Other Income

Do not report on line 21 any income from self-employment or fees received as a notary public. Instead, you must use Schedule C, C-EZ, or F, even if you do not have any business expenses. Also do not report on line 21 any nonemployee compensation shown on Form 1099-MISC. Instead, see the chart on Page 11 of Form 1040 instructions to find out where to report that income.

Taxable Income
Use line 21 to report any taxable income not reported elsewhere on your return or other schedules. See the examples below. List the type and amount of income. If necessary, show the required information on an attached statement. For more information, see Pub. 525: Miscellaneous Income.

Examples of income to report to Line 21 include the following:

• Taxable distributions from a Coverdell education savings account (ESA) or a qualified tuition program (QTP). Distributions from these accounts may be taxable if a) they are more than the qualified higher education expenses of the designated beneficiary in 2009, and b) they were not included in a qualified rollover. See Pub. 970. Nontaxable distributions from these accounts, including rollovers, do not have to be reported on Form 1040. You may have to pay an additional tax if you received a taxable distribution from a Coverdell ESA or a QTP. See the Instructions for Form 5329.
• Taxable distributions from a health savings account (HSA) or an Archer MSA. Distributions from these accounts may be taxable if a) they are more than the reimbursed qualified medical expenses of the account beneficiary or account holder in 2009 and b) they were not included in a qualified rollover. See Pub. 969. You may have to pay an additional tax if you received a taxable distribution from an HSA or an Archer MSA. See the Instructions for Form 8853 for Archer MSAs.
• Amounts deemed to be income from an HSA because you did not remain an eligible individual during the testing period. See Form 8889, Part III.
• Prizes and awards.
• Gambling winnings, including lotteries, raffles, a lump-sum payment from the sale of a right to receive future lottery payments, etc. For details on gambling losses, see the instructions for Schedule A, line 28, on page A-11. Attach Form(s) W-2G to Form 1040 if any federal income tax was withheald.
• Jury duty pay. Also see the instructions for Line 36 on page 35 of Form 1040 instructions.
• Alaska Permanent Funds dividends
• Alternative trade adjustment assistance (ATAA) payments. These payments should be shown in box 5 of Form 1099-G
• Reimbursements or other amounts received for items deducted in an earlier year, such as medical expenses, real estate taxes, general sales taxes, or home mortgage interest. See Recoveries in Pub. 525 for details on how to figure the amount to report.
• Income from the rental of personal property if you engaged in the rental for profit but were not in the business of renting such property. Also, see the instructions for line 36 on page 35 of Form 1040 instructions.
• Income from an activity not engaged in for profit. See Pub. 535.
• Loss on certain corrective distributions of excess deferrals. See Retirement Plan Contributions in Pub. 525.
• Dividends on insurance policies if they exceed the total of all net premiums you paid for the contract.
• Recapture of a charitable contribution deduction relating to the contribution of a fractional interest in tangible personal property. See Fractional Interest in Tangible Personal Property in Pub. 526. Interest and an additional 10% tax apply to the amount of the recapture. See the instructions for line 60.
• Recapture of a charitable contribution deduction if the charitable organization disposes of the donated property within 3 years of the contribution. See Recapture if no exempt use in Pub. 526.
• Canceled debts. These amounts may be shown in box 2 of Form 1099-C. However, part or all of your income from the cancellation of debt may be nontaxable. See Pub. 4681 or go to IRS.gov and enter “canceled debt” or “foreclosure” in the search box.
• Taxable part of disaster relief payments. See Pub. 525 to figure the taxable part, if any. If any of your disaster relief payment is taxable, attach a statement showing the total payment received and how you figured the taxable part.

   

  Nontaxable income.   Do not report any nontaxable income on line 21. Examples of nontaxable income include the following.

  • Child support.

  • Payments you received to help you pay your mortgage loan under the HFA Hardest Hit Fund or the Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program or similar state program.

  • Any Pay-for-Performance Success Payments that reduce the principal balance of your home mortgage under the Home Affordable Modification Program.

  • Life insurance proceeds received because of someone's death (other than from certain employer-owned life insurance contracts).

  • Gifts and bequests. However, if you received a gift or bequest from a foreign person of more than $14,723, you may have to report information about it on Form 3520, Part IV. See the Instructions for Form 3520.

   

  Net operating loss (NOL) deduction.   Include on line 21 any NOL deduction from an earlier year. Subtract it from any income on line 21 and enter the result. If the result is less than zero, enter it in parentheses. On the dotted line next to line 21, enter “NOL” and show the amount of the deduction in parentheses. See Pub. 536 for details.