Multiple Schedule C using same EIN for LLC? Or single Schedule C?

[JeffreyR]

I have an LLC (with its own EIN) for my self employment income for work I do on the side. At first my LLC was just one offering which brought in income, but it has expanded and now I do three totally different things. Each offering generates it own income, has its own expenses, ... but everything is still billed under my one LLC. My plan is to eventually set up an LLC (and EIN) for each of my offerings, but in the meantime, how do I file these in TurboTax? Do I create a single Schedule C with income and expenses from all three offerings in it? Or do I create a separate Schedule C for each of them - all using the same EIN - in order to separate each income, expenses, ...

I wasn't sure if creating multiple Schedule C and having the same EIN in each is a no no.

[Anonymous_ · Accepted solution]

Generally, you are supposed to file a separate Schedule C for each business.

Describe the business or professional activity that provided your principal source of income reported on line 1. If you owned more than one business, you must complete a separate Schedule C for each business. Give the general field or activity and the type of product or service.

See https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1040sc#idm140094051284416

[Jon4587]

This doesn't answer the question.  Since the work was all done under one LLC, obviously there is only one "business" so it could all go on one schedule C, but the OP was asking if they should do that or put each "activity" on a separate schedule C.

I have a similar business setup to the OP - I created an LLC and run several different business "divisions" under it.  By having everything under the umbrella of one company, the losses in one division can offset the gains of another, whereas if they are separate LLCs, you could not do that, also if you have an entity that  posts a loss year after year, you can only do that for so long if it is on its own schedule C.

I am running into a similar problem with the OP; my business operations are so diverse that it is a bookkeeping challenge to keep everything separate, so I was wondering the same thing - can separate schedule Cs be filed for the same EIN?

[Anonymous_]

The instructions are rather clear:

Describe the business or professional activity that provided your principal source of income reported on line 1. If you owned more than one business, you must complete a separate Schedule C for each business.

[Nebantaah]

This still doesn't answer the question. The scenario is clear but the responses are rather too generic

[DawnC]

If you do the same kind of work for all 3 businesses, report it as one business activity on one Schedule C.    If the businesses operate doing different lines of work, you need separate Schedule Cs.   Ex:  If you do dog grooming and also build furniture - you would file separate business returns.   This requires dividing up your total expenses between each business, so this requires more work.      @Nebantaah