If you are the sole owner of a business or operate as an independent contractor, you will need to file a Schedule C to report income or loss from your business activities.
If you have $400 or more of business income over and above your expenses, you need to file a Schedule C or C-EZ, and a Schedule SE to pay self-employment tax, even if you would not otherwise have enough income to be required to file a tax return.
Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss from Business (Sole Proprietorship) (standard .pdf file)
Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss from Business (Sole Proprietorship) (fill-in .pdf file)
The file is in Adobe portable document format (PDF), which requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
To get a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader software, go to the Adobe web site.
For more information, see our discussion of Schedule C.