Taxes?

24 comments

• ppwh

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  7 years ago

  Keep in mind that the 1099 covers the amount the club pays to the dancer. If the dancer pays $5 to the club per private dance, for example, that probably doesn't count as any money being given by the club to the dancer. Likewise, if the customer pays $x for a VIP room for 15 minutes, the amount given by the customer to the dancer probably isn't reported on a 1099 and likewise for stage tips. Of course, depending on how payment is structured, this may vary between clubs. Also, some clubs have gone to W-2 instead of 1099. From what I have heard in those cases, the club takes all the money and pays the dancer at the end of the night, or she is cut a check that meets minimum wage requirements if she didn't sell enough dances to make minimum wage. At the W-2 clubs, it's likely that everything except tips is reported.
• etsutwigg222

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  7 years ago

  Less than 30% if income us reported by strippers, but I think 80% of strippers report some income!!! That keeps their government subsidies coming like health care, food stamps, and grants.
• theDirkDiggler

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  7 years ago

  ^ Earned income credit is the big one.
• Subraman

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  7 years ago

  Around here, most clubs report ALL the girl's dance income, but not tips. How do they know the dance income? Two clubs have a system that requires the patron to buy tokens or put bills into a machine in a booth, and those tokens and machines are mappable to the girls. So they know every dollar spent for every lapdance and VIP dance The rest of the clubs track every dance by hand via a dance counter (basically, one of the bouncers keeps track), and all customer payments are put into a little locked purse that each girl carries around. Only the club can open the purse at the end of the night, ensure payment of the tracked dances are there and give the girl her cut. Any extra tips, the clubs don't know about, and I assume the girls don't claim on their taxes.
• theDirkDiggler

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  7 years ago

  @ppwh Your first paragraph was confusing. First it sounded like anything the dancer makes (her cut after she, or the customer really, pays the club for private dances and VIPs is reported, just the club's cut isn't reported. Then afterwards, you say that anything the customer gives to the dancer (which i assume is her cut after she, or again the customer, pays the club) isn't reported, the dancer's cut. So they sound contradictory.
• theDirkDiggler

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  7 years ago

  @Subraman I would imagine since there were so many cash sales, and no receipts or proof involved, besides just a simple manual counter (and the clubs could easily manufacture two books), and sometimes no surveillance as well, that the clubs could very easily hide a majority of dance sales and not report them. And this could pass on to the dancers. Hypothetically speaking, as i have no idea if the freaking internal revenue service reads these discussions.
• jackslash

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  7 years ago

  Based only on the strippers I know, I think almost all strippers under-report or do not report income at all. It is a cash business, giving them the ability to cheat without much danger of being caught. Take my CF Jenna. She has stripped since she was 18, and I estimate she brings in $100K a year. ( She does not know the amount since she does not keep records.) Until last year she never filed taxes at all. Then other strippers told her how they got money from filing taxes because they had kids. Jenna went to a tax preparer used by a lot of dancers, and he told her how to file as an independent contractor. He had her fill out dollar amounts on a calendar and explained how much to include so she would qualify for the earned income credit and child tax credit. She got a refund without ever paying anything in. Being a stripper has its privileges.
• theDirkDiggler

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  7 years ago

  ^That is how I imagine it as well, but i'm sure it varies considerably from place to place.
• TFP

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  7 years ago

  So I imagine the clubs that issue W-2s would be less popular amongst the dancers? It goes to show why dancers are always excited when you have cash vs a credit card. I wonder if those sky high credit card fees are to discourage customers from using them for the same reason?
• san_jose_guy

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  7 years ago

  I know one dancer who got into serious trouble withe the iRS for not reporting her stripping and OTC money. They almost took her house away from her. I have sometimes been drafted into the role of tax advisor for dancers at our local clubs. SJG
• mark94

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  7 years ago

  One my faves told me the story about a customer who offered financial advice, assuming she didn’t know what she was doing. I’ve never seen her so pissed off. Be careful before mansplaining, boys !
• san_jose_guy

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  7 years ago

  I never offered advice and I always explained that I was not qualified, but some girls just want questions answered. One was wanting some record of how much money she got. I explained to her that most who work in such jobs do not want there to be such records. She was asking what triggers the IRS to go after people. I explained that its when you lifestyle is clearly beyond your reported income. And they especially take not of things which are hard to hide, real estate, vehicles, securities. The girl was trying to be honest. She was also working a supermarket checker. SJG
• joc13

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  7 years ago

  @TFP "So I imagine the clubs that issue W-2s would be less popular amongst the dancers?" You would think so, but the only ones doing it are likely the clubs that have been sued by the dancers to be removed from IC status. I don't think they realized what they were getting themselves into.
• san_jose_guy

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  7 years ago

  ^^^^^ Most clubs don't want the dancers as employees, they want them as contractors, and everyone wants as few records as possible. SJG
• TFP

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  7 years ago

  @joc13 yeah but I thought those dancers wanted to be actual employees to get benefits like paid days off, health insurance, etc. As independent contractors I wonder how much it costs them to pay for their own medical and dental insurance?
• sandyman

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  7 years ago

  A prostitute goes in to get her taxes done. When the preparer asks her profession, she answers prostitute. The preparer says he can’t put that down, since it is illegal. After thinking for a few minutes, she says to put down “chicken farmer”. He agrees, but asks her why. She says, “ Well, I figure I raised over a thousands cocks last year!”
• joc13

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  7 years ago

  @TFP You think a strip club is going to offer health insurance? They'll put all the dancers on a strict 29 hours per week or less schedule (most dancers I know don't work more than that anyway) and set up a bidding system for the prime weekend hours. Since all the workers will be part time, there won't be a need for paid holidays. If the club has good records, they may even be able to apply for "seasonal" status, which lets you stretch some of the rules. The only thing the dancers are likely to get out of it is guaranteed minimum wage pay on the nights they do work. This probably means the clubs will have fewer dancers on shift on traditionally slow days, so there will be less opportunity for us PLs to leverage internal competition and desperation to maximize our outcomes.
• flagooner

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  7 years ago

  I know my favorite makes consistent $ (no that doesn't mean exactly $100) and still gets food stamps and welfare.
• jackslash

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  7 years ago

  Dancers in Detroit work as independent contractors, and all their revenue comes from cash tips. They have to pay various fees and tip outs to the club, DJ, etc. Everything is cash based, and they do not receive a W-2 or 1099. They are self-employed, and they should file taxes using Schedule C. By law, they are required to report their income and expenses and pay income tax and social security tax. Most strippers are not concerned with following the letter of the law. The dancers do not receive any benefits common to employees. No health insurance, no unemployment insurance, no employer social security payments, no workers comp. The job does have some perks. Dancers have the potential to earn much more money than their education or skills would command in the ordinary job market. They can avoid paying taxes. They can drink on the job and take drugs. They can party and act irresponsibly. They can take advantage of government programs intended to help the poor. They can convince PLs to pay their bills and support their children and boyfriends.
• mark94

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  7 years ago

  In some countries, like Italy and Greece, you are considered an idiot if you aren’t smart enough to hide your income and avoid taxes.
• Clubber

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  7 years ago

  All I can say for sure is what I knew about my ATF. She was single, no kids and lived in low cost housing. Wasn't a slum, that's for sure! She had a number of safe deposit boxes full of cash. The new truck she bought when I was with her was paid in cash. She said she would never qualify for a loan. Also, she worked in two different clubs. A few years after she quit dancing, I saw her a few times. She asked me where I invested. She also owned a condo on the beach and tooled around in her Porsche! BTW, for a couple of years while dancing she lived with some guy, so I am sure she was "saving" even more cash.
• DoctorPhil

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  7 years ago

  @jackslash “Dancers have the potential to earn much more money than their education or skills would command in the ordinary job market. They can avoid paying taxes. They can drink on the job and take drugs. They can party and act irresponsibly. They can take advantage of government programs intended to help the poor. They can convince PLs to pay their bills and support their children and boyfriends.” damn, you make them sound just like politicians
• Conundrum

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  7 years ago

  So I should be able to ask a dancer for a receipt for tax purposes, right?
• TXbananas

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  7 years ago

  LOL @sandyman, good one!