Updated October 16, 2026. Quick answer: Schedule 2 (Form 1040) is titled Additional Taxes and is attached to Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR. Part I covers the alternative minimum tax and repayments such as the excess advance premium tax credit, and flows to Form 1040 line 17. Part II covers other taxes, including self-employment tax, Additional Medicare Tax, the net investment income tax and the additional tax on IRAs, and flows to line 23.
More IRS forms and schedules for individual filers, read line by line: Form 5405 instructions, Form 4137 instructions and Schedule H Additional Medicare Tax lines 5 and 6.
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 8936, Form 8936 line 13 and Form 1040-X lines 6 to 11.
Foreign tax credit (Form 1116) and alternative minimum tax (Form 6251) for 2025, read line by line: Form 1116 lines 20 to 24, Form 6251 line 1 and Form 6251 line 11.
Schedule 8812 (child tax credit and additional child tax credit) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule 8812 line 14 and Schedule 8812 lines 21 to 26.
Form 8962 (premium tax credit) for 2025, read line by line: Form 8962 and Form 8962 line 29.
Form 8606 and Form 8889 for 2025, read line by line: Form 8606 line 15c, Form 8606 lines 21, 22 and 23 and Form 8606 lines 25b and 25c.
Related reading on this site: Form 8959 Additional Medicare Tax.
Schedule 3 (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule 3 lines 5a and 5b, Schedule 3 lines 13a to 13d and Schedule 3 lines 13z, 14 and 15.
Schedule 2 (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule 2 lines 17a and 17b, Schedule 2 lines 17l to 17q and Schedule 2 lines 17z and 18.
Schedule 1 (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule 1 line 11, Schedule 1 lines 18 and 19 and Schedule 1 line 24.
Form 5329 for 2025, read code by code: Form 5329 exception code 12, Form 5329 exception code 21 and Form 5329 exception code 99.
Form 1040 for 2025, lines 12 to 38 read line by line: Form 1040 lines 17 and 18, Form 1040 lines 22 to 24 and Form 1040 lines 29 to 31.
What Schedule 2 is and where its totals go
The schedule is titled “Additional Taxes” and carries the instruction “Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.” The instructions explain when it is needed: “Use Schedule 2 if you have additional taxes that can’t be entered directly on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.”
Two totals carry over. “Include the amount on Schedule 2, line 3, in the total on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 17.” “Enter the amount on Schedule 2, line 21, on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 23; or 1040-NR, line 23b.” The full return is walked through on the Form 1040 page.
Part I: tax, additions to tax and the alternative minimum tax
Part I is short. Lines 1a through 1y list additions to tax, line 2 is the alternative minimum tax, and line 3 adds them.
| Line | Wording on the schedule |
|---|---|
| 1a | “Excess advance premium tax credit repayment. Attach Form 8962” |
| 1b | “Repayment of new clean vehicle credit(s) transferred to a registered dealer” |
| 1c | “Repayment of previously owned clean vehicle credit(s) transferred to a registered dealer” |
| 1d | “Recapture of net EPE from Form 4255” |
| 1y | “Other additions to tax (see instructions)” |
| 1z | “Add lines 1a through 1y” |
| 2 | “Alternative minimum tax. Attach Form 6251” |
| 3 | “Add lines 1z and 2. Enter here and on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 17” |
On the first line, the instructions explain the repayment: “If the advance credit payments were more than the premium tax credit you can claim, the amount you must repay will be shown on Form 8962, line 29. Enter that amount, if any, on line 1a.”
Clean vehicle credits taken at the dealer can come back: “you may have to repay the amount of the credit you transferred if you no longer qualify.”
Line 2: the alternative minimum tax
The instructions send the calculation to another form: “See the Instructions for Form 6251 to see if you must file the form and then use Form 6251 to figure the amount, if any, of your AMT. Enter the amount from Form 6251, line 11, on line 2.”
They also print the exemption amounts for the year: “The AMT exemption amount is increased to $88,100 ($137,000 if married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse; $68,500 if married filing separately).” The phase-out is stated next: “The income levels at which the AMT exemption begins to phase out has increased to $626,350 ($1,252,700 if married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse).” The form itself is covered on the Form 6251 page.
Part II: other taxes, line by line
Part II starts at line 4 and ends with the total on line 21. These lines cover self-employment, high income, and retirement account activity.
| Line | Wording on the schedule |
|---|---|
| 4 | “Self-employment tax. Attach Schedule SE.” |
| 5 | “Social security and Medicare tax on unreported tip income. Attach Form 4137” |
| 6 | “Uncollected social security and Medicare tax on wages. Attach Form 8919” |
| 7 | “Total additional social security and Medicare tax. Add lines 5 and 6” |
| 8 | “Additional tax on IRAs or other tax-favored accounts. Attach Form 5329 if required.” |
| 9 | “Household employment taxes. Attach Schedule H” |
| 11 | “Additional Medicare Tax. Attach Form 8959” |
| 12 | “Net investment income tax. Attach Form 8960” |
| 16 | “Recapture of low-income housing credit. Attach Form 8611” |
| 18 | “Total additional taxes. Add lines 17a through 17z” |
| 21 | “Add lines 4, 7 through 16, 18, and 19. These are your total other taxes.” |
Line 4 is the self-employment tax: “On line 4, enter the amount of the tax due on net earning from self-employment from Schedule SE, line 12.” The rate and the two halves are explained on the self-employment tax page.
Line 9 covers household employees: “Enter the household employment taxes you owe for having a household employee.” Line 10 is marked “Reserved for future use”.
Line 8: the additional tax on IRAs and other retirement plans
This line connects the schedule to retirement withdrawals. The instructions list the triggers: “You received an early distribution from (a) an IRA or other qualified retirement plan, (b) an annuity, or (c) a modified endowment contract entered into after June 20, 1988, and the total distribution wasn’t rolled over.”
Other triggers include “Excess contributions were made to your IRA, Coverdell education savings account (ESA), Archer MSA, health savings account (HSA), or ABLE account.” and “You didn’t take the minimum required distribution from your IRA or other qualified retirement plan by April 1 of the year following the year you reached age 73.”
A shortcut skips Form 5329 in one case, when only the first trigger above, an early distribution, applies: “If only item (1) applies and distribution code 1 is correctly shown in box 7 of all your Forms 1099-R, you don’t have to file Form 5329.” Then:
| Item | Wording and arithmetic |
|---|---|
| Formula | “multiply the taxable amount of the distribution by 10% (0.10) and enter the result on line 8.” |
| Illustration, not an IRS example | If the taxable amount were $5,000, the arithmetic is $5,000 times 10% (0.10), which is $500. |
The exceptions page for the form is Form 5329 explained. The instructions add a caution: “But you must file Form 5329 if distribution code 1 is incorrectly shown in box 7 of Form 1099-R or you qualify for an exception”.
Lines 11 and 12: Additional Medicare Tax and the net investment income tax
These two lines apply by income level, and the instructions print the thresholds.
| Line | Thresholds in the instructions |
|---|---|
| Line 11, Additional Medicare Tax | “$125,000 if married filing separately”; “$250,000 if married filing jointly”; “$200,000 if single, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse.” |
| Line 12, Net investment income tax | “$125,000 if married filing separately”; “$250,000 if married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse”; “$200,000 if single or head of household.” |
For line 11, “See Form 8959 and its instructions if the total of your 2025 wages and any self-employment income was more than:” Line 12 is measured against a different figure: “See Form 8960 and its instructions if the amount on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 11b, is more than:” The form is explained on the Form 8960 page.
Lines 17 to 21: other additional taxes and the total
Line 17 collects a long list of smaller taxes, each with its own form.
| Line | Wording on the schedule |
|---|---|
| 17c | “Additional tax on HSA distributions. Attach Form 8889” |
| 17d | “Additional tax on an HSA because you didn’t remain an eligible individual.” |
| 17e | “Additional tax on Archer MSA distributions. Attach Form 8853” |
| 17h | “Income you received from a nonqualified deferred compensation plan that fails to meet the requirements of section 409A” |
| 17k | “Golden parachute payments” |
| 17z | “Any other taxes. List type and amount” |
The instructions describe the nonqualified deferred compensation line: “The tax is 20% of the amount required to be included in income plus an interest amount determined under section 409A(a)(1)(B)(ii).”
For HSA distributions, “Enter any additional tax on health savings account (HSA) distributions you received from Form 8889, line 17b.” The HSA form is on the Form 8889 page.
Which revision applies
The edition read for this page is Schedule 2 (Form 1040) for 2025 and the Instructions for Schedule 2 inside the 2025 Instructions for Form 1040, which are the revisions irs.gov served when they were read on 2026-10-16. A later year can change the line numbers, the exemption amounts and the thresholds, so check the revision printed on the schedule you are filing.
Every Schedule 2 line page in one table
Each row links to the page that reads that line, or group of lines, of the 2025 Schedule 2. The right column is the summary each page carries.
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Schedule 2 Lines 1a to 1c: Credit Repayments (2025 Return) | How Schedule 2 lines 1a to 1c work on the 2025 return: excess advance premium tax credit repayment from Form 8962 and clean vehicle credit repayments. |
| Schedule 2 Lines 1d to 1z: Form 4255 Additions (2025 Return) | How Schedule 2 lines 1d, 1e, 1f, 1y and 1z work on the 2025 return: Form 4255 recapture and excessive payments, other additions and the line 1z total. |
| Schedule 2 Lines 2 and 3: AMT and Part I Total (2025 Return) | How Schedule 2 lines 2 and 3 work on the 2025 return: the alternative minimum tax from Form 6251 and the Part I total that goes to Form 1040 line 17. |
| Schedule 2 Line 4: Self-Employment Tax (2025 Return) | How Schedule 2 line 4 works on the 2025 return: self-employment tax from Schedule SE line 12 and the exemption boxes for Forms 4361 and 4029. |
| Schedule 2 Lines 5 to 7: Tip Tax and Uncollected Tax (2025) | How Schedule 2 lines 5, 6 and 7 work on the 2025 return: Form 4137 tip tax, Form 8919 uncollected tax, and the line 7 total. |
| Schedule 2 Line 8: Additional Tax on IRAs and Accounts (2025) | How Schedule 2 line 8 works on the 2025 return: when Form 5329 is required, the code 1 exception, and which situations trigger the tax. |
| Schedule 2 Line 9: Household Employment Taxes (2025 Return) | How Schedule 2 line 9 works on the 2025 return: the household employment taxes from Schedule H and the three tests that point you to it. |
| Schedule 2 Lines 10 and 11: Reserved and Medicare Tax (2025) | How Schedule 2 lines 10 and 11 work on the 2025 return: line 10 is reserved, and line 11 is the Additional Medicare Tax from Form 8959. |
| Schedule 2 Line 12: Net Investment Income Tax (2025 Return) | How Schedule 2 line 12, the net investment income tax, works on the 2025 return: when to see Form 8960 and where the amount goes. |
| Schedule 2 Lines 13 to 16: Box 12 Tax and Recapture (2025) | How Schedule 2 lines 13 to 16 work on the 2025 return: W-2 box 12 tax, two installment sale interest lines and low-income housing credit recapture. |
| Schedule 2 Lines 17a and 17b: Credit and Subsidy Recapture | How Schedule 2 lines 17a and 17b work on the 2025 return: recapture of other credits and recapture of a federal mortgage subsidy when you sell your home. |
| Schedule 2 Lines 17c to 17f: HSA and MSA Additional Taxes | How Schedule 2 lines 17c to 17f work on the 2025 return: additional tax on HSA, Archer MSA and Medicare Advantage MSA distributions. |
| Schedule 2 Lines 17g to 17k: Other Additional Taxes (2025) | How Schedule 2 lines 17g to 17k work on the 2025 return: fractional interest recapture, deferred compensation taxes, and parachute payments. |
| Schedule 2 Lines 17l to 17q: Trust, Lookback, PFIC (2025) | How Schedule 2 lines 17l to 17q work on the 2025 return: trust accumulation distributions, lookback interest, Form 1040-NR tax, and Form 8621 interest. |
| Schedule 2 Lines 17z and 18: Other Taxes and Total (2025) | How Schedule 2 lines 17z and 18 work on the 2025 return: listing other taxes by type and amount, and adding lines 17a through 17z. |
| Schedule 2 Lines 19 to 21: Recapture, 965, Total (2025) | How Schedule 2 lines 19 to 21 work on the 2025 return: net EPE recapture, the section 965 installment, and total other taxes for Form 1040 line 23. |
Common mistakes
- Skipping Form 5329 when an exception applies. The instructions say the shortcut works only when distribution code 1 is correctly shown in box 7, and Form 5329 is required when the code is incorrectly shown or an exception is claimed.
- Putting the Part I total in the wrong place. The instructions send Schedule 2, line 3, to Form 1040, line 17, and Schedule 2, line 21, to Form 1040, line 23.
- Using the Form 8960 or Form 8959 thresholds from memory. The instructions print different amounts by filing status, and line 12 is measured against the Form 1040 line 11b amount.
Related: Form 5329 explained, Form 6251, Form 8960, self-employment tax, and Form 8889.
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Answer againSources
- Schedule 2 (Form 1040) (2025), Additional Taxes: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040s2.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 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.