What's the process for filing Form 1040 with Schedule C for self-employment?
I launched a small pressure washing business last year, brought in about $23k in total revenue and after paying my workers I'm looking at roughly $6.5k in profit. I've got a regular job with a W2 and was planning to handle the taxes myself this time around. I know I need to file a 1040 and include a Schedule C for the business income. What I'm confused about is whether software like FreeTaxUSA or TurboTax automatically creates these forms for me based on the info I enter, or do I have to fill out the actual 1040 and Schedule C forms separately through the IRS website and then somehow attach them to what I do through the tax software? Really appreciate any help on this! First time dealing with a side business on my taxes.
18 comments
Join the conversation
Omar Hassan
You don't need to fill out anything separately! That's the beauty of tax software like TurboTax and FreeTaxUSA - they handle all the form creation for you. When you use either of those programs, they'll ask you questions about your business income and expenses, then automatically generate both your Form 1040 and Schedule C based on your answers. The software takes care of all the calculations and proper placement of numbers on the forms. You never have to download or separately complete IRS forms. At the end of the process, the software compiles everything into a complete tax return package with all required forms. Then you can either e-file directly through the software or print and mail if you prefer. Either way, you don't have to separately create any forms with the IRS.
0 coins
Chloe Taylor
•Thanks for the info! Quick follow-up - do both FreeTaxUSA and TurboTax handle self-employment taxes the same way? And is one generally better than the other for small business owners with modest income?
0 coins
Omar Hassan
•Both FreeTaxUSA and TurboTax handle self-employment taxes in a similar way - they'll calculate your Schedule SE (self-employment tax) automatically along with your Schedule C. The main difference is cost - TurboTax is significantly more expensive, especially if you need their Self-Employed version. For a smaller business with straightforward income and expenses like yours, FreeTaxUSA will likely work perfectly fine and save you a lot of money. They include Schedule C filing in their base product while TurboTax requires an upgrade. Both will guide you through the process with questions about business income, expenses, home office, vehicle use, etc.
0 coins
ShadowHunter
After years of struggling with tax forms for my freelance work, I found this amazing tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that completely simplified the process for me. I was in a similar situation last year - had W-2 income plus a side business and wasn't sure how to handle the Schedule C properly. What I love about taxr.ai is that it analyzes all your documents and gives you personalized guidance. It actually explains which parts of your business expenses qualify for deductions and identifies potential red flags before you file. Super helpful for catching things I would've missed, especially since this was my first year with a proper side business.
0 coins
Diego Ramirez
•Does it actually fill out the forms for you or just give advice? And how does it handle things like quarterly estimated payments if you need to make those for next year?
0 coins
Anastasia Sokolov
•Sounds interesting but I'm always skeptical of these AI tax tools. How accurate is it compared to having a real accountant look things over? I'm worried about missing deductions or making mistakes with my business expenses.
0 coins
ShadowHunter
•It doesn't fill out the forms directly, but it analyzes your documents and gives you step-by-step guidance on exactly what to enter in TurboTax, FreeTaxUSA, or whatever software you're using. It's like having an expert looking over your shoulder. For quarterly payments, it actually calculates what you should be paying each quarter based on your projected income and provides reminders for the payment deadlines. It even creates a personalized tax calendar for you with all the important dates.
0 coins
Anastasia Sokolov
I was really skeptical about using another tax tool, but I gave taxr.ai a try after seeing it mentioned here. Honestly, it was a game-changer for my situation. I also have a small business (dog walking) plus W-2 income, and I was constantly confused about what qualified as business expenses. The document analysis feature saved me so much time - it instantly recognized which receipts were business vs. personal and categorized everything properly. I ended up finding about $1,200 in deductions I would have missed on my own! The guidance on home office deduction was especially helpful since I was always afraid of triggering an audit with that. Definitely using it again for my 2025 taxes!
0 coins
Sean O'Connor
If you're having trouble reaching the IRS for specific questions about Form 1040 or Schedule C (which I definitely was), I found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that actually got me through to a live IRS agent in about 15 minutes. Their demo video at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c shows exactly how it works. I spent DAYS trying to get through on my own about some confusing Schedule C questions I had for my landscaping business, but kept getting disconnected or told to call back later. Claimyr somehow gets you prioritized in the IRS phone system. The agent I spoke with cleared up all my questions about vehicle expenses and home office deductions.
0 coins
Zara Ahmed
•How does this actually work? Seems kind of sketchy that they can somehow get you through when the regular IRS line is jammed. Are they using some kind of backdoor method?
0 coins
Luca Conti
•This has to be a scam. There's absolutely no way a third-party service can magically get you through to the IRS faster than calling directly. You're probably just talking to their own "agents" pretending to be IRS. What proof do you have it was actually an IRS person?
0 coins
Sean O'Connor
•It's not a backdoor method - they use a legitimate callback system that's available to all tax practitioners, but most regular taxpayers don't have access to it. They basically place you in the callback queue and then connect you when the IRS is ready. It's all explained in their demo video. I was definitely speaking with a real IRS agent. They verified my identity using my prior year tax information and had complete access to my tax records. They even sent me follow-up documentation directly from the IRS.gov domain. It's completely legitimate - they're just providing access to a system that's normally only available to tax professionals.
0 coins
Luca Conti
I need to eat my words here. After my skeptical comment, I was still desperate to talk to someone at the IRS about a Schedule C question for my Etsy business, so I tried Claimyr as a last resort. I was absolutely SHOCKED when I got through to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. The agent was able to pull up my tax records and everything. She walked me through exactly how to categorize my online selling fees and shipping expenses on Schedule C and confirmed I was calculating my home office deduction correctly. Saved me hours of research and worry. I've spent literal days trying to get through to the IRS over the past two months. Never thought I'd be recommending a service like this, but it genuinely works.
0 coins
Nia Johnson
One thing to watch out for with Schedule C that nobody mentioned yet - if your net earnings are $400 or more, you'll also need to pay self-employment tax (Schedule SE). The tax software handles this, but it's an extra 15.3% tax that catches many first-time business owners by surprise. Also, don't forget about making estimated quarterly tax payments for 2025! With $6.5k in profit, you might need to make quarterly payments to avoid an underpayment penalty next year.
0 coins
Freya Larsen
•Thanks for bringing that up! Does the self-employment tax apply even if my W2 job already has Social Security and Medicare taxes taken out? And how do you figure out how much to pay for those quarterly payments?
0 coins
Nia Johnson
•Yes, self-employment tax applies regardless of your W2 job's withholdings. Your W2 job only covers the taxes on that specific income, not on your self-employment income. The 15.3% consists of both the employer and employee portions of Social Security and Medicare taxes. For quarterly payments, you need to estimate your total tax liability for the year (including income tax and self-employment tax on your business profits) and make four equal payments. The tax software should provide you with estimated payment vouchers for the next year based on your current return. Alternatively, you can increase your W2 withholding to cover the additional tax instead of making separate quarterly payments.
0 coins
CyberNinja
Has anyone used Credit Karma for filing Schedule C? Their free version supposedly includes business income but I'm wondering if it's as good as FreeTaxUSA for small business owners.
0 coins
Mateo Lopez
•I used Credit Karma last year for my small woodworking business. It worked ok for basic Schedule C but was missing some of the more detailed expense categories I needed. Switched to FreeTaxUSA this year and found it much more comprehensive for business stuff while still being affordable.
0 coins