What this line means
The dollar amount you want deposited into the first bank account identified on lines 1a and 1b. This does not have to be an equal share of your refund — you choose exactly how much goes here. The remaining refund goes to the other accounts or savings bond purchases listed on the rest of Form 8888. All amounts on the form must add up to your total refund on line 6.
Does this apply to you?
- You are splitting your refund and want a specific dollar amount deposited into your first account
- You want most of your refund in one account and a smaller portion directed elsewhere
- You are allocating part of your refund to savings bonds and the rest to this account
Easy to overlook
You can put the entire refund into one account through Form 8888 Even though Form 8888 is designed for splitting refunds, you can direct 100% to a single account and use lines 4a or 5a for savings bond purchases with a zero amount. Filers sometimes think they must use all three account slots. You only fill in the accounts you actually want to use. 1 IRS Form 8888 instructions — Line 1c
Cents matter in the total The amounts on lines 1c, 2c, 3c, 4a, and 5a must add up to the exact refund amount on Form 1040 line 35a, down to the penny. A rounding error of even one cent causes the IRS to reject the allocation and mail a single paper check for the full refund amount. 2 General filing pattern — refund allocation math errors
Watch out for this
Entering your total refund amount on line 1c instead of just the portion intended for this account. If line 1c equals your full refund and you also entered amounts on lines 2c, 3c, 4a, or 5a, the total on line 6 will exceed your actual refund. The IRS will reject the form and send the entire refund as a paper check to your mailing address.
Footnotes
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IRS Form 8888 Instructions, Line 1c. https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8888 ↩
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IRS Form 8888 Instructions, Line 6. https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8888 ↩