Mathew
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Depending on the amount of your total income you may have a responsibility to file a tax return and report this income. The amount that would trigger a filing requirement depends on the type of work involved. If you are an independent contractor you would be required to do so at $400. It is most likely that would not the case and the amount will be much greater. Your employer (boss) is doing something illegal and that has the possibility of getting you in trouble at some point. It is true that thousands of people get away with such a practice but you may not wish to take that chance. By him doing this you may also be missing out on thousands in refundable credits from the government. |
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Steve D
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The folks above who have pointed out that paying you "off the books" or "under the table" are absolutely correct in that it is illegal in the eyes of the IRS. What everyone has also failed to point out is that by being paid in cash, you also fail to collect quarters and income for Social Security, which will hurt you when you retire. It also means that if you get laid off you will not be able to collect unemployment, since your employer will not have paid into the system, for you nor will you have creditable service which is needed to qualify for UI. |
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v b
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You can do this 2 ways.
Call his bluff and file form ss-8 to ask the irs to make a determination--and if the irs agrees with you, file your taxes with form 8919 so that you only pay your share of the taxes.
Or, you file self employed, paying the full 15.3% payroll tax.
You do not have the option to pretend he didn't pay you. |
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Lord of the Morning
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Look, your boss isn't doing you any favours by not reporting your wages. He's out to better himself and his business finacially by not having you "on the books".
You have a duty and an obligation to report your income to the IRS. The penalties for not doing so are not worth the risk, especially if you are the sole carer of your child.
If you are a single parent, and your income is in wages, then I persume you are not making an awful amount of money. This probably entitles you to a lower rate of tax then most people--if you need to pay taxes at all--supposing your income is below a certain level.
So it is unlikely you will need to pay the government any money.
Reporting income is important in regard to any government assistance payments you may be recieving. |
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DEBORAH F
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You should report the income on your income tax return. Your tips go on Form 4137, and you'll have to pay your share of the social security and medicare taxes on them (about 7.5%).
You could put the regular income on a Schedule C-EZ and treat yourself as an independent contractor. You would have to pay both the employer's and employee's share of the social security and medicare taxes on this income. That's just about 15%.
OR
You could create a substitute W-2 and report the wages that way. If you do this, the IRS will probably contact your boss, and he will probably get in trouble. Many bosses don't appreciate that and retaliate against the employee. It's not right, but it happens.
If I were you and wanted to keep my job, I'd treat myself as an independent contractor and pay the extra 7.5%. But, I might then go to the boss and tell him I want a raise to cover those taxes.
If you do it this way, you will have earned income which will qualify you for earned income credit and child tax credits. And your earnings will count toward your eventual social security pension. |
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- Tiny -
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i would say try your best to find a new job. when you start a new job, you are supposed to fill out a w-2 form. if you dont, you are considered 'off the books'. i feel very strongly against this because i know a LOT of people who make 11,12,13 dollars an hour off the books, keep every cent of it, and then work a 10 hour a week minimum wage job to make it seem as if they need government assistance (and they GET IT). meanwhile i cant afford health insurance, food, etc and i make too much for government assistance. your boss is endorsing this process. he does it because HE has to pay less and it benefits HIM.
email me if youd like, ill be happy to help you out on an online job search :) i have some experience, and i used to do interviews and hiring at my first job. |
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Judy1
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Report it on a tax return. You might have to pay in, or might not if you are eligible for EIC and it's enough to cover what you owe.
Your boss is committing a crime. Do you want to join him? |
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travelguruette
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This is done a lot and it is illegal. Technically you should report it. Then you have to pay all the unpaid taxes, social security, and possibly penalties. If your wages are not properly credited to social security then you will not have retirement benefits later. If you do file and report the income you can file and it will get your employer in trouble and most likely you will lose your job. |
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Sacha
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being paid in cash is illegal. that is probably why your boss is not reporting the wages. next time you are due to be paid, ask for it to be put into your bank account, that way you should have no problems and you wont get into trouble. |
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La_Serena
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You should speak to an accountant. I don't know how much money you make but if its over a certain amount you're required to file a federal return. You could report him to the IRS - you will probably lose your job, and then everyone else who's been paid under the table will owe back taxes too. You could also not file for 08 and look for a more legit job. This happened to me and that's how I handled it, didn't file and moved on. |
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supermitiko46
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Probably you could have problems with the IRS and pay for fraude. |
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mpc7757
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either way, you are screwed.. What you are working is an under the table job, you should not have expected any w2s, 4s or 6s for that matter. If you want a on the books job, you need to look else where.. If you go and get him in trouble, you will not only lose your job, you will owe the irs, and it will be your word against his, he can say he paid you thousands more than he did and you will need to pay all the taxes on that money.. Where are you from? You were not aware that a on the book job would NEVER EVER pay you in cash, unless its tips? |
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Vic
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its illegal for him to do that...but you save money on the other hand because you are'nt paying taxes....and its really bad though because you will not get any credit anywhere...talk to him and tell him its important for you to claim taxes...make sure you tell him you know its illegal...i'm sure he'll change his ways.... |
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casselman81
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it means he has not been takn taxes out on u. either u didn't make enough to file or hes giving u a break. either way ur not in trouble. long as he doesn't turn anything in the irs knows nothing about u working for him. that means u don't get taxes back or pay taxes in |
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