rollover is generally the amount of any distribution received in 2025 after November 1, 2025, that was rolled over in 2026, but within the 60day rollover period.” They add a limit: “Don’t include an outstanding rollover from a traditional IRA to a qualified retirement plan.” The rollover documents are explained on the Form 5498 boxes 2, 3 and 4 page.
Where it goes next
Line 6 is added with distributions and conversions on the form’s next lines. The form says “Add lines 6, 7, and 8”, on line 9, and that total is the bottom of the fraction on line 10. See the lines 9 to 14 page. Line 7 is on the next page.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Form 8606 and its 2025 instructions, the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-18. They are the files for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. The form says “Attach to 2025 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
- Using only the account you withdrew from. The instructions say to enter “the total value of all your traditional IRAs as of December 31, 2025”
- Leaving out an outstanding rollover. The instructions say to add “any outstanding rollovers.”
- Ignoring a recharacterization. The instructions say to enter “the total value, taking into account all recharacterizations of those amounts, including recharacterizations made after December 31, 2025.”
Related: Form 8606, Form 5498 box 5, Form 5498 boxes 2, 3 and 4, and backdoor Roth pro-rata calculator.
Sources
- Instructions for Form 8606, Nondeductible IRAs (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8606.pdf
- Form 8606, Nondeductible IRAs (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8606.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.