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Can i do this?

5K views 26 replies 16 participants last post by  Celtic 
#1 ·
Hello Everyone, Let me introduce myself by saying that I have been reading this forum for the past 45 minutes until i realized I could Join. I like to work with my hands, and have been doing it since as far as I can remember. With the help of a few friends and relatives, I built my first Home 3 years ago, where I still reside today! :clap:

So here are my questions, I have been working with a long time friend for the past 7 years, he has been a Gen. Contractor for a little over 25 years, Never really has wanted to go with anything big, I on the other hand would like to really just branch out and do me. The issue is, He has never set me up on payroll and has always just paid me, per say " Under the Table" cash...:whistling Since I work with him Whenever I am not at my Full Time Job.

I know, I Know, Shame on us... :bangin:

Would I be able to count the 7 Years of Experience of work I have done with him, and I understand the packet from the board has him fill out forms, but if they contest, are we both risking issues? how could we avoid this from being an issue without really hurting anyone's career. Should we start payroll from now and wait another 4 years?

I knew a guy who was working for a contractor in L.A. (illegally in the country) worked for him for close to 5 years, got paid also cash, became a Citizen and very quickly after became c39 licensed... how could this have been possible without any previous paper trail... Just curious.
 
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#3 ·
So you are actually asking how to protect your friend who has elected to not pay taxes on your wages, and you who want us to further find a way to loop around the system.:mad:

Your friend is what we commonly refer to as a HACK around here.

On your own merits, you may be able to work it out though.

Contact this guy

http://www.contractortalk.com/members/license-guru-21375/

Phil is a nice guy and very helpful.

Good Luck
 
#7 ·
So you are actually asking how to protect your friend who has elected to not pay taxes on your wages, and you who want us to further find a way to loop around the system.:mad:

Your friend is what we commonly refer to as a HACK around here.

On your own merits, you may be able to work it out though.
Technically, I'm asking on how to find a way to get credit for my work... The agreement my friend and I had was a bit of a hiccup since we did not think I would be "helping him" this long...

I know now I should have 1099 or something to protect myself, and I contacted the IRS, their response was "so you have 7 years where you filed taxes without stating an income? There might be a penalty for that... What is your SSN?"

Now I'm not concern on paying back taxes since I like doing things the right way, and this issue started with a one day a weekd outing to make some extra dollars which then became more frequent.

So as far as my friend goes, I would just not want his contractors license in jeopardy, but as said here, it may seem like I would do the same thing, so this is why I'm trying to not do loopholes and come at this the right way.

I'll contact him thanks!!
 
#8 ·
DaddyPotato said:
Technically, I'm asking on how to find a way to get credit for my work... The agreement my friend and I had was a bit of a hiccup since we did not think I would be "helping him" this long...
Really??? Years 2,3,4,5,6 and now 7 just slipped away???

Now I'm not concern on paying back taxes since I like doing things the right way.......
Uhhh, nope. Not believable...... See above.

So as far as my friend goes, I would just not want his contractors license in jeopardy
So you're still willing to protect him to get what you want?

but as said here, it may seem like I would do the same thing, so this is why I'm trying to not do loopholes and come at this the right way.
The first step is to admit you're not being truthful to yourself. You want the benefits of something that was wrongly obtained without having to pay the consequences. If your not truthful with yourself, you definitely won't be truthful with your customers.

The right way is to get hired on with a legitimate contractor who pays & documents things legitimately, do your time, and then get proper credit.

But my guess is this isn't the answer you're REALLY looking for......
 
#9 ·
I don't understand why I'm being taken as a jerk, I helped with things for a friend, did not do the work full time. Yes I would be honest to customers and this is why I'm trying to find to get credit for the experience I have. I would hate to have a friends' license revoked when I know he wouldn't hire anyone else or has anyone else working under him that would not be up to par. The answer I was looking for was given to me by being judgmental, so thanks... I'll have him add me on payroll and wait in line for the next 4 years to take the test, there is no other way around it.

But still, no one has yet to answer how all these immigrants are getting their licenses faster than most...
 
#11 ·
I don't understand why I'm being taken as a jerk, I helped with things for a friend, did not do the work full time. ..
Well it's like this - guys here have put in their time. They play by the rules, pay taxes, workers comp., insurance, etc. etc. etc.

Then you come along and admit you have been working under the table. It's guys like you and your boss that take work away from legitimate contractors.

How? Because your boses' costs are lower. If you were on payroll he would need to add about 40% to your wage to cover the cost of having you. Why do you think he was paying you cash?

So the guys that have been footing the bill all these years resent you.

Doesn't take a smart guy to figure it out. Just wait till you're on the other side of the fence, if that ever happens. :no:
 
#13 ·
Yeah. Not a single person that has posted on this thread has ever done a job for cash, keeps perfect records, and has allways paid every cent the IRS wanted. Bull****. I agree that the op probably should do better on his taxes. I agree that the ops boss was/is taking work from licensed tradesmen. But damn, don't act like it's the end of the world or that a pesons tax record has anything to do with how they would treat their customer. Think about this...If he gets no help to become legal, he has even more reason to just keep on doing unlicensed work.
 
#14 ·
If he gets no help to become legal, he has even more reason to just keep on doing unlicensed work.
I for one have twice told him to contact "License Guru" for assistance. He can put the OP's situation in perspective for him, and probably offer that advice free of charge initially. (He'll at least answer his question)

I have yet to hear anything but silence about contacting the one person here who might be able to straighten this out and give him good advice with regard to this particular situation and his question.

So Potato, have you contacted him? Do I really have to email or PM him on your behalf and send the link to this thread so he can advise you?
 
#18 ·
summithomeinc said:
Yeah. Not a single person that has posted on this thread has ever done a job for cash, keeps perfect records, and has allways paid every cent the IRS wanted. Bull****
I didn't see anyone post here who claimed this.

I agree that the op probably should do better on his taxes. I agree that the ops boss was/is taking work from licensed tradesmen. But damn, don't act like it's the end of the world or that a pesons tax record has anything to do with how they would treat their customer.
You do realize that there is no separation between a person's ethics/morality in their private vs. public life......no matter what Bill & the rest of the libs say.

You either have integrity or you don't.
 
#22 ·
I didn't see anyone post here who claimed this.



You do realize that there is no separation between a person's ethics/morality in their private vs. public life......no matter what Bill & the rest of the libs say.

You either have integrity or you don't.
Yeah I have integrity. I also haven't claimed every single dollar I've ever had on taxes. Have you? What about that 20.00 gift or a loan made to you by a friend or family member? I'd lay money everyone here has done something the IRS would say is illegal. So yeah I think there is a seperation there.
 
#25 ·
Well the OP has been under the table for 7 years. That's not really the same as ooops, I did a little job for cash.

Now he is still looking for ways to jump the que, or circumvent the normal ways of doing things.

See the pattern? It's his way. I've known lots of guys like this. They are just looking for the easy way. Seems to be more common in this younger generation.

Tigers don't change their stripes. :no:
 
#26 ·
Summit,

I understand your post, I've had this argument on this forum on other somewhat related issues. But the fact of the matter is, he is trying to get full-time credit for part-time work. People who put their time in, are going to take exception to that.
I didn't see him say that anywhere.

He and Ron both sent me pm's, so here we go.

There are options and there are pitfalls. I would not suggest submitting 7yrs of full time experience because, obviously, it wasn't full time. But, it you submit 7yrs of part time experience you will be short the 4yrs required to apply.

Let's say.... you did have 4yrs of part time experience (8 divided by 2), and let's say your licensed friend certify's your experience, and let's say your application gets thru the initial application processing phase, and let's say your app gets pulled for a secondary review (which seems to be happening more often), the cslb is going to ask for proof of your experience. That proof will be - tax returns, pay stubs, 1099's, bank statements, work orders. We know that none of that exists (not judging here!!), so your app would be denied.

My advice.... start keeping legal track of the hours you spend in the trade, then apply. Waiting now will save you a TON of headache later.

Now, I will give you the other side of the coin... you could submit an app, your licensed friend could certify you, you could pass the exams, and you could get a license without any problems.

Question is... do you want to risk a denial that will haunt you for the life of the license you'll obtain down the road?? I say that because once you've gone to investigation, every app you submit will also go to investigation. It's a black mark you dont really want.

Thank you for not posting this in my thread. I take pride in 100's and 100's of flame free posts. This thread is still smoking. lol
 
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