Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss from Business (Sole Proprietorship)

If you are the sole owner of a business or operate as an independent contractor, you will need to file a Schedule C to report income or loss from your business activities.

If you have $400 or more of business income over and above your expenses, you need to file a Schedule C or C-EZ, and a Schedule SE to pay self-employment tax, even if you would not otherwise have enough income to be required to file a tax return.

Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss from Business (Sole Proprietorship)

Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss from Business (Sole Proprietorship)

The files are in Adobe portable document format (PDF), which requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is available, without charge, at the Adobe website.

For more information, see our discussion of Schedule C.