Updated October 23, 2026. Quick answer: The 2025 Schedule C chart has no row named for a handyman, so there is no single handyman code to copy. The nearby rows are 236100, 238390, 238990, 561790 and 811490. Whichever six-digit number you use goes on line B, and the chart’s own rule points at the activity that brings in most of your receipts.
What the chart lists near handyman work
A handyman does several kinds of work, and the chart splits that work across different industry groups. These are the rows whose wording sits closest to repairs, finishing jobs and upkeep around a home. None of them is labeled handyman; they are listed here from building work toward upkeep.
| Code | Wording on the IRS chart |
|---|---|
| 236100 | Residential building construction |
| 238390 | Other building finishing contractors |
| 238990 | All other specialty trade contractors |
| 561790 | Other services to buildings & dwellings |
| 811490 | Other personal & household goods repair & maintenance |
The first row is about putting up homes. The next two are contractor rows, one for finishing work and one that catches specialty trades not listed elsewhere. The last two sit in services to buildings and in repair of personal and household goods.
Does any row use the word handyman?
No. The chart has no row that names a handyman, handyperson or odd-job worker. A search of the chart’s wording for those terms finds nothing, so any code you pick is a judgment about wording, not a lookup. The closest the chart gets is a set of rows named for particular trades, such as roofing, painting, plumbing or flooring contractors, and a few catch-all rows with the word other or all other in them.
That is why the catch-all wording matters here. Row 238990 reads as “All other specialty trade contractors”, and row 561790 reads as “Other services to buildings & dwellings”. Whether either describes your work is for you to decide by reading the whole chart.
How Schedule C asks for the work
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.
As an example of the kind of description, not IRS wording, line A might read in a plain way such as home repair and maintenance for homeowners. Line A can be as specific as the work really is, while line B takes only a number from the chart.
Picking among neighbors when the jobs are mixed
Handyman work is often a blend: a little carpentry, some painting, a repair, an appliance fix. The chart deals with a blend through its selection rule, not through a separate handyman code. Reading the wording, a row for finishing contractors points at work that finishes a building, a row for services to buildings and dwellings points at upkeep of the building itself, and a repair row for personal and household goods points at fixing the things inside it. Each row below is a neighbor, and the right one depends on which kind of job produced most of your receipts.
| Code | Wording on the IRS chart |
|---|---|
| 238390 | Other building finishing contractors |
| 238990 | All other specialty trade contractors |
| 561790 | Other services to buildings & dwellings |
| 811490 | Other personal & household goods repair & maintenance |
| 236100 | Residential building construction |
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”.
One business or several
If a handyman side also runs a separate venture, say a rental business or a product line, the form speaks to that: “If you owned more than one business, complete a separate Schedule C for each business.” The chart asks for one activity, the one that best identifies where most sales or receipts come from.
Where the code goes next
Once you have a number, it goes in the box on line B, beside the line A description. From there the form moves on to income and costs, which are covered in the page on gross receipts, line 1 and the page on rent, repairs and supplies. The whole form is walked through at Schedule C (Form 1040). A person working with their own tools and a truck may also want the page on lines 8 and 9.
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 the chart for the word handyman and giving up, or inventing a code: the chart has no such row, and the instructions say to “Select the category that best describes your primary business activity”.
- Choosing a code from one favorite job when another job brings in more: the rule asks for the activity that “best identifies the principal source of your sales or receipts”.
- Putting the code in the description box: the form’s caption for that box is “Principal business or profession, including product or service (see instructions)”, and the number belongs under “Enter code from instructions”.
Related: Schedule C (Form 1040), Schedule C line 1, gross receipts or sales, Schedule C lines 20 to 22, rent, repairs and supplies, and Schedule C lines 8 and 9, advertising and car and truck expenses.
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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.