"it's never made me upgrade before"
We cannot see your account or your tax returns so we have no idea what you have been doing for your past returns, but if you used online software for self-employment income, you had to upgrade to use the Self-Employed version or since last year--Premium-- in order to prepare a Schedule C and enter business expenses. Or you had to use a version of the desktop software, since any version of desktop can prepare a Schedule C.
If you have self-employment income for which you will pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare, you will need to use online Premium software or any version of the desktop software download so that you can prepare a Schedule C for your business expenses.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2926899-how-does-my-side-job-affect-my-taxes
https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/form-1099-nec/1099-nec/L5qTsBiSe_US_en_U...
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/self-employed/help/how-do-i-report-income-from-self-employment/00/...
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/self-employed/help/what-is-the-self-employment-tax/00/25922
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2902389-why-am-i-paying-self-employment-tax
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901340-where-do-i-enter-schedule-c
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3398950-what-self-employed-expenses-can-i-deduct
https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/self-employed/self-employed-tax-deductions-
calculator-2021-2022-50907/
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901110-do-i-need-to-make-estimated-tax-payments-to-the-irs
If you live in a state with a state income tax, you might need to make estimated payments to your state.
https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/self-employed/
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/business-taxes/discussion/self-employed-don-t-miss-these-tax-moves...
**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
