Schedule C Business Codes (2025): The Full IRS List

Updated October 23, 2026. Quick answer: The six-digit business code for Schedule C line B comes from the Principal Business or Professional Activity Codes chart at the back of the 2025 instructions. This page lists all 304 rows of that chart in code order with the IRS’s wording. The chart’s rule is to find the activity that best identifies the principal source of your sales or receipts, then enter its six-digit code on line B.

How the chart works

The chart opens with a two-step rule: “Select the category that best describes your primary business activity” (for example, Real Estate). “Then select the activity that best identifies the principal source of your sales or receipts” (for example, real estate agent). “Now find the six-digit code assigned to this activity” The IRS says what the codes are for: they “classify sole proprietorships by the type of activity they are engaged in”, and they are six-digit codes based on the NAICS.

Schedule C asks for the activity twice. Line A is a description: the form’s caption reads “Principal business or profession, including product or service (see instructions)” and the instructions say “Describe the business or professional activity that provided your principal source of income reported on line 1.” “Give the general field or activity and the type of product or service.” Line B is the code: the form’s caption reads “Enter code from instructions” and the instructions say “Enter on line B the six-digit code from the Principal Business or Professional Activity Codes chart” The chart is at the back of the instructions and the code goes in the box on line B.

Business codes by kind of work

These pages take one kind of work at a time, show the chart rows nearest its wording and set out the neighbors:

• Schedule C business code for consultants (chart code 541600)
• Schedule C business code for real estate agents and brokers (chart code 531210)
• Schedule C business code for rideshare and delivery drivers (chart codes 485300, 492000)
• Schedule C business code for freelance writers and artists (chart code 711510)
• Schedule C business code for photographers (chart code 541920)
• Schedule C business code for house cleaners (chart code 561720)
• Schedule C business code for landscapers and lawn care (chart code 561730)
• Schedule C business code for truck drivers and owner-operators (chart codes 484110, 484120, 484200)
• Schedule C business code for child care providers (chart code 624410)
• Schedule C business code for hair, nail and beauty professionals (chart codes 812111, 812112, 812113, 812190)

The chart lists activities, not job titles, so a page for a profession can only show the rows whose wording sits closest. The IRS’s own test is the one on the chart: the activity that best identifies the principal source of your sales or receipts.

Selling online or by mail

The 2025 chart has no separate code for internet sellers. The instructions say “For nonstore retailers, select the PBA code by the primary product that your establishment sells.” The chart’s own note repeats the idea: “Retailers should select the PBA associated with their primary line of products sold.” Pick the product line, then find that product’s row in the retail group of the chart below.

Farm income

The chart carries one warning for anyone whose income is from the land: “If your principal source of income is from farming activities, you should file Schedule F.”

The full 2025 chart, code by code

Below is every row of the chart, in code order, with the IRS’s wording. The chart in the instructions is grouped under headings and sub-headings by industry; this page lists the same 304 rows by number so a code can be found directly. Search this page for a word from the work you do, then compare the wording of the rows around it.

Codes 112900 to 238910

Codes 238990 to 334000

Codes 335000 to 441227

Codes 441300 to 459920

Codes 459930 to 531310

Codes 531320 to 561410

Codes 561420 to 711410

Codes 711510 to 999000

Edition and chart year

This page reads the 2025 Schedule C (Form 1040) and its 2025 instructions, the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-23 (byte-identical to the archived copies). They are the files for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. The schedule 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 chart that comes with that year’s instructions, because a different year’s chart can list different codes or reword them.

Common mistakes

• Looking for a job title. The chart is a list of activities, and its rule is “Then select the activity that best identifies the principal source of your sales or receipts”
• Using one form for two businesses. The instructions say “If you owned more than one business, complete a separate Schedule C for each business.”
• Expecting a separate code for internet sellers. The instructions say “For nonstore retailers, select the PBA code by the primary product that your establishment sells.”

Related: Schedule C (Form 1040) explained, Schedule C line 1 gross receipts or sales, self-employment tax, and Schedule SE (Form 1040).

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 23, 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.