1099 and disability questions

the lady friend is on disability so she has to turn over all her pay stubs to her mother who then fills out the paperwork for monthly income

i have started her mystery shopping and she is wondering when to report her income and if she as flexibility from month to month... mainly as many companies wait about a month to pay so she might get a check for work completed in the prior month... or she might get a check at the end of the month and then deposit it the next month (say receive a check on the 31st and deposit it on the 1st of the following month)

does anyone have any experience with this? does it really matter if she reports her earnings in one month or the next?

also most 1099 forms are lump sums... they do not differentiate as to when someone earned money in what month. so how would she report this?

shopping north west PA and south west ny

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2016 01:40PM by cooldude581.

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I do not know the answer. But, most, if not all, states have a disability rights group that offers free advice on just such matters.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
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@cooldude581 wrote:

the lady friend is on disability so she has to turn over all her pay stubs to her mother who then fills out the paperwork for monthly income

i have started her mystery shopping and she is wondering when to report her income and if she as flexibility from month to month... mainly as many companies wait about a month to pay so she might get a check for work completed in the prior month... or she might get a check at the end of the month and then deposit it the next month (say receive a check on the 31st and deposit it on the 1st of the following month)

does anyone have any experience with this? does it really matter if she reports her earnings in one month or the next?

also most 1099 forms are lump sums... they do not differentiate as to when someone earned money in what month. so how would she report this?

This is really a question her accountant (and she should have one at least for questions/issues such as this) but I can tell you in my primary job the company reports revenue as it is invoiced rather than received. For my MS work, I do filings based on received payment. My understanding is you can report one way or the other, but not mix the two month to month.

Again, this is something about which her accountant should be consulted.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2016 09:29PM by LKNJ08873.

This goes beyond just the Income Tax questions, if she's collecting Disability Checks can the Powers-that-Be say "She's able to work as a Mystery Shopper, why is she collecting disability or SSI?" If someone is sharp with a pencil they can reduce all her earning through a "Home Business Expenses" to wipe out all their income. What she must do is prove all the money is so little that's its impossible to consider the amount of money as "Gainful Employment".

I doubt she can afford a accountant to evaluate her income situation tax situation because they don't have a whole lot of extra money. From first hand experience many of the hard cases I helped could not even afford basic H&R Block services. The last time I helped someone do their taxes I got ripped off because they burned up so many hours of time and never provided anything to compensate me, that's my story helping people who don't value other people's time. One of my friends decided once I stopped doing his taxes and setting up his financial planning for free, our relationship ended. Figures, right?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/10/2016 04:12AM by Pennies4Shops.

Let me go back to this topic, Social Security use to allow people to make up to $700 a month without taking any of their SSI money away. This poses a problem because people who are on Disability make claims they can't work or keep a job because their disability makes it impossible to hold down a job. What if Person A say's they suffer from a debilitating condition not allowing them to work and their caught working or making money doing jobs they claim their not able to do? Its a slippery slope because people on Disability Insurance get kicked off Disability attending College because they say "My disability is so strong, I can't study or concentrate due to mental or physical pain". Having worked as a consultant helping people in this field, I've seen more people deleted from Disability for not telling Social Security their working, check and see what type of Disability she's on because I don't want to see her kicked off because she's only making a few bucks here and there.

When do you report her income, depending on how much income she's making she might not have to pay anything. Her first year of Mystery Shopping she's allowed to group up all her income until next April 2017 to evaluate whether she owes anyone money. My guess is she's probably going to be able to expense all her income through some modest little home office business writing off everything she made. So does she have to worry about paying the IRS and State(depending on if your State has a State Income Tax) on a Quarterly Basis, probably not unless she's cranking out wages above $7,000 per year or more. She probably has enough in a Standard Deduction and her little Home Business to Zero Out all her income.

Disability rules have clear provisions that ENCOURAGE folks to do some paid work to maintain and/or re-establish ties to the labor force. Each disability program has rules about how much can be earned each month, net of expenses, without affecting one's benefit levels or eligibility. My sister was permitted to earn up to $900 per month under the rules for her disability finding. My housemate is allowed up to $400 per month, after expenses. Both earned MS income and were permitted to subtract expenses like transportation to assignments, paper, printer ink, etc. just as any self-employed person would do. Both were advised to report earnings on the month received. Each got clear advice from professional disability advocates in their home states. Each also got total nonsense when they posed any questions to government employees about working and reporting income because those folks made it clear that they did not understand IC and self-employment that might have work-related expenses that were not just uniforms and protective clothing. BUT, neither had any issues raised when they actually reported based on the disability advocates' advice.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

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1099 and disability questions

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