Tax questions for Private Lender

[Ann A.]

Looking for tax related advice. If I lend money to a real estate investor friend, I would get a 1099-INT at the end of the year. Which would go as personal income in 1040. Is there any way of treating it as business income, perhaps Schedule C, so that:

1. it may be deduct expenses like wire fees, bank charges etc for this income

2. Do not want to show it as personal income and transactions going in & out of personal accounts to keep liability separate.

I have not created a LLC yet, but not sure how that would still solve the problem since it would still be considered personal income (sole proprietor). Any recommendations on how to be savvy with taxes?