
Originally Posted by
tory_ann link=board=6;threadid=13164;start=msg171589#msg171 589 date=1094626141
Okay, here's what's going on...just started back at my old club. We get paid $9 an hour plus tips. Every payday, they have us write on a sheet of paper our "tips" - well, okay, about 7 - 10% of our tips, and that is what we get taxed on. All of the girls do it this way, because it is what we are told to do.
I want to claim all of my tips, though. My husband and I would like to be able to move into a higher tax bracket, buy a new house, etc., and we want everything to be on the up and up. If I write all of my tips on this sheet of paper at work, and I am the only girl being taxed for such a high amount, I think it will raise a red flag where the IRS is concerned, and my employer could potentially get into trouble because of it. I don't want that.
So my husband has been doing some research and found out that it is not legal for your employer to ask you to claim only 10% of your tips. If you make more than $20 a month in tips, you MUST report your tips in full to your employer by the tenth of each month on IRS form 4070 (I think that's the right one). I would love to be able to do this, but again, I fear the IRS coming down on my employer. Also, I really don't want to be the first person to go to him and say, "Hey, I want to do things differently than everyone else. I want to claim all of my tips." Why should I get preferential treatment, you know? Why must I set myself apart?
Does anyone have any advice on what I should do, or how I should approach my boss about this? While everyone else at my club may be content claiming such a low percentage just because they don't want to pay in, I am not comfortable doing so. But am also not comfortable asserting myself to my boss.
My husband came up with a pretty good proposition he thinks my boss may go for. If I can ask him to still pay me the wages but not in the form of a check...in cash, with no paper trail...then I can claim my wages as "tips" and claim 100% of my tips, while calling myself an "independent contractor." That way, no red flags for the club, I am basically not even listed as an employee, and I get taxed on all of my income.
I hope some of you have some insight..it's frying my brain right now!
What should I do?
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