Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: The 2025 chart has no row that names massage. The closest wording is in rows such as 621399 for miscellaneous health practitioners, 812190 for other personal care services, 812990 for all other personal services and 621340 for physical therapists. The code goes on line B, and the principal source of your receipts decides which reads closest.
On deductions by profession: tax deductions for massage therapists.
Rows near massage work on the chart
People searching for a massage code often expect a row with that word. The rows that come nearest in wording are below.
| Code | Wording on the IRS chart |
|---|---|
| 621399 | Offices of all other miscellaneous health practitioners |
| 812190 | Other personal care services (including diet & weight reducing centers) |
| 812990 | All other personal services |
| 621340 | Offices of physical therapists, occupational & speech therapists, & audiologists |
The first row, “Offices of all other miscellaneous health practitioners”, sits in the health practitioner group. The second, “Other personal care services (including diet & weight reducing centers)”, sits in personal care.
What the chart’s wording does not name
The chart has no row that names massage, bodywork or a spa. No row carries any of those words, so no row matches by name and the reader compares the nearest descriptions.
Row 812990 reads “All other personal services”, a broad label for services not named elsewhere. Row 621340 reads “Offices of physical therapists, occupational & speech therapists, & audiologists”, which names therapists of other kinds but not massage.
Filling in line A and line B
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: a line A phrase such as therapeutic massage for individual clients. Because the chart does not name massage, line A is where the exact work can be spelled out in plain words.
Other rows a bodywork practice might compare
Practices vary: some work in clinics, some in salons, some at clients’ homes. These rows sit near the first four.
| Code | Wording on the IRS chart |
|---|---|
| 621399 | Offices of all other miscellaneous health practitioners |
| 812190 | Other personal care services (including diet & weight reducing centers) |
| 812990 | All other personal services |
| 621340 | Offices of physical therapists, occupational & speech therapists, & audiologists |
| 621310 | Offices of chiropractors |
| 812112 | Beauty salons |
A practice inside a chiropractic setting may compare “Offices of chiropractors”. One based in a beauty business may compare “Beauty salons”. Care delivered at clients’ homes may be compared with “Home health care services”.
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”.
Where to go next
The code sits on line B next to the line A description on Schedule C (Form 1040). If you also sell products or treat clients in a space at home, Schedule C line 30, business use of your home is a related page. Clients who pay by card may send a Form 1099-K. The full chart is on the full IRS list of Schedule C business codes.
The hair, nail and beauty guide at Schedule C code for hair, nail and beauty covers the salon rows in more detail.
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
- Searching the chart for the word massage. No row carries it, so the wording of the nearby rows is what you compare.
- Assuming the physical therapist row covers every therapist. The row reads “Offices of physical therapists, occupational & speech therapists, & audiologists” and does not name massage.
- Choosing by the setting where you work. The rule reads “Then select the activity that best identifies the principal source of your sales or receipts” so the source of receipts leads.
Related: Schedule C (Form 1040), Schedule C business codes: the full IRS list, Schedule C line 30, business use of your home, a Form 1099-K, and Schedule C code for hair, nail and beauty.
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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.