Can i have payments made to someone else to avoid tax?

BrokenArrows

If i do some contracting and earn say 4000.
Can i have this money paid to someone else who is on a lower tax bracket? They would declare and pay tax on this.
They would then use this money for something that I would benefit from (food, rent, holidays) but I wouldnt be given the cash directly.

exaisle

No you can't. I suspect that what you're suggesting is fraudulent but I'm sure somebody else here will confirm....

You may as well pay your tax like the rest of us.

If the "other person" is your wife or civil partner and you're jointly assessed, then it won't make any difference in the long run.

L.Jenkins

Not a good idea in the slightest. If you do make €4,000 from contracting, then declare it to be safe. Last thing you'd want is Revenue hammering down your door for a chat or sending a Sheriff if they caught wind of it.

Peregrinus

No. If you have earned income, you cannot avoid liability to income tax on it by giving your income, or your right to receive it, away.

And this is true in spades if you give it away with an understanding or expectation that you will receive something (food, accommodation, holidays) in return. The Revenue would certainly view this as fraudulent.

The only thing that you could do here that might work is to decline the opportunity to do the contracting when you are offered it, and instead persuade the customer to hire your "someone else who is on a lower tax bracket" to do it instead. They do the work; they get paid for it; they are liable to tax on it.