Those costs are never a tax deduction.
They might be an adjustment to the selling price, resulting in a lower capital gains. But if this is a home you lived in, you may qualify for the gains exclusion and not owe tax anyway.
As far as I know, most of the expenses you cite are not allowable as adjustments to the selling price. Anything that affects the home is not allowable. (Cleaning, minor repairs, hauling away trash.) You are expected to keep your own home in good condition and don't get a tax break for doing so, even in the interest of selling. (There is conflicting advice on the internet about this, I am going with this article. https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/when-home-sellers-can-reduce-capital-gains-tax-using-expense... I would like to find an official IRS ruling but have not yet found one.)
Advertising (open houses, social media presence, an MLS fee if you listed the house itself, etc.) is an allowable selling expense.
A 1099-MISC must be issued if a business pays a private citizen or single member LLC. A private citizen does not have to issue a 1099-MISC to either a company or another private citizen they do business with.
Overall this is not a smart plan. Let's say that $2000 of your expenses are allowable adjustments to the selling price. If you qualify for the exclusion, you owe no tax at all and save nothing. If you owe capital gains tax, then you save 15% ($300) or 20% if you are in the highest tax bracket ($400). Meanwhile your sons will report this as self-employment income and will owe 15% self-employment tax PLUS 10-25% income tax plus state tax. Your sons will pay at least double what you are trying to save yourself.
Even if you treat the entire $10,000 as a reduction in selling price (which is probably improper); they will pay double in tax compared to what you save in tax.
And, if they use this income to qualify for Earned Income Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit, and get audited, you and they will have to have really good proof that they performed legitimate work for legitimate pay and that this is not a scheme to qualify them for EIC; or else they could lose the EIC and get an automatic 2-year ban on future EIC.
So think about this carefully.
