I need help understanding how the total was arrived for my Schedule A line 5 (State & Local income taxes)

[PeterM · Accepted solution]

This is the total amount of state and local income taxes withheld from your paychecks...or otherwise paid. The amounts on your W-2(s) that were withheld for state and local income taxes should total the amount listed on Schedule A Line 5a. Or if you paid estimated state taxes, those also would show up here. This particular line is the summation of all the state income taxes paid, so just add up the amounts off your W-2(s) (and any state estimated tax payments) and compare to the amount on Line 5a.