Can I claim a $9000 loan from my mom as income?

[bestpersonalized]

My dad unexpectedly passed away and I lost my job. My mom didn't know how to do anything and couldn't be alone. I helped all summer and did work for her that my dad did and helped take car when she had surgery. She gave me a check for  $9000 to help me and my family and I would like to add it to the income somehow so I can get more back. I'm not in a great financial situation.

[SeanE1 · Accepted solution]

The IRS would view this transaction as either a gift or a loan, not as income. If you have no intentions of paying it back it would be considered a gift. Either way, the IRS does not allow a taxpayer to arbitrarily include a loan or gift as income on their tax return. The IRS allows a person to gift another person up to $14,000 in 2016 without requiring that a gift tax return be prepared.

You said above that adding this $9,000 would get you more back.  It works just the opposite, if you receive $9,000 and their is no tax withheld from that $9,000, the IRS hits you with a tax as does the state you live in, if it is a state that has an income tax.  Not only that, the IRS would look at the $9,000 that you earned doing things around your mother's home and also assess what's called self-employment tax which is another 15%. Anytime they see income that was not from an employer or financial institution, they assume it is for work done by the individual and asses a self-employment tax to cover social security and medicare. I wish I could advise you as far as a trick to use, but the facts are the facts.

[bestpersonalized]

Thank you so much for your information. I really appreciate it very much.