31.1 million
nonfarm sole proprietorship returns were filed for Tax Year 2023.
IRS source, Tax Year 2023JC Tax Services reference data
U.S. self-employment tax statistics.
Key IRS figures on nonfarm sole proprietorship returns, business receipts, and reported net income. Updated September 16, 2026, using the latest published IRS table for Tax Year 2023.
At a glance
Schedule C activity is a major part of the tax picture.
These figures cover nonfarm sole proprietorship activity reported on Schedule C of Form 1040. They are useful context for writers, researchers, and business owners looking at the scale of self-employment filing in the United States.
They do not describe partnership, S-Corporation, or corporation returns. Those are separate entity filing paths, even when an owner also files an individual return.
$2.063 trillion
in business receipts was reported on those returns for Tax Year 2023.
IRS source, Tax Year 2023$377.2 billion
in net income less deficit was reported by nonfarm sole proprietorships for Tax Year 2023.
IRS source, Tax Year 2023What the figures cover
Nonfarm sole proprietorships reported on Schedule C.
The IRS study covers business receipts, deductions, and net income reported by an individual taxpayer on Schedule C. It is a useful lens on self-employment activity, including many freelancers, contractors, and one-owner businesses that report business income as part of an individual return.
A business may have a different filing path. Partnerships, S-Corporations, and corporations file separate entity returns. An LLC can be treated differently depending on its ownership and tax election. The return structure matters before totals, expenses, and tax questions are evaluated.
Explore Schedule C tax preparationMethodology and sources
How to use this page.
JC Tax Services summarized the IRS Statistics of Income table “Nonfarm Sole Proprietorships: Business Receipts, Selected Deductions, Payroll, and Net Income, by Industrial Sectors.” The data year shown beside each figure is Tax Year 2023. The IRS identifies these figures as estimates based on samples. Dollar amounts are reported as published by the IRS and rounded here only to the displayed decimal place.
View the IRS Tax Year 2023 source table
Cite this page
JC Tax Services. “U.S. Self-Employment Tax Statistics.” Updated September 16, 2026. jctaxservicesllc.com/tax-filing-statistics/
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