Your capital gains will be found on Line 7, form 1040. There are additional forms of income that the IRS considers wages that can be entered on Line 1.
For most people, the amount to enter on this line should be shown in box 1 of their Form(s) W-2. But the following types of income must also be included in the total on line 1.
- All wages received as a household employee. An employer isn’t required to provide a Form W-2 to you if he or she paid you wages of less than $2,300 in 2021. If you received wages as a household employee and you didn’t receive a Form W-2 because an employer paid you less than $2,300 in 2021, enter “HSH” and the amount not reported to you on a Form W-2 in the space to the left of line 1. For information on employment taxes for household employees, see Tax Topic 756.
- Any Medicaid waiver payments you received that you choose to include in earned income for purposes of claiming a credit or other tax benefit, even if you didn’t receive a Form W-2 reporting these payments. See the instructions for Schedule 1, line 8z.
- Tip income you didn't report to your employer. This should include any allocated tips shown in box 8 on your Form(s) W-2 unless you can prove that your unreported tips are less than the amount in box 8. Allocated tips aren't included as income in box 1. See Pub. 531 for more details. Also include the value of any noncash tips you received, such as tickets, passes, or other items of value. Although you don’t report these noncash tips to your employer, you must report them on line 1.
- Dependent care benefits, which should be shown in box 10 of your Form(s) W-2. But first complete Form 2441 to see if you can exclude part or all of the benefits.
- Employer-provided adoption benefits, which should be shown in box 12 of your Form(s) W-2 with code T. But see the Instructions for Form 8839 to find out if you can exclude part or all of the benefits. You may also be able to exclude amounts if you adopted a child with special needs and the adoption became final in 2021.
- Scholarship and fellowship grants not reported on Form W-2. Also enter “SCH” and the amount on the dotted line next to line 1. However, if you were a degree candidate, include on line 1 only the amounts you used for expenses other than tuition and course-related expenses. For example, amounts used for room, board, and travel must be reported on line 1.
- Excess elective deferrals. The amount deferred should be shown in box 12 of your Form W-2, and the “Retirement plan” box in box 13 should be checked. If the total amount you (or your spouse if filing jointly) deferred for 2021 under all plans was more than $19,500 (excluding catch-up contributions as explained later), include the excess on line 1. This limit is (a) $13,500 if you have only SIMPLE plans, or (b) $22,500 for section 403(b) plans if you qualify for the 15-year rule in Pub. 571. Although designated Roth contributions are subject to this limit, don’t include the excess attributable to such contributions on line 1. They are already included as income in box 1 of your Form W-2.
