Updated October 24, 2026. Quick answer: Line 1 of the 2025 Ohio IT 1040 starts from your federal return. The instructions say “Enter the amount from line 11a of your 2025 federal 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.” They add that “Line 1 of your Ohio income tax return must match your federal adjusted gross income (AGI) as defined in the Internal Revenue Code.”
What this line asks
Line 1 asks for your federal adjusted gross income, the figure on your federal return that Ohio uses as its starting point. The instructions open with “Enter the amount from line 11a of your 2025 federal 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.” For how that federal total is built up, see Form 1040 lines 9, 10, 11 and AGI and Schedule 1 of Form 1040.
Who it applies to
The instructions attach no condition to line 1 itself and print two special cases. For a zero or negative figure: “If you have a zero or negative federal AGI, you must include a copy of page 1 of your federal return.” For trusts: “A foreign trust that files federal form 1040-NR should not use the IT 1040 to file with Ohio.” “Such trusts must file form IT 1041.”
Retirees whose pension, IRA or annuity payments are part of the federal total will find them inside this figure already; how Ohio treats that income is covered in Ohio retirement taxes and whether Ohio taxes pensions.
What the instructions say to enter
| Step | What the instructions say |
|---|---|
| Take the federal figure | “Enter the amount from line 11a of your 2025 federal 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.” |
| Make it match | “Line 1 of your Ohio income tax return must match your federal adjusted gross income (AGI) as defined in the Internal Revenue Code.” |
| Zero or negative federal AGI | “If you have a zero or negative federal AGI, you must include a copy of page 1 of your federal return.” |
| Foreign trusts | “A foreign trust that files federal form 1040-NR should not use the IT 1040 to file with Ohio.” “Such trusts must file form IT 1041.” |
The figures the line prints
The instructions for line 1 print no dollar amounts, percentages or ages. The only numbers are form and line references such as line 11a of the federal return.
Where the result goes next
The instructions for line 1 do not give a carry instruction of their own. Elsewhere the booklet defines the next steps this way: “Modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is your Ohio adjusted gross income (Ohio IT 1040, line 3) plus your business income deduction (Ohio Schedule of Adjustments, line 13).” Lines 2a and 2b are the Schedule of Adjustments lines that sit between your federal figure and Ohio adjusted gross income. The full line sequence is on the Ohio IT 1040 line by line page.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Ohio IT 1040 Individual Income Tax Booklet from the Ohio Department of Taxation, the current file served on 2026-10-24. Check the edition printed on your own form and use that edition’s line numbers.
Common mistakes
- Starting from a different federal line. The instructions say “Enter the amount from line 11a of your 2025 federal 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.”
- Entering a figure that differs from the federal return. The instructions say “Line 1 of your Ohio income tax return must match your federal adjusted gross income (AGI) as defined in the Internal Revenue Code.”
- Leaving off page 1 of the federal return when the AGI is zero or negative. The instructions say “If you have a zero or negative federal AGI, you must include a copy of page 1 of your federal return.”
Related: Ohio retirement taxes, whether Ohio taxes pensions, Form 1040 lines 9, 10, 11 and AGI, and Schedule 1 of Form 1040.
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Answer againSources
- 2025 Ohio IT 1040 Individual Income Tax Booklet (instructions and forms), Ohio Department of Taxation: dam.assets.ohio.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): 2025 Ohio Schedule of Adjustments form, where the additions and deductions that feed this line are listed: dam.assets.ohio.gov
Read from the state revenue documents linked above on October 24, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer or the state revenue department is the right place to confirm anything consequential.