Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: The 2025 chart lists 459310 for florists, a row that uses the profession’s own word. The code goes on line B beside your line A description. A neighbor such as 424930 or 459420 may read closer, depending on the principal source of your receipts.
A chart row that names florists outright
Few trades get a row that matches their everyday name, and this is one.
| Code | Wording on the IRS chart |
|---|---|
| 459310 | Florists |
The wording is a single word, “Florists”. It sits among the retail rows of the chart.
What to write on line A
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: arranging and selling flowers for weddings and other occasions. Line A can say who the customers are, and line B holds one code from the chart.
Wholesale, gifts and the rest of the neighborhood
Selling flowers from a shop is one thing on the chart, and supplying shops is another.
| Code | Wording on the IRS chart |
|---|---|
| 424930 | Flower, nursery stock, & florists’ supplies |
| 459420 | Gift, novelty, & souvenir retailers |
| 459410 | Office supplies & stationery retailers |
| 445230 | Fruit & vegetable retailers |
The wholesale side is written as “Flower, nursery stock, & florists’ supplies”. A shop whose receipts come mostly from cards and keepsakes would compare itself with “Gift, novelty, & souvenir retailers”, and the stationery row is “Office supplies & stationery retailers”. Fruit and vegetable sellers read as “Fruit & vegetable retailers”.
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”.
Flowers, gifts and online orders
Florists often earn from three streams at once: arrangements, plants and gifts, and orders placed on a website. The chart does not ask which stream takes the most effort; it points to the principal source of receipts.
The instruction reads: “Then select the activity that best identifies the principal source of your sales or receipts”. For a seller whose orders are taken online, the instructions add a note for nonstore retailers: “For nonstore retailers, select the PBA code by the primary product that your establishment sells.” A florist who runs a second, unrelated venture meets this sentence: “If you owned more than one business, complete a separate Schedule C for each business.”
Where to go next
The code sits on line B next to the line A description on Schedule C (Form 1040). A florist who sells through a web shop may want the online sellers code page, and a handmade flower business might compare it with the crafters and Etsy sellers page. the full list of Schedule C business codes lists every row.
Edition and chart year
This page reads the 2025 Schedule C (Form 1040) and its 2025 instructions, 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
- Using the wholesale row because flowers are involved. That row reads “Flower, nursery stock, & florists’ supplies” and describes supplying.
- Overlooking that the florist row is a retail row. It reads “Florists” among the retailers.
- Splitting a shop across rows. The chart says “Then select the activity that best identifies the principal source of your sales or receipts” so one activity leads on line B.
Related: Schedule C (Form 1040), Schedule C business codes: the full IRS list, online sellers code page, and the crafters and Etsy sellers page.
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Answer againSources
- Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business (2025): IRS archived PDF (irs.gov)
- Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business (2025): IRS archived PDF (irs.gov)
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 30, 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.