under-the-table
Off the books
Under-the-table describes payments or deals made secretly, especially to avoid taxes or legal scrutiny: He paid the workers under the table.
The phrase evokes money passed discreetly beneath a table where others can't see.
It often implies something illicit or at least off the books: under-the-table bribes, an under-the-table agreement.
Illegal payment for services
- payoffCulminating benefit received
- graftIllicit political gain
- baksheeshGratuity or small bribe
- sweetenerAdditive reducing bitterness
palm-greasing · backhander · inducement · grease · fix · shakedown · corruption · embezzlement
Exempt from government levies
- off-the-booksUnrecorded for tax purposes
- moonlightingCovert additional employment
- tipsExtras for servers
- wagesPayment for work
Intentionally concealed
- clandestineConcealed from authorities
- surreptitiousDone secretly, avoiding detection
- furtiveSecretive and sly
- hiddenKept out of sight
concealed · hush-hush · stealthy · undercover · discreet · confidential · private · cloak-and-dagger
Relaxed, not official
- unregulatedNot controlled by rules
- unauthorizedNot officially permitted
- undocumentedNot officially recorded
- unrecordedNot written down
unlicensed · unsanctioned · extralegal · off-the-record · backdoor · unacknowledged · unwritten
kickback
Illegal payment for services
sweetener · palm-greasing · backhander · inducement · grease · fix · shakedown · corruption · embezzlement · extortion
untaxed
Exempt from government levies
- off-the-booksUnrecorded for tax purposes
- moonlightingCovert additional employment
- tipsExtras for servers
wages · payment · undeclared · cash-in-hand
covert
Intentionally concealed
- clandestineConcealed from authorities
- surreptitiousDone secretly, avoiding detection
- furtiveSecretive and sly
hidden · concealed · hush-hush · stealthy · undercover · discreet · confidential · private · cloak-and-dagger · veiled
informal
Relaxed, not official
- unregulatedNot controlled by rules
- unauthorizedNot officially permitted
- undocumentedNot officially recorded
unrecorded · unlicensed · unsanctioned · extralegal · off-the-record · backdoor · unacknowledged · unwritten
- payoffsbribe, kickback, payoff, payola, baksheesh
- salessale, sales, selling, salesperson, salesman
- dirty moneydirty money, ill-gotten gains, illicit funds, illicit gains, proceeds of crime
under-the-tablelegitimate
Conforming to accepted standards
legal · lawful · above-board · sanctioned · licensed
under-the-tableovert
Plainly apparent to all
open · aboveboard · transparent · revealed · public
table, under, tables, tablecloth, tablespoon, tabletop, underpaid, underpayment