Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Line 14 is for contributions to employee benefit programs that are not part of a pension or profit-sharing plan, and line 15 is for business insurance other than health insurance. Health insurance for yourself as a self-employed person does not go on line 14. The instructions point it to a different form.
Picking the Schedule C business code for your work (2025 chart): Schedule C code for personal trainers and Schedule C code for doctors and dentists.
Partnership return (Form 1065) for 2025, read line by line: Form 1065 lines 19 to 23.
What lines 14 and 15 ask for
The form’s captions read “Employee benefit programs” (other than on line 19) and “Insurance (other than health)”. The line 14 instruction begins “Deduct contributions to employee benefit programs that are not an incidental part of a pension or” profit-sharing plan included on line 19. “Examples are accident and health plans”, group-term life insurance, and “dependent care assistance programs.”
For line 15 the instruction is “Deduct premiums paid for business insurance on line 15.” “Deduct on line 14 amounts paid for employee accident and health insurance.” Retirement plan contributions for your employees belong on line 19, which is covered on the Schedule C lines 17 to 19 page.
What the instructions keep off these lines
For your own coverage as a self-employed person, the instructions say “Do not include on line 14 any contributions you made on your behalf as a” self-employed “person to an accident and health plan.” Instead, “you may be able to deduct on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 17, the amount you paid for health insurance on behalf of yourself, your spouse, and dependents, even if you do not itemize your deductions.” The deduction itself is explained on the Schedule 1 line 17 page.
Two more items are excluded. For insurance on your own life, the instructions say you “cannot deduct contributions you made on your behalf as a” self-employed “person for group-term life insurance.” For line 15 they say “Do not deduct amounts credited to a reserve for” self-insurance or “premiums paid for a policy that pays for your lost earnings due to sickness or disability.”
Where the number comes from
Line 14 is the total you paid into qualifying employee benefit programs during the year, taken from your plan statements and payment records. Line 15 is the business insurance premiums you paid, taken from your policy bills. The instructions send you to “Pub. 334, chapter 8.” for details on insurance.
Two special rules apply to line 14. If you made contributions on your own behalf to a dependent care program, “complete Form 2441, Parts I and III, to figure your deductible contributions to that program.” And if you took a health insurance credit for a small employer, the instructions say you “must reduce your line 14 deduction by the amount of any credit for small employer health insurance premiums determined on Form 8941.”
Where it goes next
Each Part II expense line is a step toward the total on line 28. The form describes it as “Total expenses before expenses for business use of home. Add lines 8 through 27b”. Line 29 then reads “Tentative profit or (loss). Subtract line 28 from line 7”. Part II also carries this heading: “Expenses. Enter expenses for business use of your home only on line 30.” Lines 28 and 29 are explained on the Schedule C lines 27a to 29 page and line 30 on the Schedule C line 30 page. Self-employment tax on the resulting profit is covered on the self-employment tax page. The overall form is explained on the Schedule C (Form 1040) page, and the return it attaches to is the Form 1040.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Schedule C (Form 1040) and its 2025 instructions, the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-18. They are the files for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. The schedule’s heading says “Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-SS, 1040-NR, or 1041”. Check the tax year printed on the schedule you are filling in and use the line numbers on that year’s schedule, because a different year’s schedule can number or word its lines differently.
Common mistakes
- Putting your own health insurance on line 14. The instructions say “Do not include on line 14 any contributions you made on your behalf as a” self-employed person to an accident and health plan, and point to Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 17.
- Deducting a policy that replaces lost earnings. The instructions say not to deduct “premiums paid for a policy that pays for your lost earnings due to sickness or disability.”
- Ignoring a small employer health credit. The instructions say you “must reduce your line 14 deduction by the amount of any credit for small employer health insurance premiums determined on Form 8941.”
Related: Schedule C (Form 1040), Schedule 1 line 17, and self-employment tax.
Sources
- Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040sc.pdf
- Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040sc.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 18, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.