<prompt> Human: Trying to get a clear answer from the horses mouth about this topic because most of the front page sources on google regarding UT income all have the same refrain; you should still file because law etc. Heres the short version of my issue; I usually file my relatives tax return each year. This year he told me that he was paid under the table for all of 2017 so no W2s, 1099s etc. He earned somewhere around 10 - 12K as a 56 year old, married, but separated and filing separately. There is seemingly no paper trail for me to even start so Im asking whether its worth even trying to piece-meal something together via HR block for such a low income and missing records. My thinking is to leave it alone because even in the case of an audit I would assume the burden of proof for a specific amount of income would be on the IRS, no?Thanks in advance. Victor  <response>: You should still file because law, etc.He would owe self-employment taxes on this money at a minimum, even he does doesnt owe income taxes. You dont have to have records to claim self-employment income, though it makes it harder to know how much income there was. 