AIBU to be so sick of tradespeople/ cleaners asking for cash in hand?

[Endlesspasswords]

So my cleaner charges £21/hour cash, but just said she wants more if I pay by bank transfer, because bank transfer means she can’t dodge declaring it. As if paying by transfer (i.e. traceably) is some kind of favour/ privilege I should pay extra for.

Same with some work I got a quote for- it’s the attitude that if I don’t want to pay in cash, I’m the one ‘hurting’ their bank balance or being awkward.

I’m freelance B2B myself. No sick pay, no employer pension contributions, no paid holiday, I know exactly what it’s like to carry your own tax and NI. But I still pay tax on every invoice, because that’s the deal.

I’m so sick with the fact that self-employed people in one sector get to treat tax as optional while others pay for their healthcare, schools etc.

and yes, I’m getting a new cleaner.

I think it depends on the situation. If it's occasional like babysitting once or a cleaner who only works 5 h per week I understand that it's a hassle to register and pay cash whereas when it's your profession and you work daily it should be a habit.

Can I just say. There are no winners here, having cash write or wrong keeps the cost for you down as there is no VAT, it means the tradesperson can be competitive. But for the tradesperson if they don’t declare the cash it affects them in ways such as getting a mortgage or loan. For a cleaner or window cleaner cash would not bother me, but for a big job such as a builder I would not do cash. My family are all trades and on the whole don’t do cash. If a new customers wanted an extension and to pay cash we would wonder why and where it’s coming from, and say no we need stage payments with a trail. We would also declare cash . To ensure we are clean if ever inspected

Have you found a cleaner that will do bank transfer, wondering how much their rate will be

Completely agree with you OP and its not just tax avoidance too - by asking for cash, it's a way for loads of people to avoid paying the correct child maintenance amounts too! I don't understand how people can defend this. In no other profession would the general public be ok if they undertook such fiddling.

Yes, how many threads are there on here from women with an ex who won’t pay anything for his own child(ren), and where CMS can’t help because his income is technically small/non existent.

This reminds me of a more subtle tradesman who told me ‘it will cost you £x amount but I might have to register for VAT’. This was too subtle for me so I was like ‘That’s fine’ 😄

What about nail shops that only take cash.. always wonder how they get away with it? If people didn’t try and beat the system including fraudulently claiming benefits we’d actually have viable public services. If someone successful pays an accountant for legal tax efficiency it’s frowned upon, where as people generally think it’s fine and par for the course for trades people.

A self employed cleaner has absolutely no need for a business bank account. They just use a separate personal account. I’ve been a self employed sole trader for decades and I’ve never needed a business bank account.

The VAT threshold cliff edge is a real issue. I know several tradespeople who ask the customer to buy/provide the bulk of the materials then just invoice labour.

I personally find paying cash a hassle, so prefer a bank transfer. I don’t avoid paying taxes myself and our business doesn’t take cash payments as it costs too much in time and bank fees to pay it in. But buying materials to keep my own costs down and help a local business person stay under VAT, avoid admin hassle and be able to quote competitively seems eminently reasonable.

dh is a tradesman, as are the majority of his friends. they all want bank transfer as it’s the only way you can prove income for mortgages, van finance, loans for tools etc.

I think the only time they’d not declare cash would be £10/£20 tip someone gives them when it’s a tiny job they’ve done for free and that always goes in the kids pots.

I run my own business and prefer cash because I don't pay fees on it and can use it to pay my staff without fees on that transaction too. Business banking is not free. I declare all cash and pay all my taxes. Its not just to dodge tax, also banking fees. Not in the case of the cleaner but this is usually the cash for take aways etc.

I think the man with the van ( and others) would be up for paying more tax if they were not so aware of how much tax avoidance the rich/ wealthy are able to get away with.

If it saves me money, I'm happy to pay in cash. What they do with their taxes is none of my business.

Be very careful what you wish for!

You can avoid the people who ask for this or else pay the whole amount by bank transfer. Or shop them to HMRC if you want- I never have. I hate it too.

I agree with you OP entirely.

People’s willingness to be complicit in tax evasion also fuels illegal immigration, be that a cheap building job, cleaning or nails. We make the UK more attractive because there’s plenty of work at an unrealistically low price.

I also don’t think people realise there’s no comeback if there is a problem either. An acquaintance’s nanny stole from the family and because it was all “cash in hand”, they didn’t feel able to report it or chase it too hard. All their childcare was fully legit after that.

Yeah i had a relative who used to have a massive bee in his bonnet about this re self employed having it easy and avoiding tax.
I used to think "then why didnt you go self employed instead of sitting in your cushy academia job for which you were under qualified for 30 years you lazy fuck"!
Its normally entitled salaried boomers who have an issue with this

I know someone who prefers to be paid cash because she is in a financially controlling relationship. I know another who struggles with budgeting/spending and finds it easier with cash. Many older people prefer cash. The list goes on and on.

But £200 off is still less, not more?

Its swings and roundabouts though because these people might get away with paying less tax but then find themselves unable to get a decent mortgage

It’s up to the tradesperson to accommodate the customer. If you want me to pay cash so you can not declare it that’s your business how you submit your SA return, but you’ll have to incentivise it for me for my inconvenience by taking off some of the 20% you’ll save on tax as it’s easiest for me to pay by bank transfer.

Pretty agist comments and entirely untrue in my experience. The older people I know take a dim view of tax evasion but so do those impacted by loss of childcare assistance or by scamming ex partners who don’t pay enough maintenance.

I know this isn't the point of the thread, but £21/hour? That's loads!

So you are then paying his tax plus extras? Nice work if he can get it!

I have put that you are unreasonable. Because many trades do take bank transfer and you are obviously going for cheaper rates, find reputable firms and pay the correct rates for the work. The ball is in your court to ask at the first phone call if they take bank transfers as that’s how you want to pay. Then they will give you the relevant rate for that work including their margins for tax, insurance etc.