Schedule E Lines 23a to 26: Part I Totals (2025)

Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Lines 23a to 23e are totals that add up amounts you already entered for each property in Part I. Line 24 adds the positive amounts from line 21, line 25 adds the losses, and line 26 combines lines 24 and 25 into one rental real estate and royalty result. The amounts come from lines 3, 4, 12, 18, 20, 21 and 22 of the same schedule.

What lines 23a to 26 ask for

These lines sit at the bottom of Part I, after the property by property columns. The form captions the five totals this way: line 23a is “Total of all amounts reported on line 3 for all rental properties”, line 23b is “Total of all amounts reported on line 4 for all royalty properties”, line 23c is “Total of all amounts reported on line 12 for all properties”, line 23d is “Total of all amounts reported on line 18 for all properties” and line 23e is “Total of all amounts reported on line 20 for all properties”.

The 2025 instructions for Schedule E do not have a separate paragraph headed for line 23, 24, 25 or 26, so the form captions above and below are the directions for these lines. The properties themselves are listed on line 1a; see Schedule E (Form 1040) for the layout of the whole schedule.

Where the number comes from

Each total is a sum of figures you entered earlier in Part I. Rents on line 3 and royalties on line 4 are the income side. The instructions for the expense lines say, for example, “Enter on line 19 any ordinary and necessary expenses not listed” on lines 5 through 18, and the expense total for each property is on line 20. Those property level lines are covered on the Schedule E lines 20 to 22 page. Each of lines 23a to 23e picks up one of those lines for all properties.

Lines 24 and 25 start from line 21 and line 22 of each property. The form captions line 24 as “Income. Add positive amounts shown on line 21. Do not include any losses” and line 25 as “Losses. Add royalty losses from line 21 and rental real estate losses from line 22. Enter total losses here”. The two lines treat losses differently: a royalty loss is taken from line 21, while a rental real estate loss is taken from line 22, the amount after any passive loss limit.

The loss limits that feed line 22

Because line 25 uses line 22 for rental real estate, the instructions for line 22 matter here. They say “Do not complete line 22 if the amount on line 21 is from royalty properties.” For a rental real estate loss, “the amount of loss you can deduct may be limited by the passive activity loss rules.” If that limit does not apply: “If your rental real estate loss is not from a passive activity or you meet the exception for certain rental real estate activities (explained earlier), you do not have to complete Form 8582.” “Enter the (loss) from line 21 on line 22.” Otherwise see Form 8582. For amounts not at risk, “use Form 6198 to determine the amount of your deductible loss.” That form is covered at Form 6198.

Line 26: the Part I result

Line 26 is the end of Part I. The form captions it “Total rental real estate and royalty income or (loss). Combine lines 24 and 25.” It then says where the result goes: “If Parts II, III, and IV, and line 40 on page 2 do not apply to you, also enter this amount on” Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 5. “Otherwise, include this amount in the total on line 41 on page 2”.

Computed illustration, not an IRS example: if line 24 is $9,000 and line 25 is a loss of $2,500, combining the two gives $9,000 minus $2,500, which is $6,500 on line 26. The loss on line 25 is shown in parentheses on the form.

Where it goes next

With no other parts to report, the amount moves to Schedule 1, which is explained on the Schedule 1 lines 3 to 6 page and then reaches Form 1040. If Part II, Part III, Part IV or line 40 applies, line 26 is instead one of the amounts combined on line 41, described on the Schedule E Parts IV and V page. One more caution from the instructions: “If you report a loss on line 26, 32, 37, or 39 of your Schedule E (Form 1040), you may be subject to a business loss limitation.” The instructions add that the “disallowed loss resulting from the limitation will not be reflected on line 26, 32, 37, or 39 of your Schedule E.” Instead the instructions say to “use Form 461 to determine the amount of your excess business loss”.

If you also have partnership, S corporation or trust income, see Schedule E Part II and Schedule E Part III.

Edition and line numbers

This page reads the 2025 Schedule E (Form 1040) and its 2025 instructions, the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-18 (byte-identical to the archived copies). They are the files for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. The schedule says “Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-NR, or 1041.” 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

• Putting a rental real estate loss from line 21 on line 25 without checking the passive limit. The form says line 25 adds “rental real estate losses from line 22.”
• Filling in line 22 for a royalty loss. The instructions say “Do not complete line 22 if the amount on line 21 is from royalty properties.”
• Adding a loss into line 24. The form says to “Add positive amounts shown on line 21. Do not include any losses”.

Related: Schedule E (Form 1040), Schedule 1 lines 3 to 6, Form 8582, Form 6198, and Form 1040.

Sources

• Instructions for Schedule E (Form 1040), Supplemental Income and Loss (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040se.pdf
• Schedule E (Form 1040), Supplemental Income and Loss (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040se.pdf

Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 18, 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.