Cash-in-hand work in the UK – still common, or too risky now?

Be honest — cash-in-hand work has always been part of the UK side-hustle scene.

Things like:

Cleaning, gardening, decorating

Helping trades on weekends

Babysitting, tutoring, odd jobs

Small local services paid in cash

But with HMRC getting more data from banks, platforms, and payment apps, I’m wondering how people see this now in 2025.

Some questions to kick it off:

Is cash-in-hand still common where you live?

Do people eventually “go legit”, or stay informal long-term?

Has anyone had issues with HMRC because of it?

Is it actually safer to register as self-employed even for small amounts?

Do customers now expect bank transfer instead of cash?

Not asking for advice — just real experiences and opinions on how things have changed in the UK.

Curious to hear what people are seeing locally 👇