What Schedule C is, in plain words
Did you earn money working for yourself? Maybe from clients, a gig app, or selling things you make. Then you fill out Schedule C. You need one for each business.
The form is simple in shape: what came in (Part I), what you spent to earn it (Part II), and the difference (line 31). Expenses only count if they were for the business.
Your profit gets taxed in two ways. It counts as income on your 1040. You also pay about 15% on it for Social Security and Medicare. That goes on Schedule SE. So every real cost you list saves you money.
Schedule C
What goes on every line
Tap any line to see what goes on it, with an example. A red dot means the number comes from a document sent to you. Most people use only some of these lines.
Schedule C
2025
Part I: Income
Part II: Expenses
Profit
Part IV: Your vehicle
From a document sent to you Rare. We don’t fill it yet
Read all 37 lines as a list
- Line 1 Gross receipts or sales
- Every dollar customers or apps paid you, whether or not you got a 1099 for it. 1099-NECs and 1099-Ks are the floor, not the total.Example: A $18,000 1099-K, a $6,000 1099-NEC and $1,000 paid in cash: $18,000 + $6,000 + $1,000 = $25,000.Comes from 1099-NEC, box 1 1099-K
- Line 2 Returns and allowances
- Refunds you gave customers.
- Line 4 Cost of goods sold
- What you paid for things you resold, figured in Part III. Service work usually has none.
- Line 5 Gross profit
- Line 1 minus line 2, minus line 4.
- Line 6 Other income
- Business income that isn't a sale: a fuel tax credit refund, a bad debt you recovered.
- Line 7 Gross income
- Lines 5 and 6 added.
- Line 8 Advertising
- Ads, business cards, a website, listing fees.
- Line 9 Car and truck expenses
- Business miles times 70 cents for 2025, plus parking and tolls. Or actual costs, if you chose that the first year you used the car.Example: 10,000 miles for work: 10,000 × $0.70 = $7,000.
- Line 10 Commissions and fees
- What an app or marketplace took off the top: service fees, booking fees, payment processing.
- Line 11 Contract labor
- People you paid who weren't employees. Over $600 each, you send them a 1099-NEC.
- Line 12 Depletion
- For oil, gas, timber. Almost nobody.We don't fill this line yet.
- Line 13 Depreciation
- Writing off equipment over several years, or all at once, from Form 4562.
- Line 14 Employee benefit programs
- Health or other benefits for employees (not you).We don't fill this line yet.
- Line 15 Insurance
- Business insurance. Not health insurance for yourself; that goes on Schedule 1.
- Line 16a Mortgage interest
- Interest on a loan for business property.
- Line 16b Other interest
- Business loans and credit cards, and the business share of car loan interest when you use actual costs.
- Line 17 Legal and professional services
- Lawyers, accountants, tax software for the business.
- Line 18 Office expense
- Postage, software subscriptions, small office items.
- Line 19 Pension and profit-sharing plans
- Retirement contributions for employees. Yours go on Schedule 1.We don't fill this line yet.
- Line 20a Rent: vehicles and equipment
- Renting or leasing a car or tools for the work.
- Line 20b Rent: other business property
- An office, a shop, a storage unit.
- Line 21 Repairs and maintenance
- Fixing business equipment or property.
- Line 22 Supplies
- Things used up in the work: materials, cleaning supplies, phone mounts, bags.
- Line 23 Taxes and licenses
- Fees for business licenses and permits.
- Line 24a Travel
- Overnight business travel: airfare, lodging, transportation away from home.We don't fill this line yet.
- Line 24b Deductible meals
- Business meals, at 50% of what you spent.We don't fill this line yet.
- Line 25 Utilities
- The business share of phone, internet and utilities.
- Line 26 Wages
- Pay to employees (not you). You'd send them W-2s.
- Line 27a Energy efficient buildings deduction
- New for 2025. A deduction for making a business building use less energy (Form 7205). Rare.We don't fill this line yet.
- Line 27b Other expenses
- Anything else ordinary and necessary that has no line, listed in Part V: bank fees, education, tools apps.
- Line 28 Total expenses
- Lines 8 through 27b, before the home office.
- Line 29 Tentative profit or loss
- Line 7 minus line 28.
- Line 30 Home office
- The easy way: $5 a square foot, up to 300 square feet. Or your real costs, on Form 8829. The space has to be used only for work, and used often.Example: A 200 square foot office: 200 × $5 = $1,000.
- Line 31 Net profit or loss
- What your business really made. You pay income tax on it, and self-employment tax too.Example: $25,000 came in and costs were $9,000: $25,000 − $9,000 = $16,000 profit.Goes to Schedule 1, line 3 and Schedule SE, line 2
- Line 44a Business miles
- Miles driven for the business: between customers, to pick up supplies, while online for an app. Not your commute.
- Line 44b Commuting miles
- Home to a regular workplace and back. These never count.
- Line 47a Do you have evidence?
- A mileage log, or app records that show the trips. The IRS asks, and a written log is the strongest answer.
What you need before you start
Gather these first. Then filling out Schedule C is mostly copying numbers.
Documents sent to you
How to fill out Schedule C
- 1
Add up what came in, from everything
Every 1099-NEC and 1099-K, plus payments with no form at all. Cash and Venmo count. The IRS matches the forms; you report the whole.
- 2
Gather expenses from your bank and card statements
Go month by month. Mark what was for the business, and keep the statements as proof.
- 3
Count your work miles
If you drive for work, miles are often one of the biggest costs you can take off. Keep a log, or use app records and your calendar.
- 4
Then Schedule SE
Profit over $400 means self-employment tax. Half of it comes back as an adjustment on Schedule 1.
What’s next
Your profit goes two places next.
Questions people ask
Do I need Schedule C for side work or gig apps?
Yes. If no one took taxes out of your pay, you worked for yourself. Your 1099-NEC or 1099-K, and any yearly summary from an app, give you the money in and the fees.
Do I need a 1099 to report the income?
No. All business income goes on line 1, with or without a form. The 1099s are what the IRS already knows about.
Can I file Schedule C with a loss?
Yes. A loss on line 31 lowers your other income, like wages. Repeated losses year after year can draw questions about whether it's a business or a hobby.
What's the minimum to file Schedule C?
There's no minimum for income tax: any business income is reported. Self-employment tax starts at $400 of profit.
Standard mileage or actual expenses?
Standard mileage (70 cents for 2025) is simpler, and it often comes out ahead. If you want it for a car, you have to choose it the first year that car is used for the business.
Hand it over
Bring the documents. We fill in Schedule C.
Start a return with the forms you have. You get a filled-in 1040 that you check, sign and mail. Free to start. The print-ready forms cost $99.