Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: The 2025 chart has no row that names web design, so the closest wording is 541510 for computer systems design and related services, or 541400 for specialized design services. The code goes on line B beside your line A description. Which row reads closer depends on the principal source of your receipts.
On deductions by profession: tax deductions for web developers.
On deductions by profession: tax deductions for graphic designers.
On choosing a receipt app: receipt apps that let your accountant in, receipt tracking without a bank connection and what receipt software costs at 20, 50 and 200 receipts a month.
What the chart says about design work
Two rows carry the word design, and neither one names websites.
| Code | Wording on the IRS chart |
|---|---|
| 541510 | Computer systems design & related services |
| 541400 | Specialized design services (including interior, industrial, graphic, & fashion design) |
The first is worded around computer systems. The second lists interior, industrial, graphic and fashion design in parentheses, and web design is not among the items listed.
Writing the line A description
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: building and maintaining websites for small businesses. Line A is where the word website can appear, even if line B must come from the chart’s own list.
Rows a web designer might read beside the design lines
Hosting, advertising and broad professional-service rows all touch the work a site builder does.
| Code | Wording on the IRS chart |
|---|---|
| 518210 | Computing infrastructure providers, data processing, web hosting, & related services |
| 541800 | Advertising, public relations, & related services |
| 541990 | All other professional, scientific, & technical services |
| 519200 | Web search portals, libraries, archives, & other info. services |
A business that runs hosting reads “Computing infrastructure providers, data processing, web hosting, & related services”. One that sells campaigns reads “Advertising, public relations, & related services”. Search portals and archives sit under “Web search portals, libraries, archives, & other info. services”, and anything that fits none of the named lines can be compared with “All other professional, scientific, & technical 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”.
The word web on the chart
The word web appears in only two chart rows, “Computing infrastructure providers, data processing, web hosting, & related services” and “Web search portals, libraries, archives, & other info. services”. Neither pairs it with design or development. The chart has no row that names web design or website building.
When a business mixes design, hosting and ads, the rule’s second step decides which activity leads: “Then select the activity that best identifies the principal source of your sales or receipts”. Separate ventures follow a different instruction: “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). Consultants who work on systems can compare the IT consultants code page, and writers and illustrators have their own page. Clients who pay you may report it on Form 1099-NEC, and 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
- Assuming the design row names websites. The row reads “Specialized design services (including interior, industrial, graphic, & fashion design)” and web design is not listed in it.
- Treating the hosting row as a design row. It reads “Computing infrastructure providers, data processing, web hosting, & related services”, which is worded around hosting and processing.
- Using two codes for one site business. The rule is “Then select the activity that best identifies the principal source of your sales or receipts” so a single activity leads on line B.
Related: Schedule C (Form 1040), Schedule C business codes: the full IRS list, the IT consultants code page, their own page, and Form 1099-NEC.
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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.