Report jury duty pay on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), Part I, Line 8h. The total from Schedule 1 then flows to Line 8 of your Form 1040 and becomes part of your income. If your employer kept paying your regular salary while you served and required you to hand over the court’s check, claim an offsetting deduction on Schedule 1, Part II, Line 24a. That’s where jury duty pay goes on Form 1040, whether the court sent you a 1099-MISC or just a small check with a stub.
How the Numbers Flow to Form 1040
Form 1040 itself has no line for jury duty pay. Schedule 1 is the supplemental form for income that isn’t wages, interest, or dividends, and jury pay lives there.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 (2025), Taxable and Nontaxable Income
- Enter the total jury duty pay you received during the year on Schedule 1, Part I, Line 8h (“Jury duty pay”).
- The additional income entries in Part I add up on Line 10 of Schedule 1.
- Line 10 carries to Form 1040, Line 8, where it joins your wages and other income.2Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Schedule 1 (Form 1040)
There’s no threshold that lets you skip Schedule 1. Even if jury duty pay is the only reason you’re filing it, attach the form.
If You Turned the Check Over to Your Employer
Some employers keep paying your regular wages during jury service on the condition that you sign over the court’s payment to them. The tax code prevents you from being taxed twice on the same days. Report the full jury pay as income on Line 8h, then deduct the amount you gave your employer on Schedule 1, Part II, Line 24a.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 (2025), Taxable and Nontaxable Income
A few points about the deduction:
- It’s an above-the-line adjustment. You get it whether you take the standard deduction or itemize.
- Line 24a can’t exceed Line 8h. Usually the two amounts match, because employers typically require you to remit the entire court payment.
- You can’t skip the income side. Both entries are required: the pay on 8h, the deduction on 24a.
The authority for this adjustment is 26 U.S.C. ยง 62(a)(13), which addresses jury pay surrendered to an employer in exchange for continued regular compensation.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 62 – Adjusted Gross Income Defined
Watch Out for Expense Reimbursements
Courts often pay travel, mileage, parking, or meal reimbursements on top of the daily attendance fee. Those reimbursements generally are not taxable as long as the court lists them separately from your attendance pay. If everything appears as a single lump sum with no breakdown, the entire amount is treated as taxable and goes on Line 8h.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 (2025), Taxable and Nontaxable Income
Check the payment stub before you enter a number. What you report is the attendance pay only, if reimbursements are itemized; the full amount, if they aren’t.
What About the 1099-MISC?
If your total jury pay for the year is $600 or more, the court should issue a Form 1099-MISC. Many jurors never reach that threshold. The income is reportable either way, so don’t wait for a form before entering the amount on Line 8h.4Internal Revenue Service. Is the Payment I Received for Jury Duty Taxable?
When a court does send a 1099-MISC, the IRS’s matching system will look for the corresponding entry on your return. Leaving it off invites a notice. The tax on a small jury check is usually a few dollars; the time spent responding to correspondence is not.
Records to Keep
Hold onto whatever documentation the court gives you: payment stubs, a letter stating the daily rate and total, or the 1099-MISC if one arrives. A bank deposit record showing the payment works too. These support the number you put on Line 8h.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 (2025), Taxable and Nontaxable Income
If you claimed the Line 24a deduction for pay surrendered to your employer, keep proof of the handover as well. A receipt from your employer, the written policy requiring remittance, or a pay stub notation showing the jury check was turned in all serve that purpose.