If I don't want the government to know how much money I am cashing from checks if I get audited then...?

Question

If I went to check-cashing places to cash my checks instead of a bank will that make it impossible to find out how much money in checks I was cashing? We’ll assume I am not going to put any cash into the bank and we can assume the government will not know who wrote me the checks, so they can’t find the canceled checks. Thanks!

I'm self-employeed, so I don't recieve any kind of formal payment.

Answer 1

"Want" in one hand and spit in the other one and see which hand gets wet first!

Your assumptions are invalid. Like the line from the movie says, "Assumptions are the mother of all f***-ups."

If anybody who wrote you a check or any check casher where you cashed the check has to report income or expenses (that covers pretty much everyone) or gets audited the trail can and eventually will lead back to you.

If you're trying to evade taxes or otherwise hide your financial dealings, getting paid by check pretty much guarantees that sooner or later you'll be caught out. Once you get caught they'll start digging and when they come to the conclusion that you're involved in tax fraud the gloves come off. There's no statute of limitations on tax fraud.

The government also has an ace up their sleeves today buried in the so-called Patriot Act. They'll claim that you were supporting terrorism with your hidden funds and throw you in prison as a national security risk. No lawyer, no trial, nothing. You just "disappear."

Answer 2

The government learns of your income from your end-of year tax forms supplied by your employer. The government does not go through all the bank accounts in the US and try to guess how much they made based on deposits.

Those of us who travel and get reimbursed for a living would be HOSED!


Of course, if you are making income and don't report it, you are breaking the law. If you can live with being a criminal and a lier, then so be it.

Answer 3

If they have reason to suspect you of tax evasion, they'll look at your lifestyle - if you're living high, even if they can't find ANY source of income, you'd be required to show how where you got the money to live the way you do.

Answer 4

well if you are getting checks from a company they are pretty much always taxed already. if you dont want to be taxed then well make arrangements with your employer.