What should the response be to someone wanting to be paid in cash for a service?

[TorchTheWitch]

120. If you ever pay for a service in cash get a receipt

You can write out your own receipt if you want and just have her sign it. Ex: "In receipt of X amount of money for house cleaning services rendered on X date." If she refuses to give you her own receipt with her signature or sign a receipt you wrote out then don't pay her in cash because she's doing something shady and you're left holding the bag without proof that you paid her for her services and then she can turn around and claim that she rendered the service to you but you never paid her for it. ALWAYS get a receipt for payment of a service or product when paying cash since it's the only proof that there is to guard against a claim that you didn't pay.

Anyone in business providing a service to customers should automatically be furnishing a receipt to their customers. The fact that she didn't automatically do this and requested being paid in cash is a virtual guarantee that she's not paying taxes, and if she has employees she isn't paying their taxes either and giving them cash under-the-table.

You don't need to file any tax forms for her services because she is not your employee nor did you contract her to work as an independent contractor for you. You are merely one of her customers purchasing a service from her. You wouldn't have a plumber come fix your toilet and file any employment tax forms for his service to you for fixing your toilet, right? This is the same thing - you're her customer, not her employer.

If she has issues with the receipt never use her again. I would never trust someone in my home who runs a shady business. IN fact, if she refuses to sign a receipt then don't pay her in cash but by check made out to her business name (if she has a business name) and in the Memo line at the bottom write in something like "payment for housecleaning service on X date". That way your check becomes your receipt and you can get a copy from your bank as proof should you ever need it.