Tax Prep

Schedule C Tax Prep

Overview

Categorizes all business expenses into IRS Schedule C line items so you can hand your accountant a clean breakdown or file your own Schedule C (Form 1040). Maps every transaction to the correct deduction line.

Wilson Tools Used

• transaction_search — Find all business expenses within the tax year
• categorize — Map transactions to Schedule C line item categories
• export_transactions — Export the categorized breakdown for your CPA or tax software

Workflow

1. Set the date range to the tax year (e.g., January 1 through December 31).
2. Use transaction_search to pull all business-related expenses.
3. Use categorize to map each expense to a Schedule C line item using the mapping table below.
4. Review unmapped transactions and assign them manually.
5. Use export_transactions to generate a Schedule C-ready summary grouped by line item.
6. Cross-check totals against bank and credit card statements.

Schedule C Line Item Mapping

| Line | Category | Examples | |------|----------|----------| | 8 | Advertising | Google Ads, Facebook Ads, print ads, business cards | | 9 | Car and truck expenses | Gas, repairs, lease payments (if not using standard mileage) | | 10 | Commissions and fees | Sales commissions, payment processing fees (Stripe, PayPal) | | 11 | Contract labor | Freelancers, 1099 contractors | | 13 | Depreciation (Form 4562) | Asset depreciation (see depreciation-schedule skill) | | 15 | Insurance (other than health) | Business liability, E&O, property insurance | | 16a | Mortgage interest | Interest on business property mortgage | | 16b | Other interest | Business loan interest, credit line interest | | 17 | Legal and professional services | Attorney fees, CPA fees, bookkeeping | | 18 | Office expense | Office supplies, postage, software subscriptions | | 19 | Pension/profit-sharing plans | SEP-IRA, SIMPLE IRA employer contributions | | 20a | Rent — vehicles, machinery, equipment | Equipment leases | | 20b | Rent — other business property | Office rent, coworking space | | 22 | Supplies | Materials consumed in business operations | | 23 | Taxes and licenses | Business licenses, state/local taxes, employer payroll taxes | | 24a | Travel | Airfare, hotels, car rentals for business travel | | 24b | Meals | Business meals (50% deductible) | | 25 | Utilities | Electric, gas, water, phone, internet for business property | | 27a | Other expenses | Anything not fitting the above (itemize on Part V) |

Without Wilson

1. Export all transactions from your bank and credit card accounts as CSV files.
2. Open the CSV in a spreadsheet. Add a column called "Schedule C Line."
3. Sort transactions by merchant or description.
4. For each transaction, assign the appropriate line number from the table above.
5. Create a pivot table grouping by Schedule C Line, summing the amounts.
6. For Line 24b (meals), multiply the total by 0.50 to get the deductible amount.
7. Transfer the totals to your Schedule C form or give the spreadsheet to your CPA.

Important Notes

• Line 24b meals are only 50% deductible. Wilson flags the full amount; you must halve it on the return.
• Mixed-use expenses (personal and business) must be split. Only the business portion goes on Schedule C.
• Keep receipts for any single expense over $75 or any lodging expense regardless of amount.
• If you have a home office, see the home-office-deduction skill for Line 30.
• This is not tax advice. Consult a CPA or tax professional for filing decisions.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: openaccountant
• Source: openaccountant/skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.