Have you ever asked if your contractor for a major renovation will do better for cash?

[Anonymous]

I'm renovating my home and the cost is around $25K. Do you think it's tacky/unethical to ask if they can do any better if I give them cash? Have you ever done so and what was the outcome/discount?

[Anonymous]

Huh? I’ve always paid in a check (what’s the difference between that and cash?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Huh? I’ve always paid in a check (what’s the difference between that and cash?)

The green foldable kind.

[Anonymous]

So are you actually asking if you can pay under the table so they don’t pay taxes on it? Yes, that’s super shady.

[Anonymous]

The quoted price is the cash price, OP. If you want to pay with a credit card there will be a surcharge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So are you actually asking if you can pay under the table so they don’t pay taxes on it? Yes, that’s super shady.

Whether they pay taxes on it or not can not be controlled by the customer. Do you know how many contractors lie about costs?

[Anonymous]

I’ve done it on smaller jobs (tree cutting, etc) and gotten like 10-20% off. It depends on the contractor, some prefer it, some aren’t comfortable with it.

[Anonymous]

I would be worried about liability, what happens if something is broken, etc.

[Anonymous]

Unless you’re skimming cash from a business (already a crime), withdrawals of more than $10,000 from a bank are reported to the IRS. Making multiple withdrawals or deposits to avoid detection by the IRS is a crime, called “structuring.” It’s what they prosecuted Denny Hastert for. Withdrawing the money is legal, but a pattern of large cash withdrawals could trigger an audit.

The contractor is required to report cash payments of over $10,000 to the IRS. Whether or not they do this is not your problem, but if you get audited and they get caught not reporting, they’re in trouble.

In short, somebody who is willing to do this is shady and probably not someone you want to work with, as the potential savings are really not worth the risk to them of getting caught.

[Anonymous]

I would not deal with contractors so shady they would give you a discount for green bills. Massive red flag. What makes you think they’ll do the work after you give them cash anyway? You’re an idiot. Please ask a family member or friend to help you not get scammed or robbed. You’re putting out major “take advantage of me” vibes to these contractors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not deal with contractors so shady they would give you a discount for green bills. Massive red flag. What makes you think they’ll do the work after you give them cash anyway? You’re an idiot. Please ask a family member or friend to help you not get scammed or robbed. You’re putting out major “take advantage of me” vibes to these contractors.

this.

A handyman, maybe...

[Anonymous]

If you've used them before and can trust their work, just ask if they give a discount for cash. You don't pay upfront of course.

[Anonymous]

Ask yourself this: if this job goes bad, would you sue them?

If the answer is yes, you want a paper trail.

[Anonymous]

When we lived in Jersey this was offered and expected. When we moved here anyone we asked was horrified by the idea of it.

[Anonymous]

It is certainly unethical, because you are implicitly suggesting that they don’t pay tax.

It is also unwise. Things very often go wrong with renovations, and you will complicate the restitution process by doing this.

It is also unwise because you are talking about very large sums of cash. This isn’t like $120 for the cleaners. Taking out tens of thousands of dollars without triggering SARs to Fincen is not straightforward.