Schedule C Deductions Checklist for the Self-Employed (2026)
A practical, line-by-line checklist of every Schedule C deduction worth knowing — with the receipts you need to back each one up.
If you're self-employed in the US, Schedule C is where your business income and expenses get reported. Every legitimate deduction you list reduces both your income tax and your 15.3% self-employment tax — so missed deductions cost you double.
Here's the practical checklist.
Line 8 — Advertising
Facebook ads, Google ads, business cards, sponsored posts, website hosting (if used as marketing), trade-show fees. Keep ad-platform invoices and any creative-services receipts.
Line 9 — Car & truck expenses
Either standard mileage (72.5¢/mile for January–June 2026 and 76¢/mile for July–December 2026 — verify the IRS rate for each trip date) or actual expenses (gas, maintenance, insurance, depreciation). You can't switch methods on a leased vehicle once you start with actual expenses.
Line 10 — Commissions and fees
Payments to non-employees who help you close business. Includes affiliate payouts, sales commissions, and payment-processor fees.
Line 11 — Contract labor
1099 contractors you paid more than $600. You'll also need to file 1099-NEC for each of them by January 31.
Line 13 — Depreciation
Bigger equipment ($2,500+ generally) is depreciated over its useful life — though Section 179 lets you deduct most of it in year one. Keep the original purchase receipt forever.
Line 15 — Insurance (other than health)
Business liability, errors-and-omissions, professional indemnity, equipment insurance. Health insurance for the self-employed goes above the line on Schedule 1, not here.
Line 17 — Legal and professional services
Lawyers, accountants, consultants, even tax-prep fees for your business return. Personal tax-prep is no longer deductible.
Line 18 — Office expense
Pens, paper, printer ink, postage, software subscriptions used for office tasks.
Line 22 — Supplies
Materials consumed in producing your goods or service. For inventory you sell, use cost-of-goods-sold (Part III) instead.
Line 24a / 24b — Travel and meals
Travel away from your tax home for business is 100% deductible. Meals are 50% deductible (some exceptions). Always note the business purpose and attendees on every meal receipt.
Line 25 — Utilities
Business phone, business internet (or business-use percentage of personal), electricity for a dedicated office space.
Line 27a — Other expenses
Software subscriptions, continuing education, books and subscriptions in your field, dues to professional organizations. List each category with its total.
Line 30 — Home office
Either the simplified method ($5/sq ft up to 300 sq ft = $1,500 max) or actual expenses (percentage of mortgage interest, utilities, depreciation). The space must be regularly and exclusively used for business.
Tip: in DocuSpending, default categories already map to the most common Schedule C lines. Tag each receipt as you upload, then filter by category at year end for a clean total per line.
If you're not currently capturing receipts against these categories, you're almost certainly leaving money on the table — and the fix takes about 5 minutes a week.
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