Working like an illegal before your EAD arrives

[payxibka 10,045]

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;#entry616152

I'm waiting to see Yodrak/someone else appear & dispute what you said fwaguy.

Hmmmmmm.... Yodrak did appear..... nuff said...

Edited December 19, 2006 by fwaguy

[Jenn! 918]

jenn,

Depends - are you going to report your 'under the table' income to the IRS? If you do not, you will be doing a lot wrong.

Al Capone didn't go to jail for killing all his competitors, he went to jail for income tax evasion.

Yodrak

Back to your OP, I changed my mind. I think the employee would be in trouble since there was no I-9.

This is a good question!

Employer

So you're saying that I could go get a job where I was paid under the table. And I wouldn't be doing anything wrong as long as I wasn't caught?

This has been an interesting discussion. I guess I was under the impression that working without the proper tax documentation up front was illegal for the employee. I see now that that's not the case.

Edited December 19, 2006 by jenn3539

[Yodrak 7]

kitkat,

No, it's not a mistake, as you demonstrated in another thread. Independent contractors are not employees of the business that hires them. (That's one of the benefits to a business of hiring an independent contractor - they're not an employee.)

Yodrak

Some companies hire independent contractors and don't require proof of eligibility to work or even ask for a SSN (that's their mistake, right?) . . . .

[Yodrak 7]

jenn,

I don't see how you come to that conclusion - messing with the IRS is one of the most consequential things a person can do.

You're not thinking that an EAD is a tax document, are you?

Yodrak

jenn,

Depends - are you going to report your 'under the table' income to the IRS? If you do not, you will be doing a lot wrong.

Al Capone didn't go to jail for killing all his competitors, he went to jail for income tax evasion.

Yodrak

Back to your OP, I changed my mind. I think the employee would be in trouble since there was no I-9.

This is a good question!

Employer

So you're saying that I could go get a job where I was paid under the table. And I wouldn't be doing anything wrong as long as I wasn't caught?

This has been an interesting discussion. I guess I was under the impression that working without the proper tax documentation up front was illegal for the employee. I see now that that's not the case.

[Jenn! 918]

jenn,

I don't see how you come to that conclusion - messing with the IRS is one of the most consequential things a person can do.

You're not thinking that an EAD is a tax document, are you?

Yodrak

jenn,

Depends - are you going to report your 'under the table' income to the IRS? If you do not, you will be doing a lot wrong.

Al Capone didn't go to jail for killing all his competitors, he went to jail for income tax evasion.

Yodrak

Back to your OP, I changed my mind. I think the employee would be in trouble since there was no I-9.

This is a good question!

Employer

So you're saying that I could go get a job where I was paid under the table. And I wouldn't be doing anything wrong as long as I wasn't caught?

This has been an interesting discussion. I guess I was under the impression that working without the proper tax documentation up front was illegal for the employee. I see now that that's not the case.

Yodrak,

I think you've misunderstood me. What I'm saying is that contrary to what I believed before, it is not illegal in itself to work without an I-9 as long as you subsequently report your income.

I understand that the EAD is not a tax document!

Edited December 20, 2006 by jenn3539

[Yodrak 7]

jenn,

Thanks for the clarification, I understand what you meant now.

It is illegal (as in against the law) for an employer to hire an employee without doing an I-9. (And without correctly doing an I-9.)

Yodrak

Yodrak,

I think you've misunderstood me. What I'm saying is that contrary to what I believed before, it is not illegal in itself to work without an I-9 as long as you subsequently report your income.

I understand that the EAD is not a tax document!

[Reynaldo 0]

jenn,

Thanks for the clarification, I understand what you meant now.

It is illegal (as in against the law) for an employer to hire an employee without doing an I-9. (And without correctly doing an I-9.)

Yodrak

Times like these I realize how corrupt Brazil really is...

Yodrak, thanks for all the information!!!

[kitkat1 5]

kitkat,

No, it's not a mistake, as you demonstrated in another thread. Independent contractors are not employees of the business that hires them. (That's one of the benefits to a business of hiring an independent contractor - they're not an employee.)

Yodrak

Some companies hire independent contractors and don't require proof of eligibility to work or even ask for a SSN (that's their mistake, right?) . . . .

Actually, I meant a mistake in regard to not asking for a SSN (or ITTN) since they would require that to generate the 1099 as far as I know.

[Yodrak 7]

kitkat,

Thanks for the clarification. I expect that you are right about the SSN, and that the company would find such a mistake when it was time to issue the 1099 - if not long before.

Yodrak

kitkat,

No, it's not a mistake, as you demonstrated in another thread. Independent contractors are not employees of the business that hires them. (That's one of the benefits to a business of hiring an independent contractor - they're not an employee.)

Yodrak

Some companies hire independent contractors and don't require proof of eligibility to work or even ask for a SSN (that's their mistake, right?) . . . .

Actually, I meant a mistake in regard to not asking for a SSN (or ITTN) since they would require that to generate the 1099 as far as I know.

Edited December 20, 2006 by Yodrak

[MHandMB 0]

Ok, this is not completely related to the topic at hand, but I had a question-

If someone who was legally authorized to work took an independent contracting job for a few months in 2006 and didn't get any taxes taken out, and will not be getting a W2 in January of 2007 for tax purposes, how does one report that extra income to the IRS so as to not get penalized?

This topic is interesting.

[kitkat1 5]

Ok, this is not completely related to the topic at hand, but I had a question-

If someone who was legally authorized to work took an independent contracting job for a few months in 2006 and didn't get any taxes taken out, and will not be getting a W2 in January of 2007 for tax purposes, how does one report that extra income to the IRS so as to not get penalized?

This topic is interesting.

The company you worked for is required to provide a 1099 (the equivalent of a W2 for independent contractors) before January 31, 2007. That form is used to report the income. Depending on how much money was made, there may still be penalties since a certain amount is required to paid quarterly to ensure that 110% of the prior year's total tax due has been paid. If not, you may get hit with interest and penalties. That said, if you only worked for a few months, and had taxes taken out of your income as an employee, you could end up just fine.

[MHandMB 0]

oh, man.

Let's say taxes were not taken out during the year of this independent contracting job, but the total amount altogether is less than $4,000. Any idea what the penalties would be in that case?

[payxibka 10,045]

oh, man.

Let's say taxes were not taken out during the year of this independent contracting job, but the total amount altogether is less than $4,000. Any idea what the penalties would be in that case?

Penalties are based on actual taxes due and not on your taxable income. Taxes due are based on individual personal circumstances such as filing status, other taxable income, deductions, exemptions, other withholdings and credits, yada yada yada.... So it is not really possible to say unless the whole story is known.

[kitkat1 5]

oh, man.

Let's say taxes were not taken out during the year of this independent contracting job, but the total amount altogether is less than $4,000. Any idea what the penalties would be in that case?

No way to know. Were you also working for an employer and having taxes taken out of paychecks? If so, you may be ok. If I remember correctly, the requirement for what has to be paid is based on the total tax due in the prior year - so it depends on how much total you paid in taxes during the year. All in all, the penalties shouldn't amount to much on a total of only $4,000 but you have to consider that the tax requirements include self employment taxes as well as any applicable State tax requirements. Might be a good time to chat with an accountant and clarify or at minimum search through the IRS site.

http://www.irs.gov/faqs/faq4-3.html

Generally, there are no tax withholdings on self-employment income. However, you may be subject to the requirement to make quarterly estimated tax payments. If you did not make estimated tax payments, you may be charged an underpayment of estimated tax penalty.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf

[MHandMB 0]

Thanks, guys. I'm totally clueless about tax-related issues. All of my dealings with filing income tax returns have been very straightforward until now.

But yes, other taxes have been taken out all year from my other job and from my husband's job, so we've paid quite a bit of taxes already, and have not claimed any deductions during the year. Normally, I get quite a bit of a refund, and this is the first year I am filing jointly, as well as the first year I'm claiming income not already taxed. Guess I need to brush up on my tax laws!