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Bank account vs. shoebox
This may seem like a silly question, but I've been wondering for a while whether I'm better off saving money in a bank account, or, you know, a shoe box? I'm not talking too much, maybe a couple thousand at the most. As bad as it sounds, I've never paid taxes on my stripper money before and I'm not exactly eager to start. My friends that 'distribute substances' say don't put anything in the bank because then the government's gonna get suspicious about where your money's coming from. The thing is, I don't like keeping cash on me because I've been robbed before. I'd just like to know what's a safe amount to save without the IRS finding out about it.
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
probably a good idea not to post this kind of thing on a public forum. especially with how easy it is to plug your name into google and find a photo of you. the IRS are quite resourceful you know ;-)
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
given the fact that most strip clubs will issue 1099-misc reports of dancer income to the IRS next spring for money paid out to individual dancers throughout 2012, your bank account versus shoebox question is probably 'academic'. Mandatory 1099 issuance by businesses is a new legal mandate included in the Obamacare law which is set to take effect on January 1st. Actually it was supposed to take effect this year, but congress voted for a postponement ( which is unlikely to be repeated ).
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
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Originally Posted by
cortigiana
put it on prepaid credit cards with minimal fees.
I haven't seen a prepaid credit card with low fees. Why not put it in the bank. I've heard some banks even pay interest on savings accounts. Many banks still offer free savings accounts. At least that's better than paying a fee to some prepaid card to keep your money. What a novel concept putting your money to work for you!
Z
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
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Originally Posted by
Joanna_Kaary
This may seem like a silly question, but I've been wondering for a while whether I'm better off saving money in a bank account, or, you know, a shoe box? I'm not talking too much, maybe a couple thousand at the most. As bad as it sounds, I've never paid taxes on my stripper money before and I'm not exactly eager to start. My friends that 'distribute substances' say don't put anything in the bank because then the government's gonna get suspicious about where your money's coming from. The thing is, I don't like keeping cash on me because I've been robbed before. I'd just like to know what's a safe amount to save without the IRS finding out about it.
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"I heard banks even pay interest on savings accounts"- Zofia
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:laughing: I laughed at the last quote, given todays ultra-low interest rates. At many banks, OP's $2K deposit would only pay $1-$2 annual interest. It would take ~ 700 - 1400 years to double your money at those rates.
Yet, opening some sort of an account wouldn't be a bad idea for reasons besides OP's security concerns. Sooner or later, OP will likely want to take out a loan for major purchase. (Car, home/condo, etc.). Credit will need to be established for that. Fixating too much on tax avoidance is a bit like passing on going to the beach on a sunny day because a seagull might crap on you. FWIW, I don't think a $2K bank account would raise that many eyebrows.
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
thanks for the advice ladies :)
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
How can the clubs issue reports on girls...so many come and go? Secondly, how can the clubs do this without consent? Lastly, the club doesn't even keep records of how much $ we make. We don't get paid a salary. The only thing they know is how many privates/VIPs done in a night. Some clubs don't even require girls to have licenses because they receive government assistance and don't want them to be fucked up. So how can they go behind a dancer's back and send in forms???
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
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Originally Posted by
JessicaCM
How can the clubs issue reports on girls...so many come and go? Secondly, how can the clubs do this without consent? Lastly, the club doesn't even keep records of how much $ we make. We don't get paid a salary. The only thing they know is how many privates/VIPs done in a night. Some clubs don't even require girls to have licenses because they receive government assistance and don't want them to be fucked up. So how can they go behind a dancer's back and send in forms???
does you club use credit cards/club money? we have to sign for it at the end of the night, thats the only money the club can/does keep track of.
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
No, we get all cash. When we do VIPs and things, we get cash. We initial the sheet with our dancer initials but that's it.
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
^^^ All I can tell you is this. Under the new Obamacare law, all businesses are required to issue 1099 reports of payments to 'contractors' if they want to avoid having to pay taxes on customer money they have collected as if it was the business' own income. If cash is being exchanged directly between a customer and a dancer then it is the sole responsibility of the dancer to report that income and pay taxes on it. However, if customer money is being run through the club's cash register first - either cash or credit card - then the club will have to claim all of that customer money as club income ( even though a major portion of that money was immediately paid out to dancers ) UNLESS the club generates 1099 reports showing the money paid out to dancers.
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
When does this start so I can quit? Because I am in school and can't have my future job be able to find out whether I write it on a resume or not. School is pointless then - because nobody wants to hire someone with a background like mines. I'm not gonna leave a paper trail. Sucks.
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
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Originally Posted by
JessicaCM
When does this start so I can quit? Because I am in school and can't have my future job be able to find out whether I write it on a resume or not. School is pointless then - because nobody wants to hire someone with a background like mines. I'm not gonna leave a paper trail. Sucks.
Unfortunately if I'm interpreting Melonie's post below correctly the ship has sailed. :-\ It's 2012. Regardless if you quit today the club will be issuing the 1099 in January 2013 for the 2012 year to date income. Maybe there'll be another postponement.
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Originally Posted by
Melonie
given the fact that most strip clubs will issue 1099-misc reports of dancer income to the IRS next spring for money paid out to individual dancers throughout 2012, your bank account versus shoebox question is probably 'academic'. Mandatory 1099 issuance by businesses is a new legal mandate included in the Obamacare law which is set to take effect on January 1st. Actually it was supposed to take effect this year, but congress voted for a postponement ( which is unlikely to be repeated ).
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
So will they give the form to me or what? What occupation will be listed? How can they do this without notifying dancers?
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
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Originally Posted by
JessicaCM
When does this start so I can quit? Because I am in school and can't have my future job be able to find out whether I write it on a resume or not. School is pointless then - because nobody wants to hire someone with a background like mines. I'm not gonna leave a paper trail. Sucks.
It looks like you may have a bigger problem than your stripper paper trail!
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
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So will they give the form to me or what? What occupation will be listed? How can they do this without notifying dancers?
Actually, the club will send the form directly to the IRS. The dancers will receive a copy. No occupation will be listed ... only the name of the company making the payment, and the name, address and SS# of the 'contractor' the money was paid to. IRS computers will then run a cross-check looking for tax returns filed using the same name, address and SS# as the 'contractor' reported to have received the payment - tax returns showing that the amount of income reported via the 1099 was declared as income by the 'contractor', and that applicable taxes were paid by the 'contractor'. The requirement to list an occupation is part of the 'contractor's tax return filing.
Where college students are concerned, the IRS cross-check will also extend to FAFSA student grant / loan application data ( i.e. the 'contractor's name and SS# being listed as a dependent on a parent's tax return ), college bursar's office reports of tuition payments etc. which also use the same name, address, and SS#, etc. FAFSA's concern, of course, is that student grant / loan eligibility is legally based on 'total household income' level ... which in the case of dancers and camgirls includes not only the parents' income but the dancer's / camgirl's income as well. Thus if parents file(d) a FAFSA application that did NOT include their 'child's' income in the 'total household income' level reported, and if student grant / loan money was approved based on an under-reported 'total household income' level, FAFSA may prompt an IRS audit of both the parents and the 'child' ( in an attempt to prove actual 'total household income' thus clawing back student grant / loan money for which the student 'child' wasn't actually eligible ).
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if I'm interpreting Melonie's post below correctly the ship has sailed. It's 2012. Regardless if you quit today the club will be issuing the 1099 in January 2013 for the 2012 year to date income.
True ... the clubs and other businesses making payments to 'contractors' should have begun keeping a running total of payouts to all 'contractors' last January. So if a 'contractor' has already received more than $400 / $600 worth of payments since the first of the year, the club or other business will be generating a 1099 report to the IRS next february regardless of whether the 'contractor' continues to work for that club or not. Again, to be clear, this only applies in cases where customer money is run through the club's cash register ... where the club actually pays the dancers a 'cut' of customer private dance money / VIP room money. It does NOT apply if customers are directly handing cash to dancers ( where the responsibility for reporting that money as income to the IRS falls 100% upon the dancer ).
Also possible that the legal 'extension' granted by the US congress for the issuance of 1099's during the year 2011 will be extended again ... but not likely given the current political push to 'tax the rich'. In case you haven't made the connection, clubowners are considered to be 'rich' since most earn $200k or more annually.
I would also add that another component of Obamacare was a congressional authorization for the IRS to hire 16,000 additional auditors ... thus nearly doubling the total number of IRS audits that can now be performed. Undoubtedly those additional auditors will be paying greatest attention to businesses and individuals who are the most likely to provide additional tax revenues. Given the abysmal tax compliance history of the 'adult entertainment' industry, given the huge 'cash' component of strip club customer spending, and given the fact that the vast majority of clubowners fall into the 'rich' category ( i.e. earning $200k per year ), clubowners are likely to be a major target for IRS audits in the near future. And if the IRS auditor happens to run across a drawer full of documents showing the real names, real addresses and SS#'s of dancers, happens to run across a dancer schedule showing that dancer X worked 150 nights last year, happens to run across club private dance / VIP records showing that dancer X performed a total of 1000 lap dances last year ( at a price of $20 each ), etc., it's not likely that this additional info will be 'ignored' by the IRS.
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
Yikes so what should I do? I want to cry right now! Because I get Fa in school but only reported income from other jobs over the summer. Mainly because of family (didn't want the to be suspicious of earnings on fafsa). I only made less than $1g at my club when I was there in privates/vips. So when and if they do reports on private/vip money then I will lose everything for not filing (finaid) in the begging on the semester in feb??? I thought I was exempt so was really confused.
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
I really don't want my parents to be audited because I may owe owe a grand in ss/medicaid if the club does send the form or lose my financial aid. I will only have 2 semesters left. There has to be something I can do!
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
^^^ there is of course the very real possibility that your club won't bother to issue 1099's to dancers even if required to do so by law because the club's business accounting is ... shall we say ... 'less than accurate' to begin with. Unfortunately, you really won't know this for sure until next March !
Also, an extra $1000 really isn't likely to make a huge difference in student grant eligibility. The 'worst' effect will probably be raising IRS 'eyebrows' if they receive a 1099 from the club but can't match up a tax return filed by you which reports and pays taxes on that extra $1000 in income. And if you are still legally considered to be a dependent of your parents ( which is probably the case since you are a student ), IRS attention may be focused in their direction as well. The way around these problems, of course, is to file a tax return declaring your dancing income ... as well as 'reporting' your dancing income to your parents so that they can enter the correct 'total household income' level on your next FAFSA student grant application.
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
I hope they don't...I mean I don't feel like explaining nothing to my parents. Also if they happen to and it's March...can they kick me outta school mid semester because of this? I will try to talk to my club about this issue.
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
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Also if they happen to and it's March...can they kick me outta school mid semester because of this?
No !!! If you are still considered to be a dependent of your parents, the worst that could probably happen is that FAFSA would demand that your parents immediately repay any student loan / grant money that you had previously received but weren't actually eligible for had your club income been included in the student grant / loan application which your parents filed.
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
Melonie you have awesome information and advice. Since I was the one who failed to report my income, how can they put the responsibility to repay on my parents? I'm not a minor, they didn't know. I should have to pay and deal with this mess.
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
Also I don't want my folks to get mail saying "because your daughter aka depedent earned x amount of dollars at (insert my club name here) you need to pay us x amount of dollars back. OH NO!
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
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Since I was the one who failed to report my income, how can they put the responsibility to repay on my parents?
Because it was your parents who submitted the FAFSA grant request form containing false financial information.
Also, in terms of mail notice, the only real notice will probably come in the form of an IRS audit announcement. Any effort by FAFSA to claw back previously paid grant money won't happen until AFTER the IRS audits your parents and your own tax return ( if you filed one ) and determines an 'official' figure for 'total household income'.
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Thanks for being so non-judgemental and helpful on this board Melonie!
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Re: Bank account vs. shoebox
^^^ who am I to judge ... as I'm sitting down here way south of the border with the first $106,000 of my income being legally exempt from US taxes !!!
When I first started dancing, the filing of tax returns by dancers was essentially unheard of. When I first started dancing, you could walk into a car dealership with a fistful of cash and drive away in a brand new car with no questions about where the cash came from - and with no filings of IRS reports or IRS cross-checking. Similarly, when I first started dancing, tuition payments weren't reported to the IRS and no questions were asked in regard to where the tuition money came from. But that was then and this is now.