Who has to file Schedule C?

Most people who run a business on their own, with no partners and no corporation, file Schedule C. That includes freelancers, contractors, and gig drivers. The business must be run to make a profit. A hobby does not count. Farms use Schedule F instead. If you own more than one business, you fill in a separate Schedule C for each one.

Is Schedule C the same as a 1099?

They are two different forms. A 1099-NEC is the form a client sends you to show what they paid you. All the money your business took in goes on line 1 of Schedule C, with or without a 1099. Schedule C is also where you list your business costs.

How do I use the Schedule C template?

Click "Make a copy in Google Sheets" and the template opens in your own Google Drive. Add each business cost on the Expenses tab as you pay it, and pick its line from the list. The Schedule C tab adds up every line, counts half of your meals, and shows about how much federal tax your write-offs save. The Excel file works the same way.

How is the tax you save figured?

Self-employment tax is 15.3% of 92.35% of your profit, and the Social Security part stops at $184,500 of earnings in 2026. Income tax is your tax bracket on your profit, after half of your self-employment tax and the 20% qualified business income write-off. If you type line 1, the math compares the tax on your profit with and without your write-offs. State tax is left out, and high incomes may get less than the full 20%.

When do you owe self-employment tax?

You owe self-employment tax when your net earnings from self-employment are $400 or more for the year. Net earnings are 92.35% of your Schedule C profit. You file it on Schedule SE, and you write off half of it on Schedule 1.

Schedule C line by line: what goes on each line in 2026

Name: Receipts Shoeboxed customers saved most, by category, 2025 to 2026
Creator: Shoeboxed

Schedule C is the page of your tax return where you report what your business took in and what it spent. Each kind of business cost goes on its own line. The table below shows what goes on each one, and our free template adds them up for you.

Get the free Schedule C template See every line

Updated November 10, 2026 by Doug, owner of Shoeboxed. Line names from the 2026 IRS Schedule C. Rules from the IRS Schedule C instructions.

What goes on each Schedule C line

Line 1 is the money your business took in, with or without a 1099. Lines 2 to 7 come from line 1 and line 4. The costs start at line 8.

Line	What goes there
4	Cost of goods sold What you paid for goods you sold, like parts and materials you bill to customers.
8	Advertising Ads, flyers, signs, and business cards. What goes on line 8
9	Car and truck expenses Business miles times the IRS rate (72.5¢ a mile before July 1, 2026, and 76¢ from July 1), or the business share of your real car bills. Pick one way. Mileage calculator
10	Commissions and fees Commissions and fees you pay others for your business. What goes on line 10
11	Contract labor What you pay contractors and freelancers. What goes on line 11
12	Depletion Only if you own oil, gas, mineral, or timber property.
13	Depreciation and section 179 expense deduction Equipment that lasts more than a year. An item of $2,500 or less can go on line 27b instead.
14	Employee benefit programs Health plans and other benefits for your employees. Not your own health insurance.
15	Insurance (other than health) Business insurance, like liability, fire, and theft. Car insurance goes on line 9. What goes on line 15
16a	Interest, mortgage Mortgage interest on a business building, from your bank's Form 1098. What goes on line 16a
16b	Interest, vehicle loan The business share of your car loan interest. What goes on line 16b
16c	Interest, other Interest on other business loans. What goes on line 16c
17	Legal and professional services Accountants, lawyers, and tax prep for your business. What goes on line 17
18	Office expense Paper, ink, and other office supplies, plus postage. What goes on line 18
19	Pension and profit-sharing plans Retirement plans for your employees. Not your own retirement savings.
20a	Rent or lease, vehicles, machinery, and equipment Renting a truck, a machine, or other equipment. What goes on line 20a
20b	Rent or lease, other business property Rent for an office, a shop, or storage space. What goes on line 20b
21	Repairs and maintenance Repairs that keep your equipment and space working the way they did. What goes on line 21
22	Supplies Supplies used up this year, like rags, cleaning supplies, and small parts.
23	Taxes and licenses Business licenses and property tax on business property. What goes on line 23
24a	Travel Plane, train, and hotel costs for overnight business trips. Daily rates by city
24b	Deductible meals Half of each business meal, in most cases. What goes on line 24b
25	Utilities Power, water, and phone for a business space outside your home. What goes on line 25
26	Wages What you pay your employees. Not what you pay yourself.
27a	Energy efficient commercial buildings deduction Rare. Only for making a business building use less energy.
27b	Other expenses Business costs that fit no other line. You list each one on page 2 of Schedule C.
30	Expenses for business use of your home $5 a square foot of space used only for business, up to $1,500. Or the business share of your real home bills. Home office calculator

Line 28 is the total of lines 8 to 27b. Line 31 is your profit, what is left after your costs and your home office on line 30.

Free Schedule C expense tracker for Google Sheets and Excel

Add each business cost as you pay it and pick its Schedule C line from a list. The template adds up every line on its own tab, counts half of your meals, and shows about how much federal tax your write-offs save. It has room for 1,000 costs.

Make a copy in Google Sheets Download for Excel (.xlsx)

Schedule C expense tracker template in Google Sheets, Expenses tab with a Schedule C line for each cost — The Expenses tab. Pick a line for each cost.

Schedule C template totals by line, with line 28 total expenses and the federal tax saved — The Schedule C tab adds up each line for you.

See what your write-offs save you

Type your totals. The numbers stay in this browser.

Business costs for the year

Everything but meals, including your home office.

Business meals, the full bills

Half counts as a write-off.

Money your business took in (optional)

Line 1. Leave it blank if you don't know yet.

Your federal tax bracket

Not sure? Leave it at 12%.

Your federal tax bill drops about $0.

$0 in write-offs saves $0 in self-employment tax and $0 in income tax.

An estimate of federal tax only, using the one tax rate you picked. How it's figured.

Which line does a cost go on? Type what you bought.

Meals are the receipt our customers save most

2,716 Shoeboxed customers uploaded 116,236 meal and entertainment receipts in the last 12 months, more than any other kind. Only the meals are write-offs, and in most cases half of each business meal goes on line 24b.

How many Shoeboxed customers uploaded each kind of receipt, and its Schedule C line

Customers who uploaded each kind of receipt

MealsLine 24b, half of each meal

2,716
Gas and car costsLine 9, or use the IRS rate per mile instead

2,354
Office suppliesLine 18

2,327
Professional feesLine 17

1,795
PostageLine 18

1,430
AdvertisingLine 8

1,149
UtilitiesLine 25, or 30 at home

1,030
Business insuranceLine 15

689

Shoeboxed counted the receipts customers uploaded from November 7, 2025, to November 7, 2026, by the category they filed each one under. Each customer counts once per category. General store, grocery, and travel receipts are left out, because their line depends on what was bought or why.

Questions about Schedule C

Schedule C is the page of your federal tax return where you report a business you own by yourself. The IRS calls it "Profit or Loss From Business." You list what the business took in and what it spent. The profit at the bottom, on line 31, is what you pay income tax and self-employment tax on.

Keep every receipt behind your Schedule C in one place

Snap receipts with the Shoeboxed app, forward the ones that come by email, or mail the paper ones to us in a prepaid envelope, and we scan them. They wait in one place, ready for your tax preparer.

See how Shoeboxed keeps your receipts