My Sister Needs Advice...

[Christine]

So, you said that they have taken taxes out of his check before yet never gave him a W-2?

For anyone that does their own taxes, right at the start (if you're in TurboTax) it will ask you if your employer actually gave you a W-2. You have the option to tell that they did not and still claim your taxes. If he had checks before with taxes removed, I'm thinking he needs to see an accountant and file some taxes PRONTO to the best of his ability and indicate that he never got a W-2.

 

[happygirl]

O please! You're ridiculous, from one post you can determine she should kick him to the curb, 3 weeks after she had a baby.


OP, my brother was in the same situation years ago, he ignored the taxes for a while but the IRS didn't ignore him, he had to pay a bunch of penalties and the back taxes, but you know what? It wasn't the end of the world, he's matured and moved on. Also, I'm guessing they might be counting your bil as an independent contractor, thus not having to pay into worker's comp. In that case he should have been issued a 1099 instead of a W-2. He needs to find that out ASAP, and he needs to gather up pay stubs and any documentation showing the taxes were indeed withheld. It's situations like this why I won't ever work for a friend! Good luck to your sis and bil, hope they get it straightened out.

Thanks for the name calling. Yes, I don't think it take rocket science to tell OP sister not happy, she doens't trust him enough to put him on the bank accounts. What does having a three week baby have to do with anything??? If you aren't happy you aren't happy

 

[C.Ann]

This is bad - really bad.. The IRS can and will freeze all bank accounts - regardless of the fact that she has tried to keep their finances separate.. If there is money due and he doesn't have a job - or doesn't make enough - they WILL garnish your sister's paycheck and/or start grabbing large sums of money out of her checking account.. (This happened to someone in my late DH's family.. First they froze all checking and savings accounts - then they (IRS) determined a large amount to withdraw immediately and for the remainder they garnished the spouses pay check for 5 years - the maxium allowed by law (which left the family with very little money)..

She needs to talk to an IRS attorney - along with her DH - YESTERDAY.. At any point your DS or her DH could go to get money from the ATM; attempt to pay their bills; whatever - and find the accounts frozen.. (And no - they don't warn you ahead of time - for obvious reasons..)

As far as I'm concerned, the Workman's Comp issue isn't even a blip on the radar screen right now.. The IRS needs to be dealt with ASAP and they MUST hire an attorney..

Good luck to your sister.. This is going to be a nightmare..

 

[AndreaDM]

Thanks for the name calling. Yes, I don't think it take rocket science to tell OP sister not happy, she doens't trust him enough to put him on the bank accounts. What does having a three week baby have to do with anything??? If you aren't happy you aren't happy

But she didn't ask for that advice did she? In fact she explicitly asked for NO comments on the relationship, but on the dis, everyone is freaking Dr. Phil.

 

[happygirl]

But she didn't ask for that advice did she? In fact she explicitly asked for NO comments on the relationship, but on the dis, everyone is freaking Dr. Phil.

Who cares, if people give advice. why does it bother you

 

[AndreaDM]

Who cares, if people give advice. why does it bother you

You're welcome to give unsolicited advice just as I'm welcome to advise that your advice is ridiculous! But, I'm not going to turn the OP's request for help into an advice duel, so have a super duper evening!

 

[kristenrice]

Thanks for all of the great input! It is quite helpful and I appreciate it.

I want to point out that a lot of the information my sister has given to me was when she was venting her frustrations. I get frustrated with my DH sometime and vent about it to her too, so she may not always get the best opinion of him either. The information I have about their taxes is probably only about 75% accurate. I'm sure that there is definitely something wrong, but it might not be as bad as she has told me.

Again, thank you for all of the constructive input. You guys are great.

 

[mamacatnv]

Couple of things:
If the employer is withholding taxes then he is not a contracted 1099 employee.

If the employer withheld taxes and he has stubs to prove it then the IRS will go after the employer not the employee. The employee has no way to know whether or not their employer actually paid the taxes they withheld they can only be responsible to report what their check stub states.

Re: the injury
A nurse cannot make the call as to whether or not an injury is work related, that is not her business nor is it her call. The admitting staff should have asked and the entry paperwork almost always asks. Now if the DH didn't fill out the paper work correctly that is his fault and no one elses.
Workers Comp policies generally have a mandatory time frame in which an injury must be reported to the EMPLOYER, in my state it is 7 days. Also, the urgent care clinic should have some sort of documents that are required to be completed and forwarded to the employer so that the employer can follow up with the claim. The urgent care will also go after the work comp carrier to settle up the bill. Your private insurance doesn't want to pay for something that legally they should not have to pay and if DH was delirious with pain and presented his insurance card instead of telling them he did it at work then a quick phone call to your private insurance carrier will get the ball rolling on the claim being redirected towards the employers work comp carrier. If the employer is not carrying work comp he is in a serious bucket of poop. He has to have it for his license, his bonds etc.

 

[StarTink]

I am a Worker's Compensation adjuster and having doing it for 15 years - multiple jurisdictions.

It is irrelevant whether he is an employee or a contractor. If they direct him in what his duties are they are his employer. Just because they may not have work comp insurance doesn't mean they are liable. If they don't have it, he is then able to sue then in civil court. It is a harder case to prove liability, but it sounds like he wouldn't be willing to do it anyway.

Texas is the only state that doesn't require WC coverage. The employer could be open to fines from the state if they don't have it. This could be used as a bargaining chip in getting them to deal with the bills and his time off work. But again this would have to be a button the husband would be willing to push.

Good luck to your sister OP. I hope it all works out. Attorneys are definitely needed in both his cases.

 

[crashbb]

If the employer withheld taxes and he has stubs to prove it then the IRS will go after the employer not the employee. The employee has no way to know whether or not their employer actually paid the taxes they withheld they can only be responsible to report what their check stub states.

Except that it sounds like he didn't. The OP said that he didn't file at all this year.

 

[Poohforyou]

Thanks for the name calling. Yes, I don't think it take rocket science to tell OP sister not happy, she doens't trust him enough to put him on the bank accounts. What does having a three week baby have to do with anything??? If you aren't happy you aren't happy

Plenty of happily married people keep seperate bank accounts. It isn't always a red flag for trust issues. I've even heard that some wild and crazy women don't take their husband's name when they marry .

 

[kristenrice]

My sister texted me...

She said that when she returned home, her DH was on the phone with someone giving them the information of his employer and work status so it sounds like he did get the ball rolling on a work comp claim.

I still don't completely understand the tax thing. It seems that his check stubs show that taxes were taken out of his check, but he never got a W-2 from his employer because they allegedly did not pay those taxes to the IRS. So, the IRS believes that he paid $0 in taxes (or some other miniscule amount) even though he had several thousand dollars deducted from his checks. My sister is fairly certain that he should have actually received a refund in 2009, but since the IRS has no record of the taxes that were witheld, he ended up owing taxes. The stupid thing is...he (or his mom!) PAID them without even questioning his employers. All total, my sister has estimated that they have been jilted out of about $6000 or more.

Again, I know that I don't have the whole story, and maybe not even the correct details, but I do know that something is definitely not right.

 

[a1tinkfans]

SHE wont be able to do anything without his input, so first THEY need to have a meeting of the minds.
If the DH did not tell the urgent care "at the time" that it was work related, meaning anything to do with work, he is most likely out of luck. It would be suspect to any carrier to now decide it was work related, but as a last resort, he can try and explain it.
As far as taxes, its HIS responsibility to be sure that the paperwork is filed....he sounds like a 1099 employee...not a w2, is that correct?
It is a can of worms and they will likely need an attorney and $$$ to get this straightened out....be prepared to provide a paperwork trail regarding employment,,,
What a friend
Best of luck to you sis and her family

 

[YodaGirl]

I don't know about your DS's insurance, but our insurance sends out a letter to be answered within 45 days of receipt explaining where and how the injury occurred. Something to think about, anyway...

 

[Janet Hill]

No need to hire an attorney for the tax stuff. Just report the facts to DOL and IRS. They will do the rest

I know this because I do accounting for a small company who did this exact same thing. He got reported and he has to pay the back taxed with penalty and interest.

I didn't start working for him until after the mess occurred.

 

[manning]

Looks like momma needs to get out of everything and the couple handle their own lives. Too many cooks in the kitchen.

 

[mamacatnv]

If the DH has his check stubs he can file amended and the IRS will sort out where the taxes went, they will go after the business owner.

The part that makes no sense is that the DH really has no way of knowing what the employer paid in withheld taxes. It can take a year or more for tax returns to actually be matched to W-2 reporting. When an employer files the annual W-3 with copies of the W-2's they mail them to the Social Security Administration. I got a notice at work once that the SS Admin had not received our W-3 filing with our W-2's. I had proof of mailing so just resent but I was notified 16 months after they were actually due.

It sounds like the DH declared the income and did not declare any withheld taxes which if he had a check stub was just plain stupid. You can file without a W-2.

 

[kellyg403]

My dh is self employed contractor. He is a distributor for a company. They provide the product and he delivers and picks up contracts. He is considered self employed by IRS standard, yet falls under some obscure tax rule where his company has to pay one half of his SS tax. We have an accountant so I am not going to tell you I know much more than that, sad I know. He does always get a W2 from his employer because of that. They pay no actual taxes, just the ss tax portion. Is it possible this is the case?

I do think he should seek out an accountant or lawyer. It helps to know exactly where you might stand with the IRS and help you with a payment plan you can afford if you do owe. But, our accountant will always attend an audit if needed.

Hope things work out for your sister, how stressful for her! Especially with a new baby in the house.

Kelly

 

[phorsenuf]

He needs to pick up the phone and call the IRS and explain what happened. They will advise him on how to proceed. I've had to deal with them myself and I've always gotten very nice helpful people. They will work with him.

 

[golfgal]

My dh is self employed contractor. He is a distributor for a company. They provide the product and he delivers and picks up contracts. He is considered self employed by IRS standard, yet falls under some obscure tax rule where his company has to pay one half of his SS tax. We have an accountant so I am not going to tell you I know much more than that, sad I know. He does always get a W2 from his employer because of that. They pay no actual taxes, just the ss tax portion. Is it possible this is the case?

I do think he should seek out an accountant or lawyer. It helps to know exactly where you might stand with the IRS and help you with a payment plan you can afford if you do owe. But, our accountant will always attend an audit if needed.

Hope things work out for your sister, how stressful for her! Especially with a new baby in the house.

Kelly

He is what is called a Statutory Employee. It's quite common, and nice for contractors so they don't have to come up with ALL of their FICA. He would also not be covered under workman's comp. If the OP's BIL is a contractor or a Statutory Employee, it wouldn't matter if the injury happened at work or home, there is no work comp, LEGALLY, and his regular insurance would just pay. They will get the letter, the insurance company will investigate to see if it falls under work comp, and rightly so. They will find he is a contractor and they will pay the claim. Even in larger companies that are privately owned, the owner has work comp on his/her employees but owners are not covered under work comp.