Working “under the table”, or getting paid with unreported cash, may seem like a great idea at the time. Cash in hand beats waiting for a paycheck, right?
Although the quick cash may seem attractive, there are a lot of reasons that this could be a bad investment of your time.
- What if you are injured or otherwise disabled on the job? Employers paying cash offer no benefits, which means no worker’s compensation, and as you are often an unreported employee, you won’t qualify for Social Security Disability, either.
- And speaking of Social Security, a lack of documented work could affect your benefits later on. This may not seem like a big deal right now, but when you are older, you’ll miss those benefits.
- Possible income tax issues. You are, after all, supposed to report all income to the IRS. If you don’t, you could face penalties.
- Lack of legal rights. Because you are an unreported/undocumented worker, if your employer discriminates against you, or fails to compensate for overtime, you may have no legal recourse.
- Your employer could face legal ramifications. Avoiding paying taxes and benefits to employees by paying under the table could lead to legal issues for employers.
So remember, no matter how tempting that cash is, it could hurt you in the long run.
