On the 2025 Form 1040, your adjusted gross income appears on line 11a, near the bottom of page one.1Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Form 1040 On returns filed for tax years 2020 through 2024, the same figure sat on line 11 with no letter. The line-number question matters most in two situations: locating AGI on the return in front of you, and pulling a prior-year AGI to verify your identity when you e-file.
Where AGI Sits on the 2025 Form 1040
AGI is your total income minus a specific set of deductions federal law lets you subtract before applying the standard or itemized deduction.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 62 – Adjusted Gross Income Defined The 2025 form walks through the math in three lines:
- Line 9: total income
- Line 10: adjustments to income from Schedule 1
- Line 11a: line 9 minus line 10, which is your AGI1Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Form 1040
If you have no adjustments to report, you skip Schedule 1 and your total income on line 9 becomes your AGI on line 11a. Most W-2 employees with no side income, student loan interest, or deductible retirement contributions land here. If you do claim adjustments, Schedule 1 totals them on its line 26 and that number transfers to Form 1040, line 10.3Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Schedule 1 (Form 1040) – Additional Income and Adjustments to Income
The line-number shift from 11 to 11a is new for 2025. It’s cosmetic, but it trips up anyone comparing forms side by side or entering a prior-year AGI during e-filing.
AGI Line on Form 1040-SR
Form 1040-SR is a large-print version of the standard return available to taxpayers age 65 and older. The math and line numbers match the regular Form 1040, so AGI sits on line 11a here as well.4Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Form 1040-SR U.S. Income Tax Return for Seniors On a 1040-SR filed for 2024 or earlier, AGI was on line 11 without the letter.
AGI Line Numbers on Prior-Year Returns
The IRS has reshuffled Form 1040 several times, so the AGI line depends on the tax year:5Internal Revenue Service. Definition of Adjusted Gross Income
- 2025: line 11a (Form 1040 or 1040-SR)1Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Form 1040
- 2020 through 2024: line 11 (Form 1040 or 1040-SR)
- 2019: line 8b
- 2018: line 7
- Pre-2018 Form 1040-EZ: line 4
- Pre-2018 Form 1040-A: line 21
Form 1040-EZ and Form 1040-A were both retired after the 2017 tax year. If you’re digging up a return from before that overhaul, those are the lines to check.
Using a Prior-Year AGI to E-File
When you e-file, the IRS confirms your identity through the self-select PIN method, which asks for your date of birth and your AGI from the prior year’s return.6Internal Revenue Service. Self-Select PIN Method for Forms 1040 and 4868 Modernized e-File (MeF) Filing your 2025 return in 2026 means the IRS wants your 2024 AGI, which sat on line 11 of that year’s Form 1040. If you’ve never filed before, enter zero.
A wrong prior-year AGI is one of the most common causes of e-file rejections. The IRS flags it as error code IND-032-04. Correct the AGI and resubmit, or use an Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN) instead.7Internal Revenue Service. IND-032-04 An IP PIN bypasses the AGI check entirely, so if you have one, enter it when your software prompts you.8Internal Revenue Service. Validating Your Electronically Filed Tax Return
How to Retrieve a Missing Prior-Year AGI
If you can’t find last year’s return, the fastest route is the IRS Get Transcript Online tool. Choose the Tax Return Transcript, which shows most line items from your original return as filed, including AGI. It’s available for the current and three prior tax years.9Internal Revenue Service. Transcript Types for Individuals and Ways to Order Them You’ll verify your identity through ID.me, which requires a photo of a government-issued ID and a selfie.10Internal Revenue Service. New Identity Verification Process to Access Certain IRS Online Tools and Services
If you can’t pass the online check, you can request a transcript by mail by calling 800-908-9946. Delivery takes five to ten days.11Internal Revenue Service. Avoid the Rush: Get a Tax Transcript Online Simpler still: request an IP PIN through the IRS online tool. Once you have one, it replaces the prior-year AGI requirement for e-filing.8Internal Revenue Service. Validating Your Electronically Filed Tax Return
What the AGI Line Actually Controls
AGI is the number the IRS uses to verify your identity when you e-file, to determine whether you qualify for various credits and deductions, and as the starting point most states use for their own income tax calculations.5Internal Revenue Service. Definition of Adjusted Gross Income A common misconception is that AGI sets your tax bracket. It doesn’t. Brackets apply to your taxable income, which is your AGI minus the standard or itemized deduction.12Internal Revenue Service. Federal Income Tax Rates and Brackets
Where the line 11a figure carries weight is in eligibility. Dozens of credits and deductions phase out once AGI (or a closely related figure called MAGI) crosses certain thresholds. The ability to deduct traditional IRA contributions phases out between $81,000 and $91,000 of income for single filers covered by a workplace plan in 2026. Roth IRA eligibility starts phasing out between $153,000 and $168,000 for single filers, and between $242,000 and $252,000 for married couples filing jointly.13Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500 Most states with an income tax also start their calculations from your federal AGI, so getting line 11a right prevents errors from cascading into your state filing.