Form 1040 changes for 2026: what the draft shows

Comparing the draft with the final 2025 Form 1040, these lines are new or have moved. The IRS warns that drafts can change before release and must not be filed or relied on.

• Line 12d: the age box now reads born before January 2, 1962.
• Line 12f (new): charitable contribution deduction for non-itemizers. The 2026 Form 1040-ES puts this at up to $1,000 of cash gifts, or $2,000 on a joint return.
• Lines 13a and 13b swap: 13a is now additional deductions from Schedule 1-A, line 44 (it was line 38 for 2025), and 13b is the QBI deduction.
• Line 14 now adds lines 12e, 12f, 13a and 13b.
• Lines 24a to 24c (new split): total tax on 24a, the amount from Form 1062, line 15 on 24b, and the sum on 24c.
• Lines 32a to 32c (new split): refundable credits on 32a, an amount from a new Schedule 3-A on 32b, and 32a minus 32b on 32c.

The draft does not explain Schedule 3-A or how line 12f is computed, and when we checked in October 2026 the IRS draft instructions link still held the 2025 text. Treat both as open until the 2026 Instructions for Form 1040 are posted. Form 1062 is the form for the farmland sale installment election that the 2025 instructions already describe.

Clients who take the standard deduction and give to charity in cash should keep receipts for 2026, since line 12f gives them a deduction they did not have before. Clients selling farmland to a qualified farmer should know the installment election exists before the sale closes, not after.

• Ask standard-deduction clients for a list of 2026 cash gifts and acknowledgments.
• Flag any 2026 sale of farmland for a Form 1062 review.
• Re-run the itemize decision with the 2026 Schedule A changes in mind.