Schedule C for Single-Member LLCs and Sole Proprietors

Get the official form from irs.gov: Schedule C (Form 1040) and the Schedule C instructions.

So what is the Schedule C tax form? It's the two-page schedule where a self-employed person reports business income and expenses, titled Profit or Loss From Business. The profit on line 31 flows to your Form 1040 (Schedule 1, line 3) and to Schedule SE, where self-employment tax is figured. Below: who needs to file Schedule C, the 2027 dates and the deductions that matter most for small business taxes.

Who needs to file Schedule C

• Sole proprietors: anyone running a business or side business in their own name, including freelancers and gig workers.
• Single-member LLCs: the IRS instructions say that if you are the sole member of a domestic LLC, you file Schedule C, unless the LLC elected to be taxed as a corporation (Form 8832 or Form 2553).
• Statutory employees (box 13 checked on their W-2): they report that income and the related expenses on Schedule C.

An LLC owned by spouses generally files Form 1065, because the qualified joint venture election that lets spouses each file Schedule C isn't available for a business held in an LLC. Our guide to which tax form your LLC or corporation files and our Form 1065 guide cover the other options.

When does an LLC have to file taxes? Schedule C dates

A single-member LLC has no separate federal due date. Single-member LLC taxes are due with the owner's Form 1040.

Estimated payments are generally required if you expect to owe $1,000 or more after withholding and credits. New Jersey residents may also need NJ-1040-ES payments if they expect to owe more than $400 in New Jersey tax. Our quarterly estimated tax calculator and 2027 tax deadlines tool help with both.

Self-employment tax on Schedule C profit

Self-employment tax is Social Security and Medicare for people who work for themselves. The rate is 15.3% (12.4% Social Security and 2.9% Medicare), and it generally applies to 92.35% of net earnings. You owe it once net earnings from self-employment reach $400, and you can deduct half of it when figuring adjusted gross income.

Example: $50,000 of Schedule C profit x 92.35% = $46,175, and $46,175 x 15.3% is about $7,065 of self-employment tax, before any income tax. Our 1099 tax calculator runs the full estimate.

Schedule C deductions worth tracking

• Car and truck (line 9): the 2026 standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents a mile for January 1 to June 30 and 76 cents for July 1 to December 31. Keep a log of business miles. Try our mileage deduction calculator.
• Business use of home (line 30): with the simplified method, $5 per square foot of space used regularly and exclusively for business, up to 300 square feet ($1,500). A 200-square-foot office is $1,000. Compare both methods with our home office deduction calculator.
• Contractors: payments to contractors are deductible, and for 2026 payments the Form 1099-NEC threshold is $2,000.
• Qualified business income deduction: Schedule C profit may qualify for a deduction of up to 20% of net qualified business income, figured on Form 8995 or 8995-A. It lowers income tax, not self-employment tax.

Merchant Financial Advisory (MFA), an accounting, tax and business solutions provider in Princeton, New Jersey, helps sole proprietors and single-member LLC owners in New Jersey, New York and nationwide with Schedule C returns, estimated taxes and clean books. See our tax and bookkeeping services, read which tax form your business files and our Form 1065 guide for LLCs, or pick up a ready-made tracker in the MFA shop.