Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: The 2025 chart lists 238320 for painting and wall covering contractors. The code goes on line B beside your line A description. Nearby rows such as 238390 and 238310 may read closer for some work, depending on the principal source of your receipts.
The painting row on the chart
The chart gives painters a row of their own, and the wording extends to wall coverings.
| Code | Wording on the IRS chart |
|---|---|
| 238320 | Painting & wall covering contractors |
The row reads “Painting & wall covering contractors”. It is the only construction row on the chart with the word painting in it.
Describing the work 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: painting the inside and outside of houses for homeowners. A line A phrase can say who the customers are and what is painted, and line B then carries the code from the chart.
Other rows a painter might compare
Four other rows are close enough to read side by side with the painting row.
| Code | Wording on the IRS chart |
|---|---|
| 238390 | Other building finishing contractors |
| 238310 | Drywall & insulation contractors |
| 238350 | Finish carpentry contractors |
| 444120 | Paint & wallpaper retailers |
The last of these, “Paint & wallpaper retailers”, is a retail row, so it is about selling paint rather than applying it. The remaining three are construction rows: “Other building finishing contractors”, “Drywall & insulation contractors” and “Finish carpentry contractors”.
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”.
Painting plus other finishing work
Many painters also hang wallpaper, patch drywall or install trim. Wall covering is already inside the wording of the painting row. Drywall has a row of its own, as does finish carpentry, so a business that does a lot of both is comparing rows rather than reading one.
The chart’s second step settles which activity leads: “Then select the activity that best identifies the principal source of your sales or receipts”. A painter who also runs a genuinely separate business, such as a shop, is in the position the instructions address: “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). Painters who buy supplies can read about Schedule C lines 20 to 22, and a sister page covers the handyman code question. the full list of Schedule C business codes is also available.
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
- Reaching for the paint retailer row because the word paint matches. The row reads “Paint & wallpaper retailers” and describes a store.
- Searching for a row called painter. The chart has no row with that word; the row reads “Painting & wall covering contractors”.
- Using two codes for one business. The rule is “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, Schedule C lines 20 to 22, and the handyman code question.
Find the right next step for your situation
About how much do you have invested? Pick the range that fits; your next step appears immediately below.
Advisor help for a self-employed painting contractor
For U.S. investors with $250,000 or more in investable assets. WiserAdvisor is an independent service matching you with 2 to 3 vetted advisers. Its form asks for your ZIP code and answers to a few questions; a match is not guaranteed.
Free to request, with no obligation to hire. By submitting, you consent to calls, texts and emails from WiserAdvisor and up to three advisers. Advisers pay for introductions.
Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying completed form. An introduction is not a Clear Money Guide recommendation.
Opens on WiserAdvisor’s site in a new tab.
Retirement saving options for self-employed painters
Considering financial advice? Request an adviser introduction with no obligation to hire.
The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Requesting an introduction is free. Submitting the form shares your contact details with advisers, so expect calls and texts. Advisers pay for introductions. Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying submitted form, whether or not you hire anyone. A match is not guaranteed.
The Kapitalwise form opens here; you stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It asks about nine questions: age, investable assets, location; then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
Prefer flat-fee or hourly pricing instead? Compare ranges here.
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.