Form 2210 line 4 current year tax.

Reference table

What line 4 measures

Line 4 is the total tax the 2025 return says you owe for the year, before subtracting anything you already paid in. The penalty on Form 2210 compares what you paid during the year with what you should have paid, so this is the starting figure. Everything on Part I builds from it: line 5 is 90% of line 4, line 6 is your withholding, and line 7 is line 4 minus line 6.

What goes on lines 1, 2 and 3

Line 1 is the amount on Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR line 22; for an estate or trust it is Form 1041, Schedule G, line 3. Line 2 collects the other taxes. For a Form 1040 filer the instructions list these Schedule 2 lines: 4, 8 (additional tax on distributions only), 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17a, 17c through 17j, 17l, 17z and 19. Household employer taxes belong on line 2 too, except when you had no income tax withheld and would not have had to make estimated payments without them.

Line 3 takes the refundable credits and the refundable parts of other credits you claimed on the 2025 return. The instructions give these examples: the earned income credit, the additional child tax credit, the refundable part of the American opportunity credit (Form 8863 line 8), the refundable adoption credit (Form 8839 line 13), the premium tax credit (Form 8962), the credit for federal tax paid on fuels, and the section 1341 credit.

Worked example

Line 1 is $9,800, line 2 is $7,065 of self-employment tax and line 3 is a $1,200 refundable credit. Line 4 is $9,800 + $7,065 − $1,200 = $15,665, and line 5 (90%) is $14,098.50. Because line 4 is at least $1,000 you continue. If line 4 had been $850, the form says to stop and not file. All figures are illustrative.

Limits of this page

The calculator only combines the three lines. It does not decide which Schedule 2 amounts belong on line 2, and it does not work out the penalty itself, which depends on when each payment was made (Part III or the short method). Read the full instructions before filing.

Sources

• Instructions for Form 2210 (2025): Line-by-line instructions, worksheets and limits. Read November 2, 2026.
• Form 2210 (2025): The form itself, for exact line wording. Read November 2, 2026.

These are the tax year 2025 edition instructions and forms (published for returns filed in 2026). The IRS revises them each year, so thresholds, line numbers and limits can change; check the current edition before relying on a figure.