Free IRS form · Official PDF

Schedule 3: Additional Credits and Payments

2025 tax year · Download free — no email, no account

Schedule 3 is the good-news schedule: it's where credits beyond the child tax credit — education, child care, energy, foreign tax — and extra payments you've already made reduce your bill. Download it free below.

Schedule 3 — Additional Credits and Payments

Free · Official IRS PDF · 2025 tax year · Print-ready
↓  Download Schedule 3 (PDF) Instructions: irs.gov

What is Schedule 3?

Schedule 3, Additional Credits and Payments, attaches to Form 1040 and collects what the main form's credit lines don't. Part I holds nonrefundable credits: the foreign tax credit, child and dependent care credit, education credits (American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning via Form 8863), retirement savings credit, and the residential energy credits.

Part II holds refundable credits and payments: tax paid with an extension request, excess Social Security withheld when you worked two jobs, and the net premium tax credit. Nonrefundable credits can zero out your tax; refundable amounts can come back to you even beyond it.

Who files Schedule 3?

  • Parents paying for child care — the dependent care credit flows through Form 2441 to here.
  • Students and parents of students claiming education credits.
  • Homeowners who installed solar, heat pumps, or efficiency upgrades.
  • Two-job workers who overpaid Social Security tax, and extension filers who paid in April.

Deadlines

Files with Form 1040 by the April deadline. If you paid tax with a Form 4868 extension, that payment is claimed here — forgetting it is one of the most common ways extension filers overpay.

How to fill out Schedule 3

  1. Work the companion forms first

    Most Schedule 3 lines summarize another form: 1116 (foreign tax), 2441 (child care), 8863 (education), 5695 (energy).

  2. Enter nonrefundable credits in Part I

    These reduce tax dollar-for-dollar, down to — but not below — zero.

  3. Enter payments and refundable credits in Part II

    Extension payments, excess Social Security from multiple employers, and the net premium tax credit.

  4. Total each part to Form 1040

    Part I joins the credit lines; Part II joins the payments section.

  5. Keep the backup

    Tuition statements (1098-T), childcare provider EINs, and installer invoices support the claims.

Schedule 3 — frequently asked questions

A deduction reduces the income you're taxed on; a credit reduces the tax itself, dollar for dollar. A $1,000 credit is worth $1,000; a $1,000 deduction is worth $1,000 times your tax bracket.
Nonrefundable credits (Part I) can only reduce your tax to zero. Refundable credits and payments (Part II) can produce a refund beyond that — money back even if you owe nothing.
Each employer withholds 6.2% up to the annual wage base, not knowing about the other. If your combined wages passed the base, the excess withholding comes back as a credit on Schedule 3, Part II.
Schedule 3, Part II — "amount paid with request for extension to file." Enter it, or your final return won't credit the April payment and you'll overpay.

Related IRS forms

Schedule 2Additional TaxesForm 1040U.S. Individual Income Tax ReturnForm 4868Application for Automatic Extension of Time to FileSchedule 1Additional Income and Adjustments to Income

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Important: BizDocs is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Internal Revenue Service. The forms offered on this page are official, unmodified IRS documents provided free as a public resource; the IRS publishes them in the public domain at irs.gov. The guides on this page are general information, not tax or legal advice — tax rules change and depend on your situation, so verify details in the official IRS instructions or with a qualified tax professional before filing.