Off the books jobs?? Forum

[lillawyer2]

I know when you go for the bar they call all past employment for character evals...therefore, would they find out that i picked up an off the books job?

[Aeon]

Not all bar admissions committees contact prior employers for character evaluations, though I suppose they do reserve the right to do so at any time.

But either way, if that particular job would need to be reported to the bar (i.e.: it was within the timeframe covered by the application and of sufficient length), then you should report it.

[lillawyer2]

Not all bar admissions committees contact prior employers for character evaluations, though I suppose they do reserve the right to do so at any time.

But either way, if that particular job would need to be reported to the bar (i.e.: it was within the timeframe covered by the application and of sufficient length), then you should report it.

yes id have to report it bc im working it as a side job now and im applying this yr

could they find out it was off the books and if they could/did would i be penalized for it

[rnoodles]

Not all bar admissions committees contact prior employers for character evaluations, though I suppose they do reserve the right to do so at any time.

But either way, if that particular job would need to be reported to the bar (i.e.: it was within the timeframe covered by the application and of sufficient length), then you should report it.

yes id have to report it bc im working it as a side job now and im applying this yr

could they find out it was off the books and if they could/did would i be penalized for it

I doubt it'd need to be reported, unless, of course, you're making a pretty good amount of money. In which case I'm pretty sure you are, and whoever is paying you is, violating some kind of law.

[lillawyer2]

Not all bar admissions committees contact prior employers for character evaluations, though I suppose they do reserve the right to do so at any time.

But either way, if that particular job would need to be reported to the bar (i.e.: it was within the timeframe covered by the application and of sufficient length), then you should report it.

yes id have to report it bc im working it as a side job now and im applying this yr

could they find out it was off the books and if they could/did would i be penalized for it

I doubt it'd need to be reported, unless, of course, you're making a pretty good amount of money. In which case I'm pretty sure you are, and whoever is paying you is, violating some kind of law.

lol no its not good money it would be only $200 a week. no more than $300 a week. its a restaurant gig... combined with my corporate job...its helping me finish paying off my loans and bulk up my savinngs before i go to law school

[rnoodles]

Not all bar admissions committees contact prior employers for character evaluations, though I suppose they do reserve the right to do so at any time.

But either way, if that particular job would need to be reported to the bar (i.e.: it was within the timeframe covered by the application and of sufficient length), then you should report it.

yes id have to report it bc im working it as a side job now and im applying this yr

could they find out it was off the books and if they could/did would i be penalized for it

I doubt it'd need to be reported, unless, of course, you're making a pretty good amount of money. In which case I'm pretty sure you are, and whoever is paying you is, violating some kind of law.

lol no its not good money it would be only $200 a week. no more than $300 a week. its a restaurant gig... combined with my corporate job...its helping me finish paying off my loans and bulk up my savinngs before i go to law school

You should still look into this. I know where I used to work, if I got paid any more than a certain amount it had to be reported. Making $8K+ a year under the table isn't much as far as income goes, but it could be significant legally.

Like I found this. lol at it being "the taxgirl," but hey it could be a helpful starting point at least!
http://www.taxgirl.com/ask-the-taxgirl- ... the-table/

[squirtlesquad14]

Not all bar admissions committees contact prior employers for character evaluations, though I suppose they do reserve the right to do so at any time.

But either way, if that particular job would need to be reported to the bar (i.e.: it was within the timeframe covered by the application and of sufficient length), then you should report it.

yes id have to report it bc im working it as a side job now and im applying this yr

could they find out it was off the books and if they could/did would i be penalized for it

I doubt it'd need to be reported, unless, of course, you're making a pretty good amount of money. In which case I'm pretty sure you are, and whoever is paying you is, violating some kind of law.

lol no its not good money it would be only $200 a week. no more than $300 a week. its a restaurant gig... combined with my corporate job...its helping me finish paying off my loans and bulk up my savinngs before i go to law school

If a single employer is paying you more than $600 for a non-W2 position, they should be giving you a 1099. Regardless of whether your employer reports it or not, you should be tracking all of it and self-reporting it as "other income" on your tax return and paying any applicable self-employment taxes. Off the books jobs really aren't any different than above board self-contractor work....it's just easier to evade taxes if your employer isn't reporting it, which is obviously illegal.

[kartelite]

I'm pretty sure it's not the employee's responsibility to make sure they're "on the books," as in you don't have a duty to audit or monitor your employer. Obviously if you weren't paying taxes that's a different story, but an independent issue of being "on the books."

[jrass]

For payments over a few hundred dollars in a given year the employer has to register your social, and issue you a form. If they didn't do that and you didn't pay taxes on it, I wouldn't disclose it. Not disclosing income on your taxes is a serious offense, and you'd be creating evidence that you didn't disclose it when there'd really be no way for anybody to know. I don't know if it's illegal for the employer not to report it, but they wouldn't be able to deduct those payments from gross income so it's just stupid not to unless you find out the contractor is a pederast or something, and you sent them out to babysit kids.

[kcdc1]

Disclose and pay taxes if you have not already. Don't screw around with your future license to save a few hundred bucks.

[lillawyer2]

thanks for the advice... the gig is on the books. i requested it. not risking anything for a few extra dollars

[jrass]

I would never advise breaking the law but if you didn't disclose in a previous year you've already broken the law, and the odds of the IRS paying attention to $1000 of income or less are literally in the thousands to one. Over half of all audited people earn over $500k per year.

[lacrossebrother]

Lol at babysitters requesting 1099s

[jrass]

Lol at babysitters requesting 1099s

If I hired a baby sitter that wasn't a friend's kid, I'd absolutely want their social to run a background check, but the IRS isn't running around hunting down baby sitters. Hell, in the average convenience store or deli, 90% of the staff is comprised of illegal immigrants. The purpose of the IRS is to maximize the amount of money the government receives sort of like the mafia. The mafia isn't sending Tony to shake down a baby sitter for a quarter. They're sending Tony to pay a visit to the investment banker who makes $2MM a year.