<p>I plan on applying to UCLA and UCI, and for work experience can I put down that I work for my parents nail salon for 10 years nearly everyday(pretty much helping cleaning, answering phone calls, take care of customers, and manage the cash register and stuff)? </p>
<p>Im scared that if I get audited that since I work for my parents and all, I don't have W-2 or any tax form. I pretty much just worked for free( I had no choice). I won't have any proof other than a letter from my parents...</p>
<p>i think that’s fine.</p>
<p>No. If you did not get paid using W2 and such what you were doing is no different than someone helping out around the house. </p>
<p>Parents really should have put you ‘on-the-books’ when you were 16 or so.</p>
<p>Hm I guess I’ll have my parents put me on a W2, but would it be to late now? So should on my application I put down I worked for only 1 year instead of 10 years since I only have 1 year of the W2?</p>
<p>Your college application and the tax status implications are not necessarily related. For your application - the time worked is relevant because it sounds like it was a significant time commitment. That’s important for the schools to see that you juggled a major work commitment and school. They don’t care about what you were paid (and pretty sure most schools don’t ask) or who you worked for, and will definitely understand that you needed to help with the business. </p>
<p>The possible downside of working for your family might come in the future when you are searching for a job on your own. Employers are more likely to discount the experience and of course - you probably can’t use your family as a reference. At some point it might be worthwhile - if at all possible - to have a job that is not with your family business. </p>
<p>Ok so should I have my parents put me on a tax form like a W2 then? Just in case I get audited and need to prove that I have been working there, or do I not have to?</p>
<p>The IRS has no access to your common app. I would put it down and while you should have a W-2 if you were paid, that’s really a separate issue.</p>
<p>Just to gain greater insight, read your state’s child labor laws/regulations. </p>