Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: The Tax Computation Worksheet is the 2025 tool for figuring Form 1040 tax when taxable income is $100,000 or more. You pick your filing status section, find the row for your income, and work across its columns. The result goes on the entry space on line 16.
What this worksheet is for
The line 16 instructions say “If your taxable income is less than $100,000, you must use the Tax Table, later in these instructions, to figure your tax.” “If your taxable income is $100,000 or more, use the Tax Computation Worksheet right after the Tax Table.” “However, don’t use the Tax Table or Tax Computation Worksheet to figure your tax if any of the following applies.” The list that follows names Form 8615, the Schedule D Tax Worksheet, the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet, Schedule J income averaging for farming or fishing income, and the Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet; for Form 2555 filers the instructions say “you must figure your tax using the Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet.” The standard path is explained at Form 1040 line 16, and the capital-gain version is at the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet. This page is part of Form 1040 worksheets.
The worksheet line by line
The worksheet has four sections by filing status. Each section is a small grid of income bands, and this page does not reproduce the bands, rates or subtraction amounts. Read them from the worksheet in your own instructions.
| Part | What the worksheet says |
|---|---|
| Heading | “See the instructions for line 16 to see if you must use the worksheet below to figure your tax.” |
| Section A | “Use if your filing status is Single. Complete the row below that applies to you.” |
| Section B | “Use if your filing status is Married filing jointly or Qualifying surviving spouse.” |
| Section C | “Use if your filing status is Married filing separately. Complete the row below that applies to you.” |
| Section D | “Use if your filing status is Head of household. Complete the row below that applies to you.” |
| Column (a) | “Enter the amount from line 15.” |
| Column (b) | “Multiplication amount.” |
| Column (c) | “Multiply” (a) by (b). |
| Column (d) | “Subtraction amount.” |
| Tax column | “Subtract (d) from (c). Enter the result here and on the entry space on line 16.” |
A worked example
Illustration, not an IRS example. The multiplication and subtraction amounts below are invented toy numbers, not the real ones, which come from the row of the worksheet that matches your status and income. The example shows only how the columns combine.
| Column | Illustration |
|---|---|
| Column (a), the amount from line 15 | 100,000 (invented) |
| Column (b), multiplication amount | 0.20 (invented, not a real rate) |
| Column (c), (a) multiplied by (b) | $20,000 |
| Column (d), subtraction amount | $3,000 (invented) |
| Tax, (c) minus (d) | $17,000 |
The last row is the figure the worksheet says to enter on the entry space on line 16.
Where the number comes from
The input is Form 1040 line 15, taxable income, which the worksheet names in column (a). It is figured on the return as explained at lines 14 and 15. A second use is built into the worksheet: “If you are required to use this worksheet to figure the tax on an amount from another form or worksheet, such as the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet, the Schedule D Tax Worksheet, Schedule J, Form 8615, or the Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet, enter the amount from that form or worksheet in column (a) of the row that applies to the amount you are looking up.” “Enter the result on the appropriate line of the form or worksheet that you are completing.”
Where it goes next
The last column ends with “Subtract (d) from (c). Enter the result here and on the entry space on line 16.” Line 16 can hold more than this tax. The instructions say “Include in the total on the entry space on line 16 all of the following taxes that apply.” The first item is “Tax on your taxable income. Figure the tax using one of the methods described later.” The total then moves toward the lines 17 and 18 tax-before-credits step.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Instructions for Form 1040 and 1040-SR, the current file irs.gov served on 2026-10-18. It is byte-identical to the archived copy, and the Tax Computation Worksheet in it is for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. Check the tax year printed on the worksheet in your own instructions and use that year’s line numbers, because a different year’s worksheet can number or word its lines differently.
Common mistakes
- Using the worksheet below the cutoff. The instructions say “If your taxable income is less than $100,000, you must use the Tax Table, later in these instructions, to figure your tax.”
- Using the Tax Table or this worksheet when another method is required. For Form 2555 filers the instructions say “you must figure your tax using the Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet.”
- Using the wrong filing status section. Each section opens with its own filing status, then says “Complete the row below that applies to you.”
Related: Form 1040 line 16, the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet, lines 14 and 15, and lines 17 and 18.
Sources
- Instructions for Form 1040 and 1040-SR (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf
- Form 1040 (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.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.