This Schedule I Form 1041 2026 guide explains the IRS Alternative Minimum Tax-Estates and Trusts. Schedule I for Form 1041 calculates the alternative minimum tax information required for estates and trusts. Regular taxable income, adjustments and fiduciary-specific calculations should follow this schedule rather than the individual AMT form.
Reviewed October 31, 2026. This is an independent guide. The version and availability information below identifies the IRS documents used for this page.
What Schedule I Form 1041 2026 does and who prepares it
A fiduciary uses the schedule when an estate or trust alternative minimum tax calculation is required.
For the connected reporting route, see Form 1041. Keep the role of that document separate from the task explained on this page.
| Official form | Form 1041 (Schedule I) |
|---|---|
| IRS title | Alternative Minimum Tax-Estates and Trusts |
| Guide period | 2026 |
| Target version | 2026 |
| Availability | Draft — not for filing |
| Last checked | October 31, 2026 |
Get the Schedule I Form 1041 2026 PDF and check its status
Use the IRS source to confirm the document before completing a real filing. The download link is a reference to the official file; it is not a statement that every copy inside the PDF may be printed and submitted. Follow any instructions about electronic filing, scannable copies, recipient copies or attachments.
Which version of Schedule I Form 1041 2026 should you use?
The 2026 in the title identifies the tax year or calendar-year information addressed by this guide. For a 2026 income reporting document, the preparation or filing activity may occur in 2027. Do not change the income year simply because the calendar has changed. The exact filing or furnishing date comes from the instructions for this form and the filer circumstances. The linked target PDF is a draft. It may be used to understand the proposed layout, but it is not a form to file. Amounts or instructions still subject to completion must be checked again when the final version is released.
Records to gather for Schedule I Form 1041 2026
- Fiduciary regular tax calculation.
- Adjustment and preference workpapers.
- Distribution calculations.
- Prior minimum-tax information.
- Supporting schedules.
Keep a working reconciliation with these records. It should show the source of each reported item, any correction made before filing and the reason a different amount appears on a connected form. This is especially useful when a statement is corrected or a prior-year balance continues into the current calculation.
How to work through Schedule I Form 1041 2026
- Confirm applicability. Start with the purpose, filer category and version of the form. Complete any eligibility or applicability question before spending time on the numerical calculation.
- Prepare the source workpapers. Gather the records listed below and reconcile their totals. Keep prior-year balances, current-year transactions and estimated payments separate where they serve different purposes.
- Complete dependent calculations first. When a line refers to another form, schedule or worksheet, finish that supporting calculation first. Preserve any classification, limitation and carryforward information.
- Follow the line sequence. Use the actual line labels and arithmetic in the applicable form. A line number from an older version may refer to something different after a revision.
- Reconcile the filing package. Check names, identifying numbers, tax periods, totals and required attachments. Then use the filing method, signature process and deadline that apply to this filer and form.
Form-specific IRS instructions and reporting details
The following points retain the operative wording of the IRS documents linked above. Read each point with its stated conditions and the applicable form version. References to another form or section describe a connected requirement; they do not mean that every reader must file every referenced document.
Use Schedule I (Form 1041) to figure: • The estate's or trust's alternative minimum taxable income, • The income distribution deduction on a minimum tax basis, and • The estate's or trust's alternative minimum tax (AMT).
Electing Small Business Trusts (ESBTs). An ESBT must figure the AMT for the S and non-S portions of the trust on separate Schedules I (Form 1041). The Schedule I for each portion includes only the income, deductions, and credits attributable to that portion.
Additional reporting conditions
Schedule I (Form 1041) contains adjustments and tax preference items that are treated differently for regular tax and AMT purposes. If you, as fiduciary for the estate or trust, completed a form to figure an item for regular tax purposes, you may have to complete it a second time for AMT purposes. Generally, the difference between the amounts on the two forms is the AMT adjustment or tax preference item to enter on Schedule I.
Except for Form 1116, Foreign Tax Credit (Individual, Estate, or Trust), any additional form completed for AMT purposes doesn't have to be filed with Form 1041. For regular tax purposes, some deductions and credits may result in carrybacks or carryforwards to other tax years. Examples are investment interest expense, a net operating loss deduction (NOLD), a capital loss, and the foreign tax credit. Because these items may be refigured for the AMT, the carryback or carryforward amount may be different for regular and AMT purposes.
Therefore, you should keep records of these different carryforward and carryback amounts for the AMT and regular tax. The AMT carryforward will be important in completing Schedule I for 2027.
Estates and trusts that paid AMT in 2025, or had a minimum tax credit carryforward from the 2025 Form 8801, Credit for Prior Year Minimum Tax—Individuals, Estates, and Trusts, may be eligible for a minimum tax credit in 2026. See Form 8801.
Calculations and supporting information
Specific Instructions Caution: ESBTs. Use a separate Schedule I (Form 1041) to figure the AMT for the S portion of the trust. Add the notation “ESBT” to the top of the Schedule I and attach it to the tax computation attachment for Form 1041. See the ESBT Tax Worksheet in the Instructions for Form 1041. Where these instructions refer to completing other forms and worksheets, you must complete separate forms and worksheets for the S and non-S portions of the trust.
Where necessary, add an “ESBT” notation at the top of the form or worksheet to show it relates to the computation for the S portion of the trust.
Exceptions and related reporting
Step 2. On line 2, enter the AMT disallowed investment interest expense from 2025. Step 3. When completing Part II of the AMT Form 4952, refigure gross income from property held for investment, any net gain from the disposition of property held for investment, net capital gain from the disposition of property held for investment, and any investment expenses, taking into account all AMT adjustments and tax preference items that apply. Include any interest income and investment expenses from private activity bonds issued after August 7, 1986.
When completing line 4g of the AMT Form 4952, enter the smaller of: • The amount from line 4g of the regular tax Form 4952, or • The total of lines 4b and 4e of the AMT Form 4952. Step 4. Complete Part III. Enter on Schedule I (Form 1041), line 2, the difference between line 8 of the AMT Form 4952 and line 8 of the regular tax Form 4952. If the AMT deduction is greater, enter the difference as a negative amount.
Further form details
Enter any adjustment for amounts reported on Form 8949, Schedule D (Form 1041), Form 4684, or Form 4797 for the activity on line 11 instead of line 21. • Biodiesel and renewable diesel fuels credit. If the adjusted total income (Form 1041, line 17) includes the amount of the biodiesel and renewable diesel fuels credit, include that amount as a negative amount on line 21. • Related adjustments.
AMT adjustments and tax preference items may affect deductions that are based on an income limit other than adjusted gross income (AGI) or modified AGI (for example, farm conservation expenses). Refigure these deductions using the income limit as modified for the AMT. Include the difference between the regular tax and AMT deduction on line 21. If the AMT deduction is more than the regular tax deduction, include the difference as a negative amount.
Caution: Don’t make an adjustment on line 21 for an item you refigured on another line of Schedule I (for example, line 5). Business interest limitation. Complete an AMT Form 8990 using amounts adjusted for AMT. Enter the difference between the AMT and regular tax allowable interest expense. If line 30 of the AMT Form 8990 is more than the amount on line 30 of the regular tax Form 8890, enter the difference as a negative amount.
Further form details
Line 28—Adjusted Alternative Minimum Taxable Income Caution: The section 199A deduction is not included in the distributable net alternative minimum taxable income (DNAMTI). The section 199A deduction must be added back to the amount from line 23, Schedule I (Form 1041), to calculate the income distribution deduction on a minimum tax basis. Generally, enter on line 28, Schedule I, the amount from line 23, Schedule I, plus the amount of the section 199A deduction, if any.
However, if Form 1041, page 1, line 4, and line 23, Schedule I (after adding back the section 199A deduction) are losses, enter on line 28 the smaller of those losses. If Form 1041, line 4, is zero or a gain and line 23, Schedule I, is a loss (after adding back the section 199A deduction), enter zero on line 28.
2. Skip lines 2 and 3 of the worksheet. 3. Enter the amount from Schedule I (Form 1041), line 79, on line 4 of the worksheet. 4. Multiply line 4 of the worksheet by 0.1071 (instead of the number used for regular tax) and enter the results on line 5 of the worksheet. 5. Enter the amount from Schedule I (Form 1041), line 76, on line 6 of the worksheet. 6.
Multiply line 6 of the worksheet by 0.2857 (instead of the number used for regular tax) and enter the result on line 7 of the worksheet.
Reading the lines and boxes
These selected labels come from the linked target PDF. They are a reading aid, not a replacement for the full line instructions or a completed calculation. Match the label and document version before transferring any amount.
| Line or box | Label in the source form | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adjusted total income or (loss) (from Form 1041, line 17). ESBTs, see instructions | Follow the stated arithmetic and line references in sequence. Complete the referenced inputs first and retain the worksheet supporting the result. |
| 4 | Refund of taxes | Check the applicable line instructions and keep the source workpaper with the return records. Transfer only the information that matches the field and reporting period. |
| 5 | Depletion (difference between regular tax and AMT) | Check the applicable line instructions and keep the source workpaper with the return records. Transfer only the information that matches the field and reporting period. |
| 6 | Net operating loss deduction. Enter as a positive amount | Complete the applicable eligibility and limitation workpapers before entering an amount. The label alone does not establish that every reported expense or payment qualifies. |
| 7 | Interest from specified private activity bonds exempt from the regular tax | Check the applicable line instructions and keep the source workpaper with the return records. Transfer only the information that matches the field and reporting period. |
Further selected fields
| Line or box | Label in the source form | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Qualified small business stock (see instructions) | Check the applicable line instructions and keep the source workpaper with the return records. Transfer only the information that matches the field and reporting period. |
| 9 | Exercise of incentive stock options (excess of AMT income over regular tax income) | Identify the income or transaction category before entering a total. Preserve the distinction between gross amounts, adjustments and the resulting taxable or reportable figure. |
| 10 | Other estates and trusts (amount from Schedule K-1 (Form 1041), box 12, code A) | Check the applicable line instructions and keep the source workpaper with the return records. Transfer only the information that matches the field and reporting period. |
| 11 | Disposition of property (difference between AMT and regular tax gain or loss) | Identify the income or transaction category before entering a total. Preserve the distinction between gross amounts, adjustments and the resulting taxable or reportable figure. |
| 12 | Depreciation on assets placed in service after 1986 (difference between regular tax and AMT) | Check the applicable line instructions and keep the source workpaper with the return records. Transfer only the information that matches the field and reporting period. |
A practical example
A trust has an item treated differently for regular tax and AMT. The preparer identifies the adjustment, applies the fiduciary schedule and checks the resulting amounts against the main return.
This example illustrates the order of the review. It does not assume an unverified deduction, exemption, treaty rate or final tax amount. The applicable form instructions and the actual records determine the result.
Common mistakes to avoid with Schedule I Form 1041 2026
- Do not substitute individual AMT instructions for fiduciary rules.
- Trace each adjustment to supporting records.
- Reconcile the schedule with the main fiduciary return.
Questions about Schedule I Form 1041 2026
Does receiving or downloading this form mean I must file it?
A fiduciary uses the schedule when an estate or trust alternative minimum tax calculation is required. The form purpose and the applicable filing or furnishing conditions determine the action. Downloading a blank PDF does not itself create a filing obligation or establish eligibility for a tax benefit.
Can I file the draft PDF?
No. The linked target is marked as a draft. Use it to understand the proposed layout and prepare records, but wait for the applicable final filing version. Check the IRS source again before using any year-specific amount, worksheet or filing instruction.
What should I do if the underlying information is wrong?
Do not substitute individual AMT instructions for fiduciary rules. Keep the original record and the correction trail. The issuer correction process, an amended return and an updated certificate can be different procedures. Choose the process that matches the document and the actual error.
Which records should I keep with the completed form?
Retain the source documents, applicable worksheets, submitted version and filing or furnishing confirmations. For this form, the working file should include fiduciary regular tax calculation, adjustment and preference workpapers, distribution calculations. Keep continuing balances and prior-year support for as long as they remain relevant under the applicable recordkeeping rules.
Related forms and next steps
Use these guides when the connected issue applies to your records. Each page has its own purpose, reporting year and availability status.