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Why should it make a difference whether you were paid by cash, check, or credit card if you were working for an agreed upon price?
Well, payment via a card will have the processing fee attached to it (which obviously eats into the contractors profit), but cash/check shouldn't make a difference.
No I never cared......I provided plans, license, insurance, parts, material labor etc. you got invoices for billing or progress payments .....however we set up the work and payment. So I gave receipts.
When I did work that the customer wanted to supply parts I made it clear that if the parts fail I give no warranty on parts or the labor. If the material is wrong you get charged all the time I’m waiting firvthe right part to show up.
Truthfully it sounds like op hired a guy who is a unlicensed contractor. Those guys usually work cheap and are on a cash only basis. They don’t want to deal with paperwork. That’s why they work cheap. Christ just go make yourself some receipts showing the date you withdrew money and say paid cash to John middle name Unlicensed last name Contractor.
Whenever I worked for cash because the customer wanted a cash discount I never gave a receipt. If you wanted receipts and all that I charged you full price. (I only did cash discounts for customers 8 knew well and they didn’t give a crap about a receipt.
Why should it make a difference whether you were paid by cash, check, or credit card if you were working for an agreed upon price?
I guess you never hire anyone who works on a cash basis only. You start pulling the receipt route on those guys watch them walk or the price just went up. It makes a difference when you’re hiring a fly by night under the radar “contractor”. And I use the term loosely. That’s what you clearly don’t seem to get. A under the table work means you dont get receipts and a nice contract, plans and licenses you know .....all the stuff you get when you’re hiring a real contractor. That’s why you’re able to pay the guy basically peanuts in cash every day as payment. Because you yourself are circumventing the law. I wonder of OP paid employee taxes. Because he can’t hire or enter into a contract with a contractor that isn’t licensed. I mean he basically hired a employee as far as the law is concerned. OP is now crying because he can’t get receipts to deduct the labor which is most likely 1/3-1/2 what he would pay a real contractor. He can’t have it both ways.
I have a gardener. I pay him $140 a month. Cash. Sometimes a check but cash is easy. I don’t need a receipt because truthfully I just don’t really care if he declares it. It’s worthless to me because I can’t deduct it. So what’s the point of a receipt? It’s just like going out to eat. If I pay cash I dont need a receipt. If I pay by cc or atm I want a receipt simply to cross it off when I get my statement. Other than that it goes on a shred pile.
Everything business related receivables cash, check, credit card etc got deposited in my business account for the business. When I say cash I mean a cash payment not a $100 quickie. When I did a job for a customer cash I discounted it and they almost never wanted a receipt. Now we’re talking a small $20/$50 thing. If they customer really really did want one i wrote one up.. I deposit the cash money because my average jobs ran 10k or more. The residential service guys had a pouch where to put all the money and receipts. That got accounted and taken to the bank in a drop sleeve. But it was only two guys and most of our residential customers were long time customer era from the business to business contact.
For example (back when I was a contractor) If I’m doing a job somewhere and a neighbor grabs me and says hey can you change out a switch. Sure $20/50 cash. I send one of the helpers to go do it and he can keep the money. Or of it was $100 or something I took my crew to lunch. Most people I came across didn’t care to get a receipt for little $100 jobs. Some wanted a itemized receipt some just wanted a description of work completed and a total amount. They got a receipt. I don’t care. It’s really not that uncommon not to give receipts for small amounts. It takes me more to write a itemized receipt than it takes to charge a light switch. 99.99% of my work was contract work business to business. I deposited everything. The service work mostly was billed with a smattering of small cash check credit card. And that work was 100% customers or friends of customers. I wasn’t advertizing residential work because I despise residential work.
On my rentals I get some tenants who pay cash. One guy is a waiter at a high end restaurant so he has a lot of cash he pays the rent. They don’t want receipts but I still deposit all the cash. Some pay by check some direct deposit. Makes absolutely no difference to me because I don’t care enough to circumvent paying my taxes.
I’ve never done a strictly cash work like OP is having people do. I just wasn’t interested because I didn’t care to do that.
Last edited by Electrician4you; 01-14-2020 at 10:12 AM..
I guess you never hire anyone who works on a cash basis only. You start pulling the receipt route on those guys watch them walk or the price just went up. It makes a difference when you’re hiring a fly by night under the radar “contractor”. And I use the term loosely. That’s what you clearly don’t seem to get. A under the table work means you dont get receipts and a nice contract, plans and licenses you know .....all the stuff you get when you’re hiring a real contractor. That’s why you’re able to pay the guy basically peanuts in cash every day as payment. Because you yourself are circumventing the law. I wonder of OP paid employee taxes. Because he can’t hire or enter into a contract with a contractor that isn’t licensed. I mean he basically hired a employee as far as the law is concerned. OP is now crying because he can’t get receipts to deduct the labor which is most likely 1/3-1/2 what he would pay a real contractor. He can’t have it both ways.
I have a gardener. I pay him $140 a month. Cash. Sometimes a check but cash is easy. I don’t need a receipt because truthfully I just don’t really care if he declares it. It’s worthless to me because I can’t deduct it. So what’s the point of a receipt? It’s just like going out to eat. If I pay cash I dont need a receipt. If I pay by cc or atm I want a receipt simply to cross it off when I get my statement. Other than that it goes on a shred pile.
Everything business related receivables cash, check, credit card etc got deposited in my business account for the business. When I say cash I mean a cash payment not a $100 quickie. When I did a job for a customer cash I discounted it and they never wanted a receipt. I never bothered. If they did I wrote one up. Funny thing is they would ask me to write the receipt for full value so they can deduct it.
For example (back when I was a contractor) If I’m doing a job somewhere and a neighbor grabs me and says hey can you change out a switch. Sure $20/50 cash. I send one of the helpers to go do it and he can keep the money. Or of it was $100 or something I took my crew to lunch. Most people I came across didn’t care to get a receipt for little $100 jobs. Some wanted a itemized receipt some just wanted a description of work completed and a total amount. They got a receipt. I don’t care. It’s really not that uncommon not to give receipts for small amounts. It takes me more to write a itemized receipt than it takes to charge a light switch.
On my rentals I get some tenants who pay cash. One guy is a waiter at a high end restaurant so he has a lot of cash he pays the rent. They don’t want receipts but I still deposit all the cash. Some pay by check some direct deposit. Makes absolutely no difference to me because I don’t care enough to circumvent paying my taxes.
If you are not going to declare the income why does it matter whether you give a receipt or not? That makes no sense.
If you are not declaring those "little $100 jobs" you are "circumventing" paying your taxes.
It is not illegal to hire someone who is not licensed. Someone who works on his own schedule, provides his own tools, and has his own employees is not an employee. He is, for tax purposes, an independent contractor.
We do not know from the OP that the person doing the work is unlicensed and we do not know that the OP paid "peanuts" to him. All we know is that he has refused to give a receipt for however much was paid to him.
If you are not declaring those "little $100 jobs" you are "circumventing" paying your taxes.
If you are not going to declare the income why does it matter whether you give a receipt or not?
That makes no sense.
Sense: Not giving a receipt leaves no paper trail of that "circumventing"
The OP wants his cut on the front end and the back end.
Wants to get a cheap deal from the contractor by paying cash under the table so the contractor prices as if he doesn't have to cover his taxes.
Then wants the contractor to cut his own throat, to document that he is liable for taxes.
"Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we conspire to deceive" seems apropos.
If you are not going to declare the income why does it matter whether you give a receipt or not? That makes no sense.
If you are not declaring those "little $100 jobs" you are "circumventing" paying your taxes.
It is not illegal to hire someone who is not licensed. Someone who works on his own schedule, provides his own tools, and has his own employees is not an employee. He is, for tax purposes, an independent contractor.
We do not know from the OP that the person doing the work is unlicensed and we do not know that the OP paid "peanuts" to him. All we know is that he has refused to give a receipt for however much was paid to him.
How do I know? Because I’ve been in the construction industry for about 25 years and I know wtf I’m talking about. The FACT that he didn’t like the set up bought all the material and made DAILY payments and it was a all cash deal for labor is a HUGE tell that he paid peanuts and the guy was unlicensed. Most f these unlicensed guys get beat up on price and I don’t blame them for not giving paperwork. So the guy doesn’t want to give receipts now because he’s afraid. And OP wants to treat this as some kind of legitimate business deal. Are you f’ing kidding me. If I was a unlicensed contractor I wouldn’t want any paper trail. But keep on with the guy was just a contractor
As far as my not declaring $100 for a small job lol. Do you declare the income from that garage sale? How about when someone pays you cash for doing something for them. That’s income too. Considering the money was used for petty cash, to either buy lunches or given to the helpers why would I bother declaring it. Trust me lady I paid more taxes than most people made in a year. I didn’t get away with anything.
Last edited by Electrician4you; 01-15-2020 at 03:21 PM..
How do I know? Because I’ve been in the construction industry for about 25 years and I know wtf I’m talking about. The FACT that he didn’t like the set up and made DAILY payments and it was a all cash deal for labor is a HUGE tell that he paid peanuts and the guy was unlicensed. And the guy doesn’t want to give receipts now because he’s afraid. But keep on with the guy was just a contractor
As far as my not declaring $100 for a small job lol. Do you declare the income from that garage sale? How about when someone pays you cash for doing something for them. That’s income too. Considering the money was used for petty cash, to either buy lunches or given to the helpers why would I bother declaring it. Trust me lady I paid more taxes than most people made in a year. I didn’t get away with anything.
I 1099 the 15 year old who mows my grass.
Funny. I have to find a new one every year.
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