Updated October 16, 2026. Quick answer: Schedule 1 (Form 1040) reports income and adjustments that cannot be entered directly on Form 1040. Part I totals additional income on line 10, which goes to Form 1040 line 8. Part II totals adjustments to income on line 26, which goes to Form 1040 line 10, and includes the HSA deduction, the deductible part of self-employment tax, self-employed retirement plans and the IRA deduction.
More IRS forms and schedules for individual filers, read line by line: Form 8839 instructions, Form 8839 Part II adoption credit and who can still use Form 2106.
Related reading on this site: IRS Publication 525.
Read box by box from the IRS form text: Form 1099-PATR boxes explained, Form 1099-PATR boxes 1, 2, 3 and 5 and Form 1099-PATR box 4.
Read box by box from the IRS form text: Form W-2G box 1, Form W-2G boxes 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 10 and Form W-2G lottery winnings.
Form lines read one part at a time: Form 4684 Section B Part I, Form 4684 Section B Part II and Form 4684 Sections C and D.
IRS worksheets read line by line: Worksheet 2, Recoveries of Itemized Deductions.
IRS worksheets from the 2025 Form 1040 instructions, read line by line: State and Local Income Tax Refund Worksheet, Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction Worksheet and Form 1040 worksheets.
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 lines 38 to 43.
Form 8962 (premium tax credit) for 2025, read line by line: Form 8962 line 2a.
Schedule 3 (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule 3 line 9, Schedule 3 line 12 and Schedule 3 lines 13a to 13d.
Schedule 2 (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule 2 lines 1a to 1c, Schedule 2 lines 1d to 1z and Schedule 2 line 4.
Schedule 1 (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule 1 line 1, Schedule 1 line 11 and Schedule 1 line 17.
Form 1040 for 2025, lines 12 to 38 read line by line: Form 1040 lines 17 and 18 and Form 1040 lines 19 to 21.
Form 1040 for 2025, read line by line: Form 1040 lines 1h and 1i, Form 1040 line 1z and Form 1040 lines 2a and 2b.
What Schedule 1 is for and where its totals go
The instructions open with the purpose: Schedule 1 is for income or adjustments to income “that can’t be entered directly on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.”
They then name the two totals: “Additional income is entered on Schedule 1, Part I. The amount on line 10 of Schedule 1 is entered on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 8.” “Adjustments to income are entered on Schedule 1, Part II. The amount on line 26 is entered on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 10.”
The schedule itself is titled “Additional Income and Adjustments to Income” and is attached to the main return. Part I sits on page 1 and Part II on page 2. The lines that matter most for retirement planning are in Part II, and the table in the third section sets them out. The rules around the other lines are in the instructions for each line number.
There is also an entry space at the very top of the schedule for a Form 1099-K that was reported in error. The instructions explain it in a separate paragraph headed Form(s) 1099-K.
Part I: additional income lines
Part I lists income that has no line of its own on Form 1040. The lines that most often come up are in the table, with the wording the schedule prints.
| Line | As printed |
|---|---|
| 1 | “Taxable refunds, credits, or offsets of state and local income taxes” |
| 3 | “Business income or (loss). Attach Schedule C” |
| 5 | “Rental real estate, royalties, partnerships, S corporations, trusts, etc. Attach Schedule E” |
| 7 | “Unemployment compensation.” |
| 8c | “Cancellation of debt” |
| 8t | The amount received as a pension or annuity from a nonqualified deferred compensation plan or a nongovernmental 457 plan (instructions for line 8t) |
| 10 | “Combine lines 1 through 7 and 9. This is your additional income.” |
Line 1 has a condition worth knowing. None of a state or local refund is taxable if, in the year the tax was paid, the filer either did not itemize deductions or “elected to deduct state and local general sales taxes instead of state and local income taxes.”
Line 3 is for sole proprietors: “If you operated a business or practiced your profession as a sole proprietor,” the instructions send the income and expenses to Schedule C. Line 7 draws on a payer statement: Form 1099-G, box 1, shows the total unemployment compensation paid for 2025, and the instructions say “Report this amount on line 7.”
Line 8 is a list of lettered items. Line 8b, gambling, is described in the instructions this way: “Gambling winnings include lotteries, raffles, a lump-sum payment from the sale of a right to receive future lottery payments, etc.” Line 8t is the line for a pension or annuity from a nonqualified deferred compensation plan or a nongovernmental section 457 plan, as the table shows. See retirement withdrawal guardrails for the planning side.
Part II: the adjustment lines for retirement savers
Part II is where the above the line deductions are listed. The lines below are the ones tied to retirement saving and self-employment, in the schedule’s own wording.
| Line | As printed |
|---|---|
| 13 | “Health savings account deduction. Attach Form 8889” |
| 15 | “Deductible part of self-employment tax. Attach Schedule SE” |
| 16 | “Self-employed SEP, SIMPLE, and qualified plans” |
| 17 | “Self-employed health insurance deduction” |
| 20 | “IRA deduction.” |
| 21 | “Student loan interest deduction” |
| 26 | “Add lines 11 through 23 and 25. These are your adjustments to income.” |
The HSA line has a gate in the instructions: you may be able to take the deduction if contributions were made to your HSA for 2025, other than employer contributions, rollovers and qualified HSA funding distributions from an IRA. They end with “See Form 8889.”
The self-employment tax line points to its schedule: “If you were self-employed and owe self-employment tax, fill in Schedule SE to figure the amount of your deduction.” The instructions locate the figure on line 13 of Schedule SE.
Line 16 is for self-employed plans. The instructions are short and refer elsewhere, to Pub. 560 and, for a minister, Pub. 517. The line gives no dollar limit. The yearly limits are on the plan pages, for example the SEP IRA limit page and the self-employment tax page.
Line 21 is the student loan interest deduction. The instructions say you can take it only if all of the listed conditions apply. They include interest paid in 2025 on a qualified student loan, a filing status other than married filing separately, and a modified adjusted gross income below $100,000 for single, head of household or qualifying surviving spouse filers and below $200,000 for married filing jointly. They also require that you, or your spouse if filing jointly, are not claimed as a dependent on someone else’s 2025 tax return.
Line 20: the IRA deduction and its worksheet
Line 20 has the longest instructions in Part II. The basic rule: a filer who made contributions to a traditional IRA for 2025 may be able to take an IRA deduction. “But you, or your spouse if filing a joint return, must have had earned income to do so.” The instructions then give a numbered list of cases. Examples include “You can’t deduct contributions to a Roth IRA.” and that elective deferrals to a 401(k), 403(b), section 457 or SIMPLE IRA plan, or to the federal Thrift Savings Plan, are not deductible either. For joint filers, a joint return is needed to deduct contributions to a spouse’s IRA.
A workplace plan can limit the deduction: the IRA deduction “may be reduced or eliminated. But you can still make contributions to an IRA even if you can’t deduct them.” The instructions define coverage for self-employed people as well: “You are also covered by a plan if you were self-employed and had a SEP, SIMPLE, or qualified retirement plan.”
The worksheet figures the amount. The numbers it prints for 2025 include these:
| Situation | Worksheet amount as printed |
|---|---|
| No retirement plan coverage, under 50 | “$7,000 if under age 50 at the end of 2025.” |
| No retirement plan coverage, 50 or older | “$8,000 if age 50 or older at the end of 2025.” |
| Single or head of household, line 2 entry | “Single, head of household, or married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2025, enter $89,000.” |
| Qualifying surviving spouse, line 2 entry | “Qualifying surviving spouse, enter $146,000.” |
| Married filing separately, lived with spouse | “Married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time in 2025, enter $10,000.” |
Two practical notes appear in the same text. A nondeductible contribution to a traditional IRA has its own form, Form 8606, described on the Form 8606 page. And for married filing separately filers who lived apart from their spouse for all of 2025: “If you don’t check the box on line 20, you may get a math error notice from the IRS.” The deduction limits for 2026 are on the traditional IRA deduction limits page, and the HSA limits are on the HSA contribution limits page.
The edition read for this page is Schedule 1 (Form 1040) for 2025 together with the Schedule 1 section of the Instructions for Form 1040 for 2025, which are the revisions irs.gov served when they were read on 2026-10-16. They cover the return filed in 2026. A later year can change line numbers, limits and worksheet amounts, so check the revision printed on the form you are filing.
Every Schedule 1 line page in one table
Each row links to the page that reads that line, or group of lines, of the 2025 Schedule 1. The right column is the summary each page carries.
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Schedule 1 Line 1: Taxable State Income Tax Refunds (2025) | What to put on Schedule 1 line 1 for 2025: taxable refunds, credits or offsets of state and local income taxes, and where to find the amount. |
| Schedule 1 Lines 2a and 2b: Alimony Received (2025 Return) | How Schedule 1 lines 2a and 2b work for 2025: which alimony received goes on the line and what date to enter for the original agreement. |
| Schedule 1 Lines 3 to 6: Business, Gains, Rental, Farm (2025) | How Schedule 1 lines 3 to 6 work for 2025: business income from Schedule C, other gains, rental and partnership income from Schedule E, and farm income. |
| Schedule 1 Line 7: Unemployment Compensation (2025 Return) | What to put on Schedule 1 line 7 for 2025: unemployment compensation from Form 1099-G box 1, repayments, and contributions to a state program. |
| Schedule 1 Lines 8a and 8b: NOL and Gambling (2025 Return) | How Schedule 1 lines 8a and 8b work for 2025: the net operating loss deduction entered as a negative number and gambling winnings. |
| Schedule 1 Lines 8d to 8f: Forms 2555, 8853, 8889 (2025) | What goes on Schedule 1 lines 8d, 8e and 8f for 2025: the Form 2555 exclusion, income from Form 8853 and income from Form 8889. |
| Schedule 1 Lines 8g to 8k: Dividends, Jury Pay, Prizes (2025) | What goes on Schedule 1 lines 8g to 8k for 2025: Alaska Permanent Fund dividends, jury duty pay, prizes and awards, hobby income and stock options. |
| Schedule 1 Lines 8l to 8p: Rental, Medals, Inclusions (2025) | What goes on Schedule 1 lines 8l to 8p for 2025: personal property rental, Olympic medals, section 951 and 951A inclusions and Form 461. |
| Schedule 1 Lines 8q to 8s: ABLE, Scholarships, Medicaid (2025) | What goes on Schedule 1 lines 8q to 8s for 2025: taxable ABLE account distributions, scholarship and fellowship grants, and Medicaid waiver payments. |
| Schedule 1 Lines 8t to 8z: Deferred Pay, Digital Assets (2025) | What goes on Schedule 1 lines 8t, 8u, 8v and 8z for 2025: deferred compensation, wages earned while incarcerated, digital assets and other income. |
| Schedule 1 Lines 9 and 10: Additional Income (2025 Return) | How Schedule 1 lines 9 and 10 work for 2025: line 9 totals other income, line 10 combines it with lines 1 to 7 and carries to Form 1040 line 8. |
| Schedule 1 Line 11: Educator Expenses (2025 Return) | How Schedule 1 line 11 works for 2025: who is an eligible educator, which expenses qualify, and how the instructions say to reduce them. |
| Schedule 1 Lines 12 to 14: Reservists, HSA, Moving (2025) | How Schedule 1 lines 12, 13 and 14 work for 2025: reservist and performer expenses, the health savings account deduction, and Armed Forces moving. |
| Schedule 1 Lines 15 and 16: SE Tax and Retirement Plans | How Schedule 1 lines 15 and 16 work for 2025: the deductible part of self-employment tax from Schedule SE, and self-employed SEP, SIMPLE and qualified plans. |
| Schedule 1 Line 17: Self-Employed Health Insurance (2025) | How Schedule 1 line 17 works for 2025: which premiums count, who qualifies, and when to use Form 7206 or Pub. 974 instead of the worksheet. |
| Schedule 1 Lines 18 and 19: Penalty and Alimony Paid (2025) | How Schedule 1 lines 18 and 19a to 19c work on the 2025 return: the early withdrawal penalty from your Form 1099-INT and alimony paid. |
| Schedule 1 Line 20: IRA Deduction (2025 Return) | How Schedule 1 line 20, the IRA deduction, works on the 2025 return: who may take it, what does not count, and the worksheet to use. |
| Schedule 1 Lines 21 to 23: Student Loan Interest (2025) | How Schedule 1 lines 21, 22 and 23 work on the 2025 return: the student loan interest deduction, the reserved line, and the Archer MSA deduction. |
| Schedule 1 Line 24: Other Adjustments, 24a to 24z (2025) | What Schedule 1 line 24 covers on the 2025 return: each caption from 24a to 24k, what the instructions say to enter, and line 24z. |
| Schedule 1 Lines 25 and 26: Adjustments Total (2025 Return) | How Schedule 1 lines 25 and 26 work on the 2025 return: line 25 totals lines 24a to 24z, and line 26 feeds Form 1040 line 10. |
Common mistakes
- Putting a Roth IRA contribution or a 401(k) deferral on line 20. The instructions say a Roth IRA contribution cannot be deducted, and neither can elective deferrals to a 401(k), 403(b), section 457 or SIMPLE IRA plan.
- Entering an HSA employer contribution or rollover on line 13. The instructions exclude employer contributions, rollovers and qualified HSA funding distributions from an IRA.
- Skipping the box on line 20 for married filing separately filers who lived apart all year. The instructions say a missing check can lead to a math error notice.
Related: traditional IRA deduction limits 2026, HSA contribution limits 2026, SEP IRA contribution limit 2026, and self-employment tax explained.
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Answer againSources
- Schedule 1 (Form 1040) (2025), Additional Income and Adjustments to Income: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040s1.pdf
- Instructions for Form 1040 (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 16, 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.