Updated October 8, 2026. Quick answer: Schedule A (Form 1040) is where you figure itemized deductions, and the IRS says that in most cases your federal income tax will be less if you take the larger of your itemized deductions or your standard deduction. For 2025 the limit on the state and local tax deduction (line 5e) is $40,000 ($20,000 if married filing separately), reduced for higher incomes but not below $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing separately). Medical and dental expenses count only above 7.5% of the adjusted gross income on Form 1040 line 11b.
IRS worksheets read line by line: Pub 526 Worksheet 2.
Related reading on this site: IRS Publication 530 and IRS Publication 561.
IRS worksheets read line by line: W-4 Deductions Worksheet.
More IRS forms and schedules for individual filers, read line by line: Form 8396 instructions.
Related reading on this site: IRS Publication 502, IRS Publication 501 and IRS publications by number.
Read box by box from the IRS form text: Form 1098-C boxes 1 to 3 and Form 1098-C boxes 6a to 7.
Form lines read one part at a time: Form 8283 Section B Parts III to V, Form 4684 Section B Part I and Form 4684 Section B Part II.
IRS worksheets read line by line: Worksheet 2, Recoveries of Itemized Deductions and Home Mortgage Interest Limit Worksheet.
Schedule A and Schedule B (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule A lines 1 to 4, Schedule A lines 5b and 5c and Schedule A line 17.
Schedule 2 (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule 2 lines 17a and 17b.
Schedule 1 (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule 1 lines 2a and 2b, Schedule 1 lines 8a and 8b and Schedule 1 lines 25 and 26.
Form 1040 for 2025, lines 12 to 38 read line by line: Form 1040 line 12 and Form 1040 lines 14 and 15.
Form 1040 for 2025, read line by line: Form 1040 lines 9, 10 and 11.
Read box by box from the IRS instructions: SSA-1099 box 3, SSA-1099 box 4 and SSA-1099 Medicare premiums.
The employee copy of Form W-2, read box by box: W-2 box 14, W-2 boxes 15 to 17 and W-2 boxes 18 to 20.
The recipient copy of Form 1099-G or 1099-K, read box by box: 1099-G and 1099-K boxes explained and 1099-G box 1.
The shareholder’s Schedule K-1 (Form 1120-S), boxes 13 to 19: Schedule K-1 boxes 14 and 15, Schedule K-1 box 17 codes A, B and U and Schedule K-1 box 17 other codes.
The shareholder’s Schedule K-1 (Form 1120-S), read box by box: Schedule K-1 boxes 4 to 6 and Schedule K-1 box 12.
The partner’s Schedule K-1 (Form 1065), read box by box: Schedule K-1 box 13, Schedule K-1 box 20 A and B and Schedule K-1 box 21.
More IRS forms and schedules, read line by line: Form 1040 instructions.
More IRS forms and schedules, read line by line: Form 1040-SR instructions, Form 4952 instructions and Form 4684 instructions.
What Schedule A is and when itemizing makes sense
The IRS puts the purpose plainly: “Use Schedule A (Form 1040) to figure your itemized deductions.” The comparison that decides whether to use it comes next: “In most cases, your federal income tax will be less if you take the larger of your itemized deductions or your standard deduction.”
What goes on the schedule: “If you itemize, you can deduct a part of your medical and dental expenses and amounts you paid for certain taxes, interest, contributions, and other expenses.” The instructions also add “You can also deduct certain casualty and theft losses.” The standard deduction amounts themselves are not printed in these instructions, so the comparison needs the figures from the 2025 standard deduction page (and the 2026 page for next year).
Do not count an item twice: “Don’t include on Schedule A items deducted elsewhere, such as on Form 1040, Form 1040-SR, Schedule 1-A, or Schedule C, E, or F.” The new Schedule 1-A deductions sit beside Schedule A, not inside it: “If you are eligible, you can claim these deductions even if you itemize on Schedule A.” A person can even itemize when the total is smaller than the standard deduction, for example to use it on a state return: “If you elect to itemize for state tax or other purposes even though your itemized deductions are less than your standard deduction, check the box on line 18.”
The lines in order
The 2025 schedule runs in six blocks, and line 17 carries the total to the return.
| Lines | Section | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | Medical and dental | Expenses, then the part above the AGI floor |
| 5 to 7 | Taxes you paid | State and local income or sales, real estate and personal property taxes (line 5e applies the limit), other taxes |
| 8 to 10 | Interest you paid | Home mortgage interest and points, investment interest |
| 11 to 14 | Gifts to charity | Cash or check, other than cash or check, carryover, total |
| 15 | Casualty and theft losses | From Form 4684, federally declared disasters |
| 16 | Other itemized deductions | Only the expenses on the instructions’ list |
| 17 and 18 | Total, and the election box | Line 17 goes to Form 1040 line 12e; line 18 is the box for itemizing by choice |
Line 8d is marked reserved on the form, and the two mortgage lines, 8a and 8b, split interest the lender reported on Form 1098 from interest it did not. The next sections follow the order of the form.
Medical and dental expenses (lines 1 to 4)
The threshold is the first thing to know: “You can deduct only the part of your medical and dental expenses that exceeds 7.5% of the amount of your adjusted gross income on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 11b.” On the form that is line 2 (AGI), line 3 (that amount times 7.5%) and line 4 (line 1 minus line 3).
An illustration with made-up amounts, not an IRS example, with the results computed here: with $80,000 on line 11b the floor is $80,000 times 7.5%, which is $6,000. With $9,000 of medical and dental expenses after reimbursements, line 4 is $9,000 minus $6,000 and comes to $3,000. With $5,000 of expenses, line 4 is zero, because the form says to enter -0- when line 3 is more than line 1.
Only unreimbursed amounts count: “Enter the total of your medical and dental expenses after you reduce these expenses by any payments received from insurance or other sources.” Whose bills qualify is spelled out too: yourself, your spouse, your dependents, and certain others. The example the IRS gives is a parent you could not claim: “You can include on line 1 any medical and dental expenses you paid in 2025 for your parent.” See the page on deducting a parent’s medical expenses for the dependency tests.
Long-term care insurance premiums are capped by age:
| Age at the end of 2025 | Most you can include for long-term care premiums |
|---|---|
| 40 or under | $480 |
| 41 to 50 | $900 |
| 51 to 60 | $1,800 |
| 61 to 70 | $4,810 |
| 71 or older | $6,020 |
Not everything medical counts. The list of items you cannot include has “Cosmetic surgery unless it was necessary to improve a deformity related to a congenital abnormality, an injury from an accident or trauma, or a disfiguring disease.” and “Funeral, burial, or cremation costs.”
Taxes you paid and the SALT limit (lines 5 to 7)
Line 5 has three parts: 5a for income taxes or general sales taxes, 5b for real estate taxes and 5c for personal property taxes. On the choice in 5a: “You can elect to deduct state and local general sales taxes instead of state and local income taxes. You can’t deduct both.”
The cap for 2025 is described twice. In What’s New: “The overall limit on the deduction for state and local income, sales, and property taxes has increased to $40,000 ($20,000 if married filing separately).” And the phaseout: “The overall limit is reduced if your modified adjusted gross income is more than $500,000 ($250,000 if married filing separately) but will not be reduced below $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing separately).” The line 5e instructions say who skips the worksheet: “enter the smaller of line 5d or $40,000 ($20,000 if married filing separately).”
Above the income line, the State and Local Tax Deduction Worksheet does the reduction. Its steps are “Subtract line 5 from line 4” (the excess income), “Multiply line 6 by 30% (0.30)”, subtract that from the $40,000 limit, and then “Enter the larger of the amount on line 8 or $10,000”. An illustration with made-up amounts for a filer who is not married filing separately, not an IRS example:
| Step | Case A | Case B | Source of the number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form 1040 line 11b (inputs to the computed rows) | $520,000 | $600,000 | Illustration |
| Amount over $500,000 | $20,000 | $100,000 | Computed here |
| 30% of the excess | $6,000 | $30,000 | Computed here |
| $40,000 minus that amount | $34,000 | $10,000 | Computed here |
| Larger of that or $10,000 (worksheet line 9) | $34,000 | $10,000 | Computed here |
| Line 5d taxes paid | $45,000 | $45,000 | Illustration |
| Line 5e: smaller of 5d or worksheet line 9 | $34,000 | $10,000 | Computed here |
In Case A the limit falls from $40,000 to $34,000 and because line 5d is $45,000 the deduction is limited to $34,000. In Case B the reduction hits the floor, so $10,000 is the limit. The worksheet also says what happens at small amounts: if line 5d is $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing separately) or less, enter line 5d on line 5e and skip the worksheet. For how the limit has been described for later years, see the 2026 SALT cap page and the 2027 page.
A few line 5 rules that trip people up. Real estate taxes must be uniform: “but only if the taxes are assessed uniformly at a like rate on all real property throughout the community, and the proceeds are used for general community or governmental purposes.” Personal property tax counts only “if the taxes were based on value alone and were imposed on a yearly basis.” If you sold a home, the buyer’s share of real estate tax on the settlement statement is treated as a refund, which is covered with home sale taxes.
Mortgage and investment interest (lines 8 to 10)
The ground rule: “You can’t deduct personal interest.” What qualifies is defined by security, not by label: “A home mortgage is any loan that is secured by your main home or second home, regardless of how the loan is labeled.” Line 8a takes the amount the lender reported on Form 1098 (see the Form 1098 page), line 8b covers interest with no Form 1098, and line 8c covers points not reported on the form.
The debt limits depend on when the loan was taken out. For older debt: “For qualifying debt taken out on or before December 15, 2017, you can only deduct home mortgage interest on up to $1,000,000 ($500,000 if you are married filing separately) of that debt.” For newer debt: For qualifying debt taken out after December 15, 2017, you can only “deduct home mortgage interest on up to $750,000 ($375,000 if you are married filing separately) of that debt.” The instructions also tie the deduction to the use of the money: the loan proceeds must have been used to buy, build, or substantially improve the home securing the loan, and the box on line 8 is for filers who did not use all of the proceeds that way. If your deduction is limited, the instructions send you to Pub. 936.
Investment interest is on line 9 and usually needs Form 4952: “Investment interest is interest paid on money you borrowed that is allocable to property held for investment.”
Gifts to charity (lines 11 to 14)
Cash or check gifts go on line 11 and gifts of property on line 12. The record rules start at $250: “You can deduct a gift of $250 or more only if you have a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the charitable organization”. Separate donations are not added together: “In figuring whether a gift is $250 or more, don’t combine separate donations.” For property, “If the amount of your deduction is more than $500, you must complete and attach Form 8283.” Appraisal triggers are covered on the appraisal requirement page.
The limits are tied to line 11b. The instructions say to use Pub. 526 if “Your cash contributions or contributions of ordinary income property are more than 30% of the amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 11b.” or if “Your gifts of capital gain property are more than 20% of the amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 11b.” For more on the percentage caps, see the charitable deduction cap page and the broader charitable giving guide.
Gifts that exceed the limit are not lost: “In most cases, you have 5 years to use contributions that were limited in an earlier year.” That carryover goes on line 13; see the carryforward page. Where you receive something in return, “you can generally only deduct the amount that is more than the value of the benefit.”
Casualty and theft losses, and other itemized deductions (lines 15 and 16)
Line 15 is narrow. “You can only deduct personal casualty and theft losses attributable to a federally declared disaster to the extent that:” two tests are met: “The amount of each separate casualty or theft loss is more than $100, and” “The total amount of all losses during the year (reduced by the $100 limit discussed in (1)) is more than 10% of the amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 11b.” The amount comes from Form 4684, line 18.
Line 16 is a closed list: “Only the expenses listed next can be deducted on line 16.” The first item is gambling, and it is capped by winnings: “Gambling losses (gambling losses include, but aren’t limited to, the cost of nonwinning bingo, lottery, and raffle tickets) but only to the extent of gambling winnings reported on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8b.” Other items include federal estate tax on income in respect of a decedent and impairment-related work expenses of a disabled person. Investment gains and losses reported on Schedule D and Form 8949 do not go on Schedule A.
Which revision applies
The edition read for this page is the Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040) for 2025, the version dated December 8, 2025 in the archived PDF, together with the 2025 Schedule A itself. Those are the amounts and line numbers used here. A different tax year’s edition can change the dollar limits and the line layout, so check the year printed on the form you are filing. “For the latest information about developments related to Schedule A (Form 1040) and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they were published, go to IRS.gov/ScheduleA.”
Every Schedule A line page in one table
Each row links to the page that reads a line, or group of lines, of Schedule A. The right column is the summary each page carries.
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Schedule A Lines 1 to 4: Medical and Dental Expenses (2025) | How Schedule A lines 1 to 4 work on the 2025 return: what to enter for medical and dental expenses, the 7.5% of AGI subtraction, and where line 4 goes. |
| Schedule A Line 5a: State and Local Income or Sales Taxes | How Schedule A line 5a works on the 2025 return: choosing state and local income taxes or general sales taxes, never both, and what counts as each. |
| Schedule A Lines 5b and 5c: Property Taxes (2025) | How Schedule A lines 5b and 5c work on the 2025 return: which real estate and personal property taxes qualify, what to leave out, and escrow rules. |
| Schedule A Lines 5d and 5e: SALT Deduction Limit (2025) | How Schedule A lines 5d and 5e work on the 2025 return: adding lines 5a to 5c, the state and local tax limit, and when the worksheet is required. |
| Schedule A Lines 6 and 7: Other Taxes, Total Taxes (2025) | How Schedule A lines 6 and 7 work on the 2025 return: what other taxes go on line 6, how to list them, and how line 7 adds lines 5e and 6. |
| Schedule A Line 8a: Mortgage Interest on Form 1098 (2025) | How Schedule A line 8a works on the 2025 return: home mortgage interest and points reported to you on Form 1098, and what to do when a limit applies. |
| Schedule A Lines 8b, 8c, 8e: Unreported Mortgage Interest | How Schedule A lines 8b, 8c and 8e work on the 2025 return: mortgage interest and points with no Form 1098, seller-financed loans, and the line 8e total. |
| Schedule A Lines 9 and 10: Investment Interest (2025) | How Schedule A lines 9 and 10 work on the 2025 return: investment interest, when Form 4952 is needed, and the line 10 total of interest you paid. |
| Schedule A Line 11: Gifts by Cash or Check (2025) | How Schedule A line 11 works on the 2025 return: gifts by cash or check, required records, and the written acknowledgment for gifts of $250 or more. |
| Schedule A Line 12: Gifts Other Than Cash or Check (2025) | How Schedule A line 12 works on the 2025 return: gifts of property, valuing used items, Form 8283 when the deduction is over $500, and the records to keep. |
| Schedule A Lines 13 and 14: Charity Carryover (2025) | How Schedule A lines 13 and 14 work on the 2025 return: the carryover from a prior year’s limited gifts and the line 14 total of gifts to charity. |
| Schedule A Line 15: Disaster Casualty and Theft Losses | How Schedule A line 15 works on the 2025 return: disaster casualty and theft losses from Form 4684 line 18 and the net qualified disaster loss rule. |
| Schedule A Line 16: Other Itemized Deductions (2025) | How Schedule A line 16 works on the 2025 return: the list of other itemized deductions, how to list type and amount, and net qualified disaster losses. |
| Schedule A Lines 17 and 18: Total Itemized Deductions | How Schedule A lines 17 and 18 work on the 2025 return: the itemized deductions total for Form 1040 line 12e and the itemizing box on line 18. |
Common mistakes
- Entering the full state and local tax total on line 5e. The 2025 limit is $40,000 ($20,000 if married filing separately), and above $500,000 of line 11b ($250,000 if married filing separately) the State and Local Tax Deduction Worksheet reduces it, though not below $10,000.
- Counting all medical bills. Only the part above 7.5% of line 11b counts, and the total must first be reduced by insurance and other payments received.
- Deducting a gift of $250 or more without the written acknowledgment from the charity, or forgetting Form 8283 when a property deduction is more than $500.
Related: 2025 standard deduction, SALT cap for 2026, charitable giving, and Form 1098 mortgage interest statement.
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Answer againSources
- Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040) (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040sca.pdf
- Schedule A (Form 1040) (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040sa.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 8, 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.