Quote Quoting Chickenman0710
View Post
Asking for a friend
My buddy has a day job on the books but on the side he is a handyman/painter.
He made about 30k in income and wants to claim it in the "other income" on his 1040 form. However, he is concerned the IRS will ask questions, audit him, and demand records to prove where this income came from.
My view is that the IRS wont care and will be happy he is claiming the income.
What should he do?
The income is considered to be self employment income and is required to be reported on Schedule C, NOT as "other income". He will end up paying both regular income tax on the income, and self employment tax on the income (employer and employees share of Social Security and Medicare taxes).

Yes, the IRS will very much care where on the tax return that the income is reported, since reporting it on the line for other income is not proper at all.