working cash in hand??

Question

if i get paid cash inhand what are the chances of being caught? does the fact that i am not claiming any benefits work in my favour? what are the risks? urgent plz

its till i get a proper job!! month or two at most!!!

Answer 1

Depends what industry you are working in, as some are known for cash in hand payments so are targetted by the Inland Revenue.

As for not claiming benefits, yes it would work in your favour if you were caught as that is one less crime you are comitting

Answer 2

Its not worth the risk, interest, fines & penalties can be upto 100% of the tax owed. You can be paid cash in hand there is nothing illegal with that provided you declare it to the Inland Revenue at the end of the tax year. Keep about 20% in an account somewhere, you can do your tax online and its really easy, just register at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk and select self assessment and register.

The fact that you are not claiming benefits makes no difference what so ever, tax evasion is a serious offence.

I know it sounds it terrible, the government are robbing so & so's at times but its just not worth the risk. I knew someone who had a business & fiddled the VAT by a few hundred pounds, got found out and ended up paying £4k in fines etc!

By the way, the ex-inspector of taxes do not know what they are talking about, the employer has to be of a certain size company to have to deduct tax from an employee. It's quite possible that this could be money from cleaning a persons house or something, in which case they are not a business meeting the criteria required and are not required by law to deduct tax from you, thats your responsibility. I think they have to employ more than 5 people before they are required by law to deduct and pay the taxes for you.

Answer 3

The Inland revenue will check and ask you to prove what you have been living on if you are not claiming and not declaring any income. They will also notice that you have not paid any NI and ask you to make up your payments. It is not a case of getting caught now, it's a case that you WILL have to pay NI (if not tax as well) at some point in the near future.
The only person who may benefit from paying cash is your employer, as they don't have to pay your NI, employers NI or income tax. You end up with the same in your pocket, but your employer is quids in.

Other down sides to cash payments are that if you ever have to have claim benefits, you've got no NI payments logged, you're not insured if you have an accident at work as you don't officially work, and your pension at retirement will be affected.

We've all done the 'mates rates' bit at the weekend, but if you're already employed or self-employed, you're paying tax and NI already, so the odd job here or there would probably not see you in court, but working full time and not declaring tax or paying NI just aint worth it!!!!

Short term and odd job type work is not going to cause long term problems, but working full time is a no-no. You will get caught!

Answer 4

Cash in hand jobs are usually not highly paid. If you're not claiming benefits it would be in your favour but even if you did get caught the chances are high that your income ( as self employed) would not be great enough for you to be owing any tax anyway. Probably the best thing to do would be keeping records of hours worked and money recieved then you have it all to hand if you did get caught.
However you need to remember that a cash in hand job carries no insurance protection so if you got injured you could not claim compensation etc.

Answer 5

It is not illegal to work for cash in hand but it is illegal not to declare it for tax and national insurance purposes. Also if you are an employee then the employer can pay you how he wishes but he must keep financial records and also put on to a PAYE system. If you are self employed then as said you will need to declare the earnings . The person paying you will also keep records of what he is paying for his own tax return. If you work for this man exclusively then at some time he will be compelled to make you a proper employee. You should go self employed and seek out some other customers but at £6 an hour you are severely underpaid. I assume also that you are financing the running of the car out of this £6. You can do this while taking your job seekers allowance but you must also declare the days that you are working This will result in a reduction of your allowance.

Answer 6

If an employer is paying you without deducting tax and NIC, then it is the employer who is in trouble. Legally, employers are resonsible for operating PAYE correctly and if they are caught, they have to make good the deductions . A recent case confirmed this is the case even when the employee had registered as self employed and paid his own tax - the employer still had to pay the PAYE tax and NIC.
If you are genuinely self employed and not declaing your earnings, there is no guarantee you won't be caught. HMRC officers follow up adverts for tradesmen in newspapers, take the numbers of vans seen wokring at home, etc, etc. Many people get caught because a jealous person or ex partner splits on them.
HMRC and the Benefits Office don't work together, so the fact you are not claiming is irrelevent.
If you are caught, you would need to pay the tax, NIC, interest and a penalty which could be up to 100% of the tax, depending on the severity of the offence and how well you had co-operated.

Answer 7

there are certain risks involved e.g.insurance and tax evasion.
why not buy a self -employment stamp to cover yourself each week and open a bank account and put away 1/3 of the money so that when THEY catch up with you or the people who pay you , you will have the money there . What will happen if you you are ill - who will pay you then? you must show that you've paid your dues for the previous couple of years

Answer 8

It is always best to declare it. If your total income for the year falls below a certain threshold you will not have to pay tax anyway.

The laws are different in different countries, but on ething remains the same. Employers pay in cash to pay lower wages, and it is the employee who takes most of the risk!

Answer 9

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Answer 10

You may not be claiming benefits, but your not paying taxes, and neither is your employer, where else is s/he cutting corners, Heath and Safty? You need to pay NI to claim a pension and if your not claiming dole, the DHSS aren't paying your stamp for you.
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