Cammodel, who lives in Colombia, wants me to pass her her earnings because she is having issues with her bank. But will I be responsible for the taxes?

[maestro1969]

I don't know if this is where I should post this question but I really don't know where else to ask. I have a friend who is a cammodel and lives in Colombia. She is having trouble getting paid from her account and has asked me if I can create an account in my name and she will send me her earning into my account which I will then forward it onto her with Xoom. It looks like the cammodel site will report what she sends me to the IRS as my earning so now I want to know if I will be responsible for paying federal (24%) and state (4.95%) taxes plus social security (12.4%) and Medicare (2.9%) taxes on the money she sends me. Or if I keep good records and can show the trail of the money and text messages of our conversation detailing the whys and hows of all this can I avoid paying these taxes and just pass the full amount onto her? What information would I need to have in case I get audited? Or should I just hold the tax portion from her earning and tell her that that is what I would need to do and just pay the taxes as if it were my own earning? All this is just supposed to be temporary until she can work out whatever issues she is having with her bank. Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[macuser_22]

That reeks of money laundering and tax fraud.   Don't go near it.   Get legal advice if you are going to pursue it further.

[SweetieJean]

I totally agree.  Don't do it.

[xmasbaby0]

Do not touch this with a ten foot pole.  Tell your friend to work out her banking issues herself and deal with her own income.

[SweetieJean]

Have you ever even met this "friend?"  It could be a scam.

[maestro1969]

Yeah, I know her quit well and I trust her 100%. I have loaned her money in the past and she has always paid it off. It is not money laundering and she has shown me the messages she has been getting from the bank. I am confident this is 100% legit. This bank has been known to cause trouble with getting cammodels their money. A quick google search confirms everything she is telling me and everything I have seen in her emails with the bank.

[macuser_22]

I repeat - discuses it with an attorney.     Filing a false tax return IS tax fraud.   If YOU are not the employee and it is NOT YOUR income then it IS tax fraud to file a tax return saying that it is your income.   It could also  be money laundering depending on the circumstances.

We (in an internet forum) cannot know all the details.   Go to a competent tax attorney where you can sit down one-on-one  and give them all the details for legal advice.  

This is a legal issue and not a tax question and we cannot give legal advice.