by Adrian Dungan
For Tax Year 2015, there were approximately 25.2 million individual income tax returns that reported nonfarm sole proprietorship activity, a 2.4-percent increase from 2014. Total nonfarm sole proprietorship profits rose to $331.8 billion in 2015, a 4.7-percent increase over the previous year. In constant dollars, total profits increased by 3.5 percent for 2015. Total profits as a percentage of business receipts were 23.0 percent for 2015, the second highest level in this data series which begins with 1988. The largest percentage increase in profits was reported by the real estate sector, which increased 15.1 percent or $3.7 billion. The professional, scientific, and technical services sector accounted for 25.1 percent of total profits, the largest of any sector. Total profits in the sector rose to $83.3 billion, a 6.5-percent increase for 2015.
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