To not want to do this?

There's nothing illegal about paying cash but I'd want contracts, payment schedules, invoices and receipts. If the builder was supplying materials rather than just an odd job person Id question if there wasn't VAT on the invoice and I would make sure they specified that any price was vat inclusive so that they couldn't come back to me for missing vat at a later date.

If she goes with off the record price what would happen about guarantee and if the workmanship was iffy? Would a casher cause problems.

Advise her to find another builder. The "cheaper price for cash " thing us really dodgy, and gives her no protection whatsoever.

How much money are you talking about?

If she has any issue with this builder she would not be able to sue as the basic contract would be classed as an "illegal one".

Avoid.

I agree with these points and wanted to add what if the sister is burgled just before she is due to pay the kitchen fitter?

She wouldn't be getting her money back.

Absolutely not OK, OP - please do not be a party to any of this. And tell her she needs to pay the proper price, not the cash one. Actually, I would be changing builder/company completely and not using one who thinks it's OK to evade tax.

If she’s giving you a large sum of money, is this a classed as a gift? You could fall foul of inheritance tax if anything were to happen to her.

i would also avoid.

https://www.money.co.uk/guides/how-do-i-gift-money-without-being-taxed

Honestly, I'd advise her against the 'off the books' option. A company willing to avoid tax on that size of job would be a no no for me. Also, where is her proof that she actually paid them?

I don't think you would be falling foul of any rules by doing any of this, neither would your sister. There's nothing wrong with your sister transfering you money etc. The bank may query it but you won't have done anything wrong so you just be honest. There's nothing stopping you giving it back to your sister but I would want her to sign a receipt for the cash.

It's none of your business what the builder does with the money once she's paid. It's up to them to declare it for tax purposes. You can just as easily be ripped off when paying by card/bank transfer, especially if you pay in advance. When we had building work done, we paid in installments as the work was completed so I'd encourage her to do this to reduce the risk.

My husband was a joiner and he did give people discounts for cash payments - basically the cost of the materials and his labour minus the tax. He would put a 10% mark up in the materials which is a reasonable amount.

However once someone accepted a quote he would first buy the materials and give them an invoice unless it was a very large job. Then they would need to pay for the materials - which then became their property. Then he would do the work and the final payment would be his labour costs agreed.

Do not pay all this up front.

No I wouldn't get involved in this at all.

She can use the money she's saving on the tax free kitchen to spend on a taxi.

I wouldn’t do this, and I would not be encouraging my sister to agree to tax avoidance by paying in cash. And I hope it’s not all up front

You could also be questioned by the bank about money laundering? And that can lead to your bank account being closed!

I don’t see why she can’t get a taxi, if they can afford a new kitchen she should be able to afford a taxi

Yeah no way I'd do that

I'd go legit..... May cost more but what happens when the cowboy does half a job or a runner then she ends up paying the higher fee anyways so will cost more. Not worth the risk

No I wouldn’t do that.

I would worry about it perceived as money laundering, but to be honest these days I don’t trust people very easily and would worry that’s exactly what your sister is doing. A lot of crimes are committed by people close to them.

But mainly I wouldn’t want to be responsible for carrying around large amounts of someone else’s cash. What if you are mugged? Would your sister be happy to lose the money in that scenario or would she expect you to replace it?

I wouldn’t do this. If able to I’d offer her a lift or even pay for the taxi.

It's obviously completely up to you, but I wouldn't assume that the bank will necessarily question you. I withdrew £15k in cash to pay a builder and they didn't bat an eyelid!

This.

However I had a kitchen fitted recently and was able to bank transfer direct to the fitter, the ask for "cash" is very suspicious and would make me wary they wont finish the job, unless she is paying on completion!

My partner often gives me some cash to deposit and transfer him money as he doesn't have time to go to the bank himself. We've been doing it for years depositing and withdrawing several ££££ at a time and it's been absolutely fine. My bank never questioned me about it and, if they did, my partner can show where the money is coming from. It's all above board.

I know someone who was questioned in detail about trying to withdraw about £2k in cash to pay for some landscaping work.

The bank wasn't happy with his explanation and made him feel like a criminal, which he was as he was aiding and abetting tax evasion.

The way they see it is that honest people pay larger amounts by card or bank transfer.

I would be worried about walking around with cash that wasn't mine. I agree go with your sister in a taxi.

I should also add, DH's mum originally transferred him the money, which he then sent to me and the bank didn't say anything or ask where it came from

I did this a few months ago @Thisishallowscream, DH transferred me £4k for our bathroom so I could draw it out and bring the cash home. We also paid "off the books" so it was cheaper (they did a wonderful job!!)

The bank didn't bat an eyelid, other than not having that much cash onsite on the day, and I had to go back after the weekend, which is ridiculous!

The reason I went and not DH is that I work in town and he doesn't, so it was more convenient for me to get the cash. I wore a small crossbody handbag underneath my coat to transport the money and all was fine

It really isn't a massive deal, but if you don't want to do it, then don't.