Bar C&F Employment-- making me sick Forum

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throw050623

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Bar C&F Employment-- making me sick

Post by throw050623 » Mon Aug 01, 2022 11:08 am

I have a bit of a unique problem. Incoming 1L and recently was looking over the bar character and fitness for the state I will be practicing in. This really pertains to employment history.

This summer I was desperate for some extra money to pay bills, so my partner got me a job at a local business where they work part time. I would only work one night a week on weekends, as I had a full time job during the week. The thing is that several of the employees, including me, got paid under the table in cash. I probably only made between $1000-$1500 total, as I only worked there for a few months.

I am worried that if I report this, I'm going to get everyone there in trouble. These are people that I have known for a bit and am friends with. They've helped me out a lot. It's a very close knit group of people, and the last thing I would want to do is fuck them over. But I also don't want to lie on my application. My partner is begging me to just never mention it. This sucks. I haven't been able to stop thinking about this for the past day or so and its really messing with me.

I was not thinking about the bar app when I decided to take up my partner's offer and work there. I'm not sure how the bar would find out, as it was cash and I have never listed or mentioned this job anywhere, but I don't want to take risks. I know the advice here is going to be to disclose, but it could really screw up some of my personal relationships. Any advice is appreciated.

talons2250

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Re: Bar C&F Employment-- making me sick

Post by talons2250 » Mon Aug 01, 2022 11:46 am

You have to disclose. You don't have a choice. The only alternative is to abandon the whole prospect of being an attorney and do something else with your life. So if your personal relationships mean that much to you, then withdraw from law school. These are your only two options.

Access

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Re: Bar C&F Employment-- making me sick

Post by Access » Mon Aug 01, 2022 11:59 am

You have to report it on your taxes and if relevant pay taxes. Since you sound like low income, the taxes shouldn't be a problem. Consult with a CPA or tax attorney if there's any way to do this without having to detail the source of the income.

nixy

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Re: Bar C&F Employment-- making me sick

Post by nixy » Mon Aug 01, 2022 12:19 pm

I’m pretty sure reporting stuff to the bar won’t lead to consequences to other people? The bar’s job is to investigate you, not people who aren’t applying for admission to the bar. They don’t have time to create problems for anyone but bar applicants (I’m going to assume that if you disclosed that you helped someone bury a body or mail anthrax to the president, that might be an exception, but not getting paid under the table). I think bar applications are confidential except for the purposes of determining your character and fitness. Try googling the state in question + bar application + confidential or variations on that theme.

Access

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Re: Bar C&F Employment-- making me sick

Post by Access » Mon Aug 01, 2022 12:46 pm

nixy wrote:
Mon Aug 01, 2022 12:19 pm
I’m pretty sure reporting stuff to the bar won’t lead to consequences to other people? The bar’s job is to investigate you, not people who aren’t applying for admission to the bar. They don’t have time to create problems for anyone but bar applicants (I’m going to assume that if you disclosed that you helped someone bury a body or mail anthrax to the president, that might be an exception, but not getting paid under the table). I think bar applications are confidential except for the purposes of determining your character and fitness. Try googling the state in question + bar application + confidential or variations on that theme.
The problem is that the bar asks (or at least my state does) "have you paid/filed all your taxes" so OP has to either do so or say "no" and get held up until they fix the issue 3 years late.

Put another way, the issue isn't getting paid cash, it's failing to report the income. I don't see how OP can honestly fill out C&F without reporting the income, and therefore should file it in next taxes.

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nixy

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Re: Bar C&F Employment-- making me sick

Post by nixy » Mon Aug 01, 2022 1:27 pm

Access wrote:
Mon Aug 01, 2022 12:46 pm
nixy wrote:
Mon Aug 01, 2022 12:19 pm
I’m pretty sure reporting stuff to the bar won’t lead to consequences to other people? The bar’s job is to investigate you, not people who aren’t applying for admission to the bar. They don’t have time to create problems for anyone but bar applicants (I’m going to assume that if you disclosed that you helped someone bury a body or mail anthrax to the president, that might be an exception, but not getting paid under the table). I think bar applications are confidential except for the purposes of determining your character and fitness. Try googling the state in question + bar application + confidential or variations on that theme.
The problem is that the bar asks (or at least my state does) "have you paid/filed all your taxes" so OP has to either do so or say "no" and get held up until they fix the issue 3 years late.

Put another way, the issue isn't getting paid cash, it's failing to report the income. I don't see how OP can honestly fill out C&F without reporting the income, and therefore should file it in next taxes.
That’s fair - I was thinking only about the bar association and didn’t connect the dots to the IRS.

Access

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Re: Bar C&F Employment-- making me sick

Post by Access » Mon Aug 01, 2022 1:34 pm

nixy wrote:
Mon Aug 01, 2022 1:27 pm
Access wrote:
Mon Aug 01, 2022 12:46 pm
nixy wrote:
Mon Aug 01, 2022 12:19 pm
I’m pretty sure reporting stuff to the bar won’t lead to consequences to other people? The bar’s job is to investigate you, not people who aren’t applying for admission to the bar. They don’t have time to create problems for anyone but bar applicants (I’m going to assume that if you disclosed that you helped someone bury a body or mail anthrax to the president, that might be an exception, but not getting paid under the table). I think bar applications are confidential except for the purposes of determining your character and fitness. Try googling the state in question + bar application + confidential or variations on that theme.
The problem is that the bar asks (or at least my state does) "have you paid/filed all your taxes" so OP has to either do so or say "no" and get held up until they fix the issue 3 years late.

Put another way, the issue isn't getting paid cash, it's failing to report the income. I don't see how OP can honestly fill out C&F without reporting the income, and therefore should file it in next taxes.
That’s fair - I was thinking only about the bar association and didn’t connect the dots to the IRS.
But again like I said earlier, I don't think it's that hard to report the income without it having repercussions to the friends. OP needs to consult a tax advisor. But if they do need to list the source of the income, not really any option. You can't expect to cover for the business. Still shouldn't implicate the friend and you shouldn't involve them.

johndooley

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Re: Bar C&F Employment-- making me sick

Post by johndooley » Mon Aug 01, 2022 1:46 pm

throw050623 wrote:
Mon Aug 01, 2022 11:08 am
I have a bit of a unique problem. Incoming 1L and recently was looking over the bar character and fitness for the state I will be practicing in. This really pertains to employment history.

This summer I was desperate for some extra money to pay bills, so my partner got me a job at a local business where they work part time. I would only work one night a week on weekends, as I had a full time job during the week. The thing is that several of the employees, including me, got paid under the table in cash. I probably only made between $1000-$1500 total, as I only worked there for a few months.

I am worried that if I report this, I'm going to get everyone there in trouble. These are people that I have known for a bit and am friends with. They've helped me out a lot. It's a very close knit group of people, and the last thing I would want to do is fuck them over. But I also don't want to lie on my application. My partner is begging me to just never mention it. This sucks. I haven't been able to stop thinking about this for the past day or so and its really messing with me.

I was not thinking about the bar app when I decided to take up my partner's offer and work there. I'm not sure how the bar would find out, as it was cash and I have never listed or mentioned this job anywhere, but I don't want to take risks. I know the advice here is going to be to disclose, but it could really screw up some of my personal relationships. Any advice is appreciated.
Lol this is not a big deal. If you don't report 99.999999999% chance it never comes up with the bar. If you report they are not going to call the IRS or DoL and open some investigation.

Pema

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Re: Bar C&F Employment-- making me sick

Post by Pema » Mon Aug 01, 2022 5:21 pm

Not a lot of money. Pay them back with reasonable interest.

uygiugiyugyugk

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Re: Bar C&F Employment-- making me sick

Post by uygiugiyugyugk » Sun Oct 09, 2022 10:21 pm

none of your friends are getting in trouble. report the income when you do taxes as other income - write down paid in cash. if you already filed, amend. its not a big deal.

you worked a job. they paid you in cash (not your fault). you didn't get a w2 so didnt put it in your taxes/didnt think it was a big deal. you fixed the issue and owe nothing.

im failing to see the issue here.

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