What are the expense categories on Schedule C?

Part II of Schedule C has 24 numbered expense lines, 8 through 27b: Advertising, Car and truck expenses, Commissions and fees, Contract labor, Depletion, Depreciation and section 179, Employee benefit programs, Insurance, Mortgage interest, Other interest, Legal and professional services, Office expense, Pension and profit-sharing plans, Rent or lease of vehicles and machinery, Rent or lease of other business property, Repairs and maintenance, Supplies, Taxes and licenses, Travel, Deductible meals, Utilities, Wages, Energy efficient commercial buildings deduction, and Other expenses. Business use of your home is not in Part II. It goes on line 30.

Can I claim mileage and actual car expenses in the same year?

No, it's one or the other for a given vehicle in a given year. Both land on line 9, Car and truck expenses. Either you take the IRS standard mileage rate for your business miles, or you total the actual costs of running the vehicle and take the business-use share.

Where do health insurance premiums and retirement contributions go?

Not on Schedule C, in most cases. Self-employed health insurance premiums and SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k) contributions for yourself are deductions on Schedule 1 of Form 1040 rather than business expenses in Part II. Line 15 Insurance is for business insurance other than health, and line 19 Pension and profit-sharing plans is for plans covering your employees.

Schedule C Expense Categories: What Goes on Each Line

Q: Which line is the home office deduction on?

Line 30, not Part II. The form says so on the Part II heading itself: enter expenses for business use of your home only on line 30. Line 30 also says not to report those expenses anywhere else, so rent and utilities for a home office don't belong on lines 20b or 25.

Q: Is line 27a where other expenses go?

Not any more, and a lot of older guides still say it is. On the current form, line 27a is the energy efficient commercial buildings deduction, which attaches Form 7205. Other expenses is line 27b, and the total comes from line 48 in Part V, where you list them out.

Every expense line on Schedule C, and what belongs on it

There are 24 numbered expense lines, and the hard part isn't finding them. It's that your actual spending doesn't announce which one it belongs to. There's no line called software, none called bank fees, and the one place most people look for their home office isn't in Part II at all. Here's the full deductions list as the IRS prints it, then where the everyday things go.

The 24 expense lines

Line	As the form says	What tends to land here
8	Advertising	Ads, printing, business cards, a logo, your website
9	Car and truck expenses	Standard mileage or actual costs, one or the other
10	Commissions and fees	Referral cuts, sales commissions, agent fees
11	Contract labor	Freelancers and subcontractors. 1099-NEC if over $600
12	Depletion	Natural resources. Rare outside extraction work
13	Depreciation and section 179 expense deduction	Laptops, cameras, equipment that lasts beyond a year
14	Employee benefit programs (other than on line 19)	Benefits for employees, not for you as the owner
15	Insurance (other than health)	Liability, professional indemnity, business property
16a	Interest: Mortgage (paid to banks, etc.)	Mortgage interest on business property
16b	Interest: Other	Business loan and business credit card interest
17	Legal and professional services	Accountant, attorney, bookkeeper
18	Office expense	Software and subscriptions usually sit here, plus postage
19	Pension and profit-sharing plans	Plans for your employees. Your own goes on Schedule 1
20a	Rent or lease: Vehicles, machinery, and equipment	Leased equipment, rented gear
20b	Rent or lease: Other business property	Office or studio rent, coworking. Not a home office
21	Repairs and maintenance	Fixing equipment or business premises
22	Supplies (not included in Part III)	Consumables used up in the work itself
23	Taxes and licenses	Business licenses, permits, payroll taxes, sales tax paid
24a	Travel	Flights, hotels, ground transport. What you actually paid
24b	Deductible meals	Business meals, limited. Note who and why
25	Utilities	Power and internet for a dedicated business space
26	Wages (less employment credits)	Payroll for employees. Not owner draws
27a	Energy efficient commercial bldgs deduction	Attaches Form 7205. Not a catch-all, despite older guides
27b	Other expenses (from line 48)	The real catch-all. Itemize them in Part V

Line numbers and labels are quoted from the IRS Schedule C (Form 1040), read July 24, 2026. The right-hand column is plain-English guidance, not the form's wording. Check the instructions before you file.

Five places people put things on the wrong line

The home office isn't in Part II. The heading of Part II says it outright: enter expenses for business use of your home only on line 30. Line 30 then says not to report those expenses anywhere else. So the rent and the electricity for the room you work in don't go on 20b and 25 as well. It's one place or the other, and for a home office it's line 30.

Line 27a stopped being the catch-all. Plenty of articles still say other expenses go on 27a. On the current form 27a is the energy efficient commercial buildings deduction, which attaches Form 7205. The catch-all is 27b, and its total comes from line 48 down in Part V, where you write out what those other expenses actually were.

Mileage or actual costs, never both. Both roads end at line 9. Either you take the standard mileage rate for your business miles, or you add up what the vehicle really cost to run and claim the business share. Picking one per vehicle per year is the rule people most often trip over, usually by taking mileage and then adding gas receipts on top.

Your own health insurance and retirement aren't business expenses. They're still deductions, just on Schedule 1 of your 1040 rather than in Part II. Line 15 is insurance other than health, and line 19 is for plans covering employees. Deducting your own premiums on Schedule C is a common and expensive mistake, because it also changes the profit your self-employment tax is calculated on.

There's no software line, and that's fine. People hunt for one, then invent a spot. Most business software and subscriptions sit on line 18 with office expense. Anything genuinely without a home goes to 27b through Part V, described in your own words. A well-named other expense is better than a wrong line.

Where everyday spending goes

This is the mapping Expense Tracker for Sheets™ uses. Each category it offers is tied to the Schedule C line it belongs to, so the year's total arrives already sorted by line rather than as a pile you sort in April.

What you spent it on	Where it goes
Stripe, PayPal, Square fees	Part V, carried to line 27b
Etsy or eBay transaction fees	Line 10, commissions and fees
Interest on a business loan or card	Line 16b, not a personal card
Software and subscriptions	Line 18, office expense
Phone and internet	Line 25, business-use share only
A course, a book, a conference	Part V, carried to line 27b
Laptop or camera	Line 13, depreciation or section 179
Coworking desk	Line 20b
Room in your house	Line 30, on its own
Miles driven to a client	Line 9, mileage or actual, not both
Lunch with a client	Line 24b, limited, note who and why
Your own health insurance	Schedule 1, not Schedule C
SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k) for yourself	Schedule 1, not Schedule C

What you spent it on

Where it goes

Stripe, PayPal, Square fees

Part V, carried to line 27b

Etsy or eBay transaction fees

Line 10, commissions and fees

Interest on a business loan or card

Line 16b, not a personal card

Software and subscriptions

Line 18, office expense

Phone and internet

Line 25, business-use share only

A course, a book, a conference

Part V, carried to line 27b

Laptop or camera

Line 13, depreciation or section 179

Coworking desk

Line 20b

Room in your house

Line 30, on its own

Miles driven to a client

Line 9, mileage or actual, not both

Lunch with a client

Line 24b, limited, note who and why

Your own health insurance

Schedule 1, not Schedule C

SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k) for yourself

Schedule 1, not Schedule C

Where mileage goes on Schedule C

Line 9, Car and truck expenses. With the standard mileage rate you multiply your business miles by the IRS rate for the year, and that dollar figure goes on line 9. You also answer the vehicle questions in Part IV, which asks when the car went into service and how the year's miles split between business, commuting, and everything else. If you deduct actual costs instead, meaning gas, repairs, insurance and depreciation, the business-use share of those goes on the same line 9. Parking and tolls ride along on line 9 either way. They aren't part of the mileage rate, so you can claim them on top of it.

What belongs on line 10, Commissions and fees

Commissions you paid so a sale could happen: sales commissions, referral and finder's fees, and the selling fees a marketplace or platform charges you. Two things that look similar belong somewhere else. Payments to contractors for their work go on line 11, Contract labor. Routine bank and card-processing charges usually land in Part V and carry up to line 27b, Other expenses.

What “Misc Exp (Other)” means on Schedule C

Schedule C itself has no line with that name. It's bookkeeping-software language, and it maps to line 27b, Other expenses. Line 27b isn't a junk drawer, though: it's the total of a named list you write out in Part V, one entry per expense type, like software, bank fees, or education. Anything that genuinely fits a numbered line should go on that line instead, and Part V is only for what's left over.

Common questions

There's no software line. Most people put business software and subscriptions on line 18, office expense, and that's the usual home for it. Anything with no natural line goes to other expenses, which you itemize in Part V and carry to line 27b.

Line 30, not Part II. The form says so in the Part II heading itself: enter expenses for business use of your home only on line 30. Line 30 also says not to report those expenses elsewhere, so a home office's rent and utilities don't belong on 20b or 25 as well.

No, it's one or the other for a given vehicle in a given year, and both land on line 9. Either take the IRS standard mileage rate for your business miles, or total what the vehicle actually cost to run and take the business-use share.

Not any more, though plenty of older guides still say so. On the current form, 27a is the energy efficient commercial buildings deduction and attaches Form 7205. Other expenses is 27b, and its total comes from line 48 in Part V.

Usually not on Schedule C at all. Self-employed health insurance premiums and your own SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k) contributions are deductions on Schedule 1 of Form 1040. Line 15 covers insurance other than health, and line 19 covers plans for your employees.

No. Your records only have to let you fill the form in honestly and back it up if anyone asks. Keeping your own categories tied to a line is simply less work later. That's what Expense Tracker does: you pick a plain category and it carries the Schedule C line with it. The backing-up half is its own small system: how to save Gmail™ receipts to Drive, and find them later.

Line numbers and labels come from the IRS Schedule C (Form 1040), read July 24, 2026. Tax rules change and forms get renumbered, so check the current instructions before filing. Nothing here is tax advice, and Marinette isn't a tax adviser.

Every expense line on Schedule C, and what belongs on it