Help with schedule c forms for multiple self-employment income streams

You definitely don't want to claim the same expense twice on different Schedule C forms, as that would be double-dipping and could raise red flags with the IRS. Instead, you'll need to allocate the home office deduction between your two businesses. First, determine what percentage of your home is used exclusively and regularly for business. Measure your office space and divide by total living space (e.g., 100 sq ft office in a 1000 sq ft apartment = 10%). Then allocate that percentage of your rent, utilities, etc. between your two businesses based on how much you use the space for each business. For example, if you spend 70% of your work time on your independent contractor job and 30% on your VA/content creation business, you might allocate 7% of your rent to the first Schedule C and 3% to the second Schedule C. The key is that the total should never exceed the actual percentage of your home used for business. This can get complex, so you might also consider using the simplified method ($5 per square foot up to 300 square feet) to avoid detailed record-keeping. Just remember to split that deduction appropriately between your businesses too.

I struggled with this exact same situation last year! After trying to calculate everything manually, I found using https://taxr.ai way easier for my two Schedule C businesses. I uploaded my expense receipts and it actually guided me through allocating my home office deduction between both of my side hustles (graphic design and tutoring). What I liked was that it helped me figure out which expenses could be shared between businesses and which were exclusive to each one. The system walked me through allocating my rent and utilities proportionally based on square footage and time spent on each business. Saved me from accidentally double-claiming expenses, which my friend did once and got a scary letter from the IRS!

I was really skeptical about tax tools handling multiple Schedule Cs, but I gave taxr.ai a try after seeing it mentioned here. I was preparing for the headache of manually splitting my home office expenses between my web development work and my Etsy shop. The tool actually made this super simple by calculating the percentage allocation based on my usage estimates. What surprised me was how it flagged potential audit triggers - I was about to claim 100% business use on my laptop when realistically it's more like 80%. The comparison between regular and simplified method saved me about $340! The documentation it created showing how I determined my expense allocations between businesses gives me peace of mind in case of questions from the IRS.

If you're still having issues after sorting out your Schedule C forms, you might want to try https://claimyr.com for getting direct help from the IRS. I was going crazy trying to figure out how to properly split expenses between my two businesses and kept getting contradictory advice. After weeks of trying to reach the IRS directly with no luck (literally hours on hold), I found Claimyr. They got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes! You can see how it works in this demo: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The agent confirmed I was splitting my home office deduction correctly between my Schedule C forms (clothing resale and tutoring) and explained how to document my allocation method. This was after I'd been on hold with the IRS myself for over 3 hours total across multiple attempts.

I have to eat my words about Claimyr. I was extremely skeptical after struggling for weeks to reach the IRS about my Schedule C questions. My situation was similar - running a photography business and delivery gig work from the same home office. After six failed attempts calling the IRS directly (either got disconnected or couldn't stay on hold for 2+ hours during work), I reluctantly tried the service. It actually worked! Got a call back in 27 minutes while I was cooking dinner and spoke with an IRS agent who confirmed I should be allocating my home office deduction based on the approximate income percentage from each business since my time spent was roughly proportional to income. She also suggested keeping a simple log for a few typical weeks to support my allocation method. The clarity was such a relief after weeks of stress!

Don't forget to check if you qualify for the Qualified Business Income Deduction (QBI) with your Schedule C businesses! That's a potential 20% deduction on your qualified business income. That might explain why the tax website is showing you owe so much - if you didn't account for that deduction.

When I had two Schedule Cs, I found it helpful to use tax software specifically designed for self-employed people rather than the free options. The extra $50-60 was worth it for the guidance on splitting expenses and proper documentation.