! (ODC) — Instruction 1040-SS — Instructions for Form

CAUTION who is a qualifying person for purposes of the

credit for other dependents (ODC) on Part I, line 2. Instead, see the instructions for Part II, Line 8, later, for more information.

Line 3 Complete line 3 only if you (or your spouse if filing a joint tax return) had net earnings from self-employment of $400 or more (or church employee income of $108.28 or more).

Enter the amount from Schedule SE (Form 1040), Part I, line 12, and attach Schedule SE (Form 1040) to your return. If applicable, also attach Schedule C (Form 1040) for nonfarm business and Schedule F (Form 1040) for farm business. See Who Must Pay SE Tax , earlier.

Line 4 If either of the following applies, see Schedule H (Form 1040) and its instructions to find out if you owe household employment taxes.

You paid any one household employee cash wages of $2,800 or more in 2025.
You paid total cash wages of $1,000 or more in any calendar quarter of 2024 or 2025 to all household employees.

Line 5 Enter the total Additional Medicare Tax from Form 8959, Part IV, line 18, and attach Form 8959 to your return. See Form 8959 and its instructions for more information.

Line 6a Through 6d

Line 6a

Employee social security and Medicare tax on tips not reported to employer. Complete Form 4137 if you received cash and charge tips of $20 or more in a calendar month and didn’t report all of those tips to your employer. On Part I, line 6a, enter the amount of tax due

Instructions for Form 1040-SS (2025) 9

the payments you and your spouse made in 2025 and the name(s) and SSN(s) under which you made them.

Line 9 If you got an automatic extension of time to file Form 1040-SS by filing Form 4868 or by making a payment, enter the amount of the payment or any amount you paid with Form 4868. If you paid by credit or debit card, don’t include the convenience fee you were charged.

Line 10 Use Part II and its instructions for information on figuring and claiming any additional child tax credit (ACTC) that you may qualify to claim.

Enter the amount from Part II, line 19.

Line 11a If you had Additional Medicare Tax withheld by your employer in 2025, enter the amount shown on Form 8959, line 24. Attach Form 8959 to your return. See Form 8959 and its instructions for more information.

Line 11b If you (or your spouse if filing a joint tax return) had more than one employer for 2025, and total wages of more than $176,100, too much social security tax may have been withheld. You can take a credit on this line for the amount withheld in excess of $10,918.20. But if any one employer withheld more than $10,918.20, you must ask that employer to refund the excess to you. You can’t claim it on Form 1040-SS. Figure this amount separately for you and your spouse. You must attach Form W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, W-2VI, or 499R-2/W-2PR to your return. See Pub. 505 for more information.

Line 13

Amount Overpaid

If line 13 is under $1, we will send a refund only on written request.

Refund Offset

If you owe past-due federal tax, state income tax, state unemployment compensation debts, child support, spousal support, or certain federal nontax debts, such as student loans, all or part of the overpayment on line 13 may be used (offset) to pay the past-due amount. Offsets for federal taxes are made by the IRS. All other offsets are made by the Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service. For federal tax offsets, you will receive a notice from the IRS. For all other offsets, you will receive a notice from the Fiscal Service. To find out if you may have an offset or if you have any questions about it, contact the agency to which you owe the debt.

Deposit Refund into Multiple Accounts

If you want your refund to be split and direct deposited into more than one account, file Form 8888, Allocation of Refund. Use Form 8888 to direct deposit your refund (or part of it) to one or more accounts in your name at a bank

or other financial institution (such as a mutual fund, brokerage firm, or credit union) in the United States.

Injured Spouse

If you file a joint tax return and your spouse hasn’t paid past-due federal tax, state income tax, state unemployment compensation debts, child support, spousal support, or a federal nontax debt, such as a student loan, part or all of the overpayment on line 13 may be used (offset) to pay the past-due amount. But your part of the overpayment may be refunded to you if certain conditions apply and you complete Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation. For details, use Tax Topic 203 or see Form 8379.

Lines 14a Through 14d

Amount Refunded to You

If you want to check the status of your refund, just use the IRS2Go app or go to IRS.gov/Refunds . Information about your refund will generally be available within 24 hours after the IRS receives your e-filed return, or 4 weeks after you mail your paper return. If you filed Form 8379 with your return, wait 14 weeks (11 weeks if you filed electronically). Have your 2025 tax return handy so you can enter your social security number, your filing status, and the exact whole dollar amount of your refund.

Where’s My Refund will provide a personalized refund date as soon as the IRS processes your tax return and approves your refund.

Effect of refund on benefits. Any refund you receive can’t be counted as income when determining if you or anyone else is eligible for benefits or assistance, or how much you or anyone else can receive, under any federal program or under any state or local program financed in whole or in part with federal funds. These programs include Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly food stamps). In addition, when determining eligibility, the refund can’t be counted as a resource for at least 12 months after you receive it. Check with your local benefit coordinator to find out if your refund will affect your benefits.

DIRECT DEPOSIT Simple. Safe. Secure.

Have your refund deposited automatically to your checking or savings account, including an individual retirement arrangement (IRA).

Starting in October 2025, the IRS will generally stop issuing paper checks for federal disbursements, including tax refunds, unless an exception applies. For more information, go to IRS.gov/ModernPayments .

To directly deposit the amount shown on line 14a to your checking or savings account at a U.S. bank or other

10 Instructions for Form 1040-SS (2025)

U.S. financial institution (such as a mutual fund, brokerage firm, or credit union):

Complete lines 14b through 14d if you want your refund deposited to only one account, or
Check the box on line 14a and attach Form 8888 if you want to split the direct deposit of your refund into more than one account.

Account must be in your name. Don’t request a deposit of your refund to an account that isn’t in your name, such as your tax preparer’s own account. Although you may owe your tax return preparer a fee for preparing your return, don’t have any part of your refund deposited into the preparer’s account to pay the fee.

The number of refunds that can be directly deposited to a single account or prepaid debit card is limited to three a year. Learn more at IRS.gov/DepositLimit .

Benefits of direct deposit

You get your refund faster by direct deposit than you do by check.
Payment is more secure. There is no check that can get lost or stolen.
It is more convenient. You don’t have to make a trip to the bank to deposit your check.
It saves tax dollars. It costs the government less to refund by direct deposit.
It’s proven itself. Nearly 98% of social security and veterans’ benefits are sent electronically using direct deposit.

Form 8888. You can have your refund directly deposited into more than one account. See the instructions for Form 8888 for more details.

and special symbols. Enter the number from left to right and leave any unused boxes blank. Don’t include the check number.

If the direct deposit to your account(s) is different from the amount you expected, you will receive an explanation in the mail about 2 weeks after your refund is deposited.

Reasons Your Direct Deposit Will Be Rejected If any of the following apply, your direct deposit request will be rejected and your refund may be delayed.

You are asking to have a joint refund deposited to an individual account, and your financial institution(s) won’t allow this. The IRS isn’t responsible if a financial institution rejects a direct deposit.
The name on your account doesn’t match the name on the refund, and your financial institution(s) won’t allow a refund to be deposited unless the name on the refund matches the name on the account.
Three direct deposits of tax refunds already have been made to the same account or prepaid debit card.
You haven’t given a valid account number.
Any numbers or letters on lines 14b through 14d are crossed out or whited out.

The IRS isn’t responsible for a lost refund if you