Updated October 17, 2026. Quick answer: Line 18 is the penalty on early withdrawal of savings, and the amount comes from the Form 1099-INT or Form 1099-OID you received. Line 19a is alimony paid, with the recipient’s SSN on line 19b and the date of the original divorce or separation agreement on line 19c. Both lines are part of the adjustments to income that Schedule 1 adds up on line 26.
Related reading on this site: IRS Publication 504.
Line 18: the early withdrawal penalty
The form’s caption for line 18 reads “Penalty on early withdrawal of savings”. The instructions say where the number is found: “The Form 1099-INT or Form 1099-OID you received will show the amount of any penalty you were charged.” So the work is copying the penalty amount from that statement. The form where a bank reports it is explained on the page about Form 1099-INT box 2, and the page on early withdrawal penalty exceptions covers the related retirement account penalty rules.
Lines 19a to 19c: alimony paid
Line 19a is captioned “Alimony paid”, line 19b is captioned “Recipient’s SSN”, and line 19c is captioned “Date of original divorce or separation agreement”. The instructions for line 19a describe who may take the deduction: “If you made payments to or for your spouse or former spouse under a divorce or separation agreement entered into on or before December 31, 2018, you may be able to take this deduction.”
They also say who may not: “You can’t take a deduction for alimony payments you made to or for your spouse if you entered into your divorce or separation agreement after December 31, 2018”. The same sentence continues with a second case: “if you entered into the agreement on or before December 31, 2018, and the agreement was changed after December 31, 2018, to expressly provide that alimony received is not included in your former spouse’s income.” The instructions point to Tax Topic 452 and Pub. 504 for more.
Line 19c: the agreement date
The instructions give one direction for this line: “On line 19c, enter the month and year of your original divorce or separation agreement that relates to this deduction for alimony paid.” The receiving side of the same topic is on lines 2a and 2b, covered in Schedule 1 lines 2a and 2b.
Where it goes next
Neither line is carried to Form 1040 on its own. The form’s caption for line 26 reads “Add lines 11 through 23 and 25. These are your adjustments to income.” It continues “Enter here and on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 10”. The totals are covered in lines 25 and 26. The overall layout of the schedule is on the Schedule 1 (Form 1040) page, and the form it attaches to is explained on the Form 1040 page.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Schedule 1 (Form 1040) and the 2025 Form 1040 instructions, the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-17. They are the files for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. The schedule says “Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.” Schedule 1 has no separate instructions booklet. Its line instructions sit inside the Form 1040 instructions, under the heading “Instructions for Schedule 1”. Check the tax year printed on the schedule you are filling in and use the line numbers on that year’s schedule, because a different year’s schedule can number or word its lines differently.
Common mistakes
- Estimating the penalty instead of reading it off the statement. The instructions say “The Form 1099-INT or Form 1099-OID you received will show the amount of any penalty you were charged.”
- Taking the alimony deduction on an agreement the instructions rule out. They say “You can’t take a deduction for alimony payments you made to or for your spouse if you entered into your divorce or separation agreement after December 31, 2018”.
- Putting a full date on line 19c. The direction is “enter the month and year of your original divorce or separation agreement”.
Related: Form 1099-INT box 2, early withdrawal penalty exceptions, and Form 1040.
Sources
- Instructions for Form 1040 and Form 1040-SR (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf
- Schedule 1 (Form 1040), Additional Income and Adjustments to Income (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040s1.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.