New law: Every person filing self employment is subject to audit, correct?

[angelicaraquelr]

I was Told by my tax preparer that a new law in place mandates the irs to audit anyone claiming self employment and it prevented me from receiving a second check last year because I didnt Provide proper documentation. I had Hand written receipts but no bank statements. 

[CarolynM · Accepted solution]

This is not true. 

Self employed individuals are prime targets for IRS audits because the income and expenses are generally only self reported (not independently submitted by a bank or employer), but there is no new law making this mandatory. 

The new tax law passed in December has several changes that will impact self employed persons, but those are only for 2018, not the 2017 taxes due in April.

For more information about Self Employment income, and making sure you only claim verifiable expenses, follow these links: 

IRS Self Employment

Schedule C Instructions

TurboTax Schedule C for Self Employment