Other Deductible Taxes: Line 6, Foreign Taxes, and the SALT Cap

On Schedule A of Form 1040, the “other taxes” line — Line 6 — is a narrow slot. For 2026, two items belong there: foreign income taxes you’ve chosen to deduct rather than credit, and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax imposed on income distributions.¹ Almost everything else that feels like a miscellaneous tax either goes on a different line, gets deducted somewhere other than Schedule A, or isn’t deductible at all.

What Qualifies as a Deductible Tax

Before a payment can land on Line 6, it has to be a tax in the legal sense under 26 U.S.C. § 164, not a fee.² Three conditions have to line up. The tax has to be imposed on you personally, so paying someone else’s tax bill doesn’t earn you the deduction.³ You have to have paid it during the tax year, which for cash-basis individuals means before December 31. And the payment has to raise revenue for general government purposes, not buy you a specific service or benefit. That last one is where most confusion starts.

Foreign Income Taxes

The most common Line 6 entry is foreign income tax. Income, war profits, and excess profits taxes paid to a foreign country or U.S. possession can be either deducted on Schedule A or claimed as a credit on Form 1116.⁴ You pick one for the year, and the choice covers all your foreign taxes; you can’t split.

The credit usually wins. It reduces tax owed dollar for dollar, while the deduction only reduces the income the tax is computed on, and the credit is available even if you take the standard deduction.⁴ The deduction can come out ahead in narrow cases: a small foreign tax on top of substantial other itemized deductions, or a foreign tax credit limited by low U.S. tax liability. Run both.

One exception matters. Taxes paid to countries that support terrorism, that the U.S. doesn’t have diplomatic relations with, or whose governments the U.S. doesn’t recognize can’t be claimed as a foreign tax credit, but they can still be deducted on Schedule A.⁵ Publication 514 carries the current country list.

When you list foreign tax on Line 6, describe it plainly: “Foreign Income Tax — [Country].” Taxes paid to a U.S. territory don’t belong here; those go on the state and local tax lines.¹

Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax on Income Distributions

The second Line 6 category is the GST tax imposed on income distributions from a trust or estate.¹ It applies when a trust distributes income to a beneficiary two or more generations below the grantor — a grandchild, typically — and the distribution triggers GST tax. Section 164(a)(4) specifically lists this tax as deductible.² It affects a small group of taxpayers, but for a beneficiary of a generation-skipping trust the amount can be meaningful. Label the entry “GST Tax on Income Distribution.”

What Doesn’t Belong on Line 6

Several payments look like “other taxes” but fail either the deductibility test or the Line 6 test.

Fees for specific services. Driver’s licenses, parking meters, tolls, and utility charges buy you something particular. They aren’t taxes.
Local improvement assessments. A special assessment for new sidewalks, paving, or sewer lines that increases your property’s value isn’t a deductible tax; add it to the property’s cost basis instead. If part of the assessment covers maintenance, repair, or interest on existing infrastructure, that portion is deductible, but you have to be able to prove the split.⁶
Federal estate tax on income in respect of a decedent. Deductible, but on Line 16 of Schedule A, not Line 6.¹
Fines, penalties, and political contributions. Never deductible.

Vehicle registration is its own puzzle. Most states charge a flat fee that isn’t deductible. Where a state calculates part of the fee based on the vehicle’s value, that value-based portion is a personal property tax and goes on Line 5c, not Line 6. About half the states include some value-based component. Look on your registration receipt for language like ad valorem tax, excise tax, or a similar value-based label.

One more boundary: taxes tied to a trade, business, or rental activity aren’t Schedule A items at all. Section 164 allows those deductions, but you report them on Schedule C or Schedule E depending on the activity.²

The SALT Cap Doesn’t Touch Line 6

The state and local tax cap sits on Lines 5a through 5c: state and local income taxes (or sales taxes if elected), real property taxes, and personal property taxes. For 2026 the cap is $40,400 for single filers and married couples filing jointly, and $20,200 for married filing separately.² It phases down for higher earners: above modified AGI of $505,000 ($252,500 if married filing separately), the cap shrinks by 30 cents per dollar over the threshold, with a floor of $10,000.⁷

Foreign income tax and GST tax on income distributions reported on Line 6 aren’t subject to the cap.² Whatever you’ve already stacked up on Lines 5a–5c doesn’t reduce what you can claim here. Even a high earner squeezed down to a $10,000 SALT cap still gets full-value deductions on Line 6.

Filling Out the Line

Line 6 shows one total, but each tax type is listed individually within the line.⁸ If you paid $800 in foreign income tax and $1,200 in GST tax on an income distribution, both items appear separately and total $2,000.

Descriptions matter. “Foreign Income Tax — France” or “GST Tax on Income Distribution” tells the IRS what it’s looking at; “miscellaneous taxes” invites correspondence. E-filing software will prompt you for description and amount for each entry. Paper filers write directly on the line or attach a statement if space runs out.

Documentation to have on hand before you start: year-end tax statements from foreign governments (foreign taxes withheld on dividends usually show up on brokerage or mutual fund year-end statements), trust distribution statements showing GST tax paid, and any other proof the tax was actually paid during the year.

Is Itemizing Worth It Just for This

Line 6 only helps if you itemize. For 2026 the standard deduction is $15,750 for single filers, $31,500 for married filing jointly, and $23,625 for head of household.⁹ If your itemized total doesn’t clear those figures, skip Schedule A.

Foreign taxes have a workaround. The foreign tax credit is available whether you itemize or not.⁴ If foreign tax is the only thing pushing you toward itemizing, the credit lets you keep the standard deduction and still offset those payments against your U.S. tax.

How Long to Keep the Records

The IRS keeps records “as long as needed to prove the income or deductions on a tax return.”¹⁰ The general audit window is three years from filing or the return’s due date, whichever is later. That’s the minimum for hanging on to foreign tax statements and trust documents. It stretches to six years if the IRS believes more than 25% of gross income was omitted, and there’s no limit if you never filed or filed fraudulently.¹¹ Six years is a comfortable margin. Without supporting records, a challenged deduction gets denied and you owe the additional tax plus interest from the original due date.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040)
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 164 – Taxes
3
eCFR. 26 CFR 1.164-1 – Deduction for Taxes
4
Internal Revenue Service. Foreign Tax Credit – Choosing to Take Credit or Deduction
5
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 856, Foreign Tax Credit
6
eCFR. 26 CFR 1.164-4 – Taxes for Local Benefits
7
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 503, Deductible Taxes
8
Internal Revenue Service. Schedule A (Form 1040)
9
Internal Revenue Service. New and Enhanced Deductions for Individuals
10
Internal Revenue Service. Recordkeeping
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6501 – Limitations on Assessment and Collection