When you create a Schedule C report in SparkReceipt, the Template settings form asks for your business details, vehicle answers, and a couple of options. This article explains every field: what it maps to on the IRS Schedule C (Form 1040) and what to type. It's a companion to Export an IRS Schedule C worksheet and filled form, which covers running the export, the category mapping, and the readiness preview.
Two halves make up a finished worksheet. The money on each line comes from how your categories are mapped to Schedule C lines, set once under Account settings > Schedule C and explained in the export guide. The settings form covered here fills in everything else the form needs: your name, business code, address, accounting method, and vehicle answers. None of these settings are required to generate a report, and they're saved per account so the next export is pre-filled.
SparkReceipt prepares a worksheet and a draft form for you to check and file. It does not give tax advice and does not file anything with the IRS on your behalf.
Who fills this in, and who Schedule C is for
Schedule C is a US federal form. Inside SparkReceipt the settings and the export are visible to admins and invited accountants on an account, because the details here end up on a tax return. The feature is switched on account by account, so if you don't see Schedule C in the web app, contact support and we'll enable it.
Schedule C itself is for sole proprietors and single-member LLCs. The IRS describes it as the form to "report income or (loss) from a business you operated or a profession you practiced as a sole proprietor" (IRS, About Schedule C). Corporations and multi-member partnerships file different returns, so this form isn't meant for them.
Business details
These fields fill in the top of Schedule C, which the IRS labels lines A through G.
Name of proprietor
Your own name as the sole proprietor, for example Jane A. Smith. This is the person who owns the business, not the business's trade name. SparkReceipt does not store or print your Social Security number; you add it to the filed form by hand.
Business name
Your business's trade name, if it has one. The IRS instruction for this line (line C) is "Business name. If no separate business name, leave blank," so if you trade under your own name, leave it empty.
Principal business or profession
A short description of what the business does, for example Freelance graphic design. On the form this is line A, "Principal business or profession, including product or service."
Business code (6 digits)
The six-digit Principal Business or Professional Activity Code that best fits your work, for example 541800 for advertising and related services. Pick yours from the code list at the end of the Schedule C instructions. SparkReceipt checks that this is exactly six digits and asks you to correct it if it isn't, because a malformed code would be dropped from the form.
Employer ID number (EIN)
Your EIN, if you have one, written as 12-3456789. Many sole proprietors don't have one. The IRS says you need an EIN "only if you have a qualified retirement plan or are required to file employment, excise, alcohol, tobacco, or firearms returns, or are a payer of gambling winnings," and to "leave line D blank" otherwise (IRS, Schedule C instructions). If you leave it blank, the IRS identifies you by the Social Security number on your Form 1040. SparkReceipt checks that an entered EIN is nine digits.
Print the full EIN on the worksheet (masked by default)
This checkbox controls display only, not the filed form. By default the on-screen worksheet masks your EIN, showing only the last digits, so the file is safer to share. The official IRS PDF carries the full EIN, because it's the copy you file. Tick this only if you want the worksheet to show the full number too.
Business address, City, State, ZIP code
The business's street address, for example 123 Main St, Austin, TX, 78701. This is line E on the form. The IRS asks for a street address rather than a P.O. box, and notes you can leave it blank when the business address is the same home address already on your Form 1040.
Accounting method
How you count income and expenses. This is line F, and the choices match the form: Cash, Accrual, or Other. SparkReceipt defaults to Cash.
- Cash reports income in the year you receive it and expenses in the year you pay them. The IRS describes it as showing "all items of taxable income actually or constructively received during the year" and "amounts actually paid during the year for deductible expenses" (IRS, Schedule C instructions). Most freelancers and small sole proprietors use cash.
- Accrual reports income when you earn it and expenses when you incur them, whatever the timing of the money. Businesses that carry inventory often have to use accrual. The IRS covers the details in Publication 538.
- Other is for a method that isn't plain cash or accrual.
Pick the method your books already use. If you're unsure, ask your accountant before your first export.
I materially participated in the business
Line G on the form asks, "Did you 'materially participate' in the operation of this business during 2025?" Tick this box if you did. The IRS notes that if you did not, there's a limit on the losses you can deduct, and points to the instructions for the test.
Vehicle
Fill in this section only if you claim car or truck costs. It feeds line 9 and Part IV of the form.
Vehicle expense method (line 9)
How SparkReceipt should value your car and truck costs:
- Decide from my trips lets SparkReceipt choose: the standard mileage rate when you have business Trips logged, and your car receipts otherwise. This is the default.
- Standard mileage rate multiplies your business miles from Trips by the IRS standard mileage rate for each trip's date. For 2025 that rate is 70 cents per mile (IRS, Standard mileage rates); the IRS sets a new rate each year, and SparkReceipt applies the one for the year of the trip. Car receipts mapped to line 9 are left out under this method, since the per-mile rate already covers them, and their total is shown in the worksheet.
- Actual expenses from receipts uses the real car costs you've recorded (fuel, repairs, and so on) instead of a per-mile rate.
Parking and tolls stay deductible under either method, so SparkReceipt keeps them on line 9 regardless of which you choose.
Vehicle placed in service on
The date you started using the vehicle for business (line 43 on the form). Leave it empty if it doesn't apply.
The vehicle was available for personal use
Line 45 asks whether the vehicle was available for personal use during off-duty hours. Tick the box if it was.
Another vehicle was available for personal use
Line 46 asks whether you or your spouse had another vehicle available for personal use. Tick the box if you did.
Options
Two switches that change how the report is built.
Report unmapped expense categories on line 27b (Other expenses)
Any expense category you haven't mapped to a specific line is normally left out and listed as "unmapped." Turn this on to sweep those categories onto line 27b, Other expenses, which itemizes them in Part V of the form. The worksheet still flags each one so you can review it. Leave it off if you'd rather map every category deliberately.
Produce the official form even when the worksheet has open issues
By default SparkReceipt fills the official IRS PDF only when the worksheet is complete, so you don't file a form with gaps. Turn this on to force the filled PDF even when the worksheet still flags open issues, then hand those items to your preparer. The worksheet lists exactly what the open issues are.
Where these fields land on the form
The settings above fill the header and the vehicle parts; your mapped categories fill the money lines. A quick map of the IRS structure, so you can see how a field connects to the return:
- Header (lines A to G): name, principal business, business code, EIN, address, accounting method, material participation, all from the Business details section.
- Part I, Income: lines 1, 2, and 6, plus line 4 (Cost of goods sold), from your income and COGS categories.
- Part II, Expenses: lines 8 through 27b, from the categories mapped to each. Meals sit on line 24b, "Deductible meals," reported in full; the IRS generally allows only 50% of business meals, so your preparer applies that limit.
- Part IV, Vehicle: the Vehicle section here plus your Trips data.
- Part V, Other expenses: the itemized rows that total into line 27b.
SparkReceipt does not prepare Part III (inventory detail), Form 8829 (business use of home), or Form 4562 (depreciation detail); the worksheet gives the line totals it can and your accountant completes those attachments. For the full rules on what each figure includes, see the export guide.
Frequently asked questions
Which fields do I have to fill in?
None of them are required to generate a report; empty boxes just stay empty on the form. The only entries SparkReceipt blocks are a business code or EIN typed in the wrong shape (six digits for the code, nine for the EIN), because a malformed identifier would be dropped from the form.
Does this file my taxes for me?
No. SparkReceipt prepares a worksheet and a draft Schedule C for you to check and file yourself, or to hand to your accountant. It doesn't submit anything to the IRS, and it doesn't give tax advice.
A line total looks wrong. Where do I fix it?
Not in this settings form. Line totals come from how your categories are mapped, so fix the mapping under Account settings > Schedule C and generate the report again. The export guide walks through the mapping.
Is Schedule C the right form for me?
Schedule C is for sole proprietors and single-member LLCs. If your business is a corporation or a multi-member partnership, it files a different return. When in doubt, check with your accountant.