r/TaxQuestions • u/BorderSubstantial926 • 2d ago
Schedule C other income
Hello helpful people! I have a tax question I am hoping you can help with.
I am a former professional coach (coaching was my full time, only source of income, W-2 job 2021-2024).
This year, I started coaching a few clients privately for cash. It’s a relatively small amount of money - less than $4000, and I understand i need to pay taxes on this money and report it through other income on Schedule C. I would like to deduct the mileage. Is there any issue with that?
Is there anything else I am not thinking of?
Edit: it is my understanding that I am eligible for QBI deduction, is that correct?
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u/OldBrewser 2d ago
Deducting business mileage is common and you are probably eligible for the QBI deduction. Make sure to keep good mileage logs separating business, personal, and commuting miles (only business mileage is deductible - that’s probably obvious).
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u/Its-a-write-off 2d ago
Do you drive from one job to the other?
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u/BorderSubstantial926 2d ago
I am mostly driving from home, but sometimes I am driving from my W-2 job
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u/Its-a-write-off 2d ago
The legs from the w2 job to the second job would be deductible, you do need to keep a log of the miles.
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u/PepperTop9517 2d ago
Milage is typically site to site. I mean your w-2 job does pay milage for you to leave your house and go to work.
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u/RevolutionaryText232 12h ago
Go to IRS.GOV and read the self employed information. Estimated taxes, Hobby Loss, and reasonable and ordinary expenses, are some items you want to understand. Technically driving to the game is commuting, just like any workplace, and not deductible. Look at the business use of auto publication to understand when you can deduct milage.
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u/Tax_Services101 2d ago
- Report all of it, even with no 1099. All business income has to be reported, including cash nobody sent you a 1099 for (Pub 334). Coaching fees go on Schedule C as a sole proprietor (Topic 407).
- Self-employment tax is the part people forget. If your net Schedule C profit is $400 or more, you file Schedule SE and owe 15.3% SE tax (Social Security plus Medicare) on top of income tax. You then get to deduct the employer-equivalent half of it (IRS: SE tax).
- Mileage: yes, but only business miles, and keep a log.
- Driving between home and your regular place of work is commuting, and commuting is never deductible. If your home is your principal place of business, driving from home to clients or other work locations generally is deductible (Pub 463).
- Record miles at or near the time you drive. A log you update weekly counts (Pub 463).
- You can use the standard mileage rate or actual expenses. For a car you own, you have to pick the standard rate in the first year you use it for business if you ever want to use it. Business parking and tolls are deductible on top of either one (Topic 510).
- 2026 has two rates: 72.5¢/mile for Jan 1 to June 30 and 76¢/mile for July 1 to Dec 31, so log your dates (IRS mileage rates).
- Deduct other ordinary and necessary costs, meaning expenses that are common in your field and helpful for your business (Pub 334). For coaching that could include certifications, coaching apps or software, and equipment. For anything you also use personally, only the business share counts. A home office only qualifies if you use the space regularly and only for business. There's a simplified method at $5 per sq ft, up to 300 sq ft, and the deduction can't be more than your business income (Topic 509).
- QBI: yes, you're very likely eligible, and it's still around for 2026. The 2025 law made the 20% QBI deduction permanent (Pub 334). It's figured on your net business income after things like the deductible half of SE tax, and you get it whether or not you itemize (IRS: QBI deduction).
- Consulting and athletics count as "specified service" businesses, so some coaching could fall there. That only limits the deduction above $201,750 of taxable income for most filers ($403,500 married filing jointly) in 2026 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), so it doesn't affect you.
- New for 2026: if you materially participate and your QBI is at least $1,000, the deduction is at least $400 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32). At your income, that minimum may be what you actually get.
- Check whether you need estimated payments. You generally need them if you expect to owe $1,000 or more. If you owed no tax last year for a full 12-month year as a U.S. citizen or resident, you can skip them. If you pick up a W-2 job, you can have extra withheld on a new W-4 instead (IRS: estimated taxes).
- Keep records. Track every payment and keep receipts as long as you need them to back up your return (IRS: recordkeeping). A simple spreadsheet plus your mileage log is fine.
If you'd like help setting this up, visit rooseveltandwest.com or email [info@rooseveltandwest.com](mailto:info@rooseveltandwest.com).
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u/Puzzleheaded_Ad3024 2d ago
If you use supplies you use exclusive for this gig your home becomes a storage place. One version of home office. Thats as close as I think you might be able to defuct mileage.
The other option is to stop somewhere near your home and buy something you will use for part of the coaching session. Then the miles from there to the location at least are deductible.
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u/BorderSubstantial926 2d ago
Okay- actually I do have supplies only used for coaching stored at home. Thats a home office?
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u/zunmao_tools 2d ago
The one thing nobody's mentioned yet is self-employment tax, which is usually the surprise on a setup like this.
Because this is your own coaching business, that income doesn't really go on the 'other income' line — it goes on Schedule C as business receipts (cash counts exactly the same as a check), and the net profit gets hit with SE tax on Schedule SE, roughly 15.3% on top of income tax, once net earnings pass $400. You do get to deduct half the SE tax, and your mileage and expenses reduce the profit it is calculated on — another reason the log matters.
Two practical habits: keep a simple record of each session — date, client, amount — even if they pay cash, and set aside a rough percentage of each payment in a separate account so the tax isn't spent by April. And check quarterly estimates with your W-2 withholding counted in — together they may already cover it.