What this line means
This line is reserved by the IRS for future use. Do not enter anything here. The IRS occasionally reserves blank lines on forms to accommodate future legislative changes without needing to renumber the entire form. Skip this line and move to line 28.
Does this apply to you?
- No one fills this in — it is reserved for future use
- Leave this line blank on your return
Easy to overlook
This line is intentionally blank The IRS reserves lines for future use so that when new tax provisions are enacted, they can add a line without renumbering every line below it. This is a formatting decision, not a missed deduction. 1 IRS Schedule C instructions — Line 27b
Do not enter “other expenses” here If you have additional expenses that do not fit lines 8-26, they go on line 27a (from Part V line 48). Line 27b is not an overflow line — it is reserved and any entry here will be ignored or flagged. 2 General filing pattern — entering amounts on reserved lines
Watch out for this
Entering an amount on this line thinking it is a continuation of line 27a. Line 27b is not related to line 27a. It is a completely separate, reserved line. All other expenses go through Part V to line 27a.
Footnotes
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IRS Schedule C (Form 1040) Instructions, Line 27b. https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1040sc ↩
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IRS Schedule C (Form 1040) Instructions. See also IRS Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf ↩