Updated October 23, 2026. Quick answer: The 2025 IRS chart lists 812111 for barber shops, 812112 for beauty salons, 812113 for nail salons, and 812190 for other personal care services. The code goes on line B beside the line A description. Which row reads closest depends on the principal source of your receipts, and 456120 may fit better for product sales.
Four personal care rows
The chart splits this work into four rows: “Barber shops”, “Beauty salons”, “Nail salons”, and “Other personal care services (including diet & weight reducing centers)”.
| Code | Wording on the IRS chart |
|---|---|
| 812111 | Barber shops |
| 812112 | Beauty salons |
| 812113 | Nail salons |
| 812190 | Other personal care services (including diet & weight reducing centers) |
The chart has no row that names hairstylists, braiders, or aestheticians. What it names is the kind of establishment: shops, salons, and a catch-all row for other personal care.
How the codes fit the form
Line A asks for a description of the work: “Describe the business or professional activity that provided your principal source of income reported on line 1.” Line B asks for the code: “Enter on line B the six-digit code from the Principal Business or Professional Activity Codes chart” The code goes in the box on line B, beside the description.
An example of the kind of description, not IRS wording: line A might say hair styling and color services for individual clients. The description is in your words and the code on line B comes from the chart.
A nearby row for selling products
One row near these four is about selling goods instead of services.
| Code | Wording on the IRS chart |
|---|---|
| 812112 | Beauty salons |
| 812190 | Other personal care services (including diet & weight reducing centers) |
| 456120 | Cosmetics, beauty supplies, & perfume retailers |
Row 456120 is worded “Cosmetics, beauty supplies, & perfume retailers”, so it names retailers. Row 812190 is worded “Other personal care services (including diet & weight reducing centers)”, which is where the chart sends personal care work not named in the three rows above it.
The chart’s rule has two steps: “Select the category that best describes your primary business activity”, and then “Then select the activity that best identifies the principal source of your sales or receipts”.
The instructions add a note for retailers: “Retailers should select the PBA associated with their primary line of products sold.”
Services and product sales together
Many people in this field cut hair, apply color, do nails, and sell product from the same chair. The chart asks for “Then select the activity that best identifies the principal source of your sales or receipts”. So the main stream decides which of the four service rows, or the retail row, is the better comparison.
Someone who rents a chair and also runs a different business would apply this rule: “If you owned more than one business, complete a separate Schedule C for each business.”
What to read next
After line B, the Schedule C guide shows the rest of the form. Two later parts of the schedule are worth a look for this kind of work: Schedule C lines 20 to 22, rent, repairs, and supplies, and a cost of goods sold section for product resale in Schedule C lines 2 to 5, returns, cost of goods sold, and gross profit. The full chart is at Schedule C business codes.
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
- Searching for hairstylist or aesthetician: the chart has no row for those words; its rows name “Barber shops” and “Beauty salons”.
- Ignoring the catch-all row “Other personal care services (including diet & weight reducing centers)” for services the first three rows do not name.
- Forgetting the retailer note: “Retailers should select the PBA associated with their primary line of products sold.”
Related: Schedule C (Form 1040), Schedule C lines 20 to 22 rent, repairs, and supplies, Schedule C lines 2 to 5 cost of goods sold, and Schedule C business codes: the full IRS list.
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Answer againSources
- 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.