You need to ask the apartment manger/the person in charge of leasing what this letter needs to include. You can then write it and have your employer sign it. Just make sure that she understands that she will probably get a phone call to confirm everything the letter says.

If you are getting paid 'under the table' and you are not reporting it to the IRS, it will not count towards your income for the apartment. In situations where the income seems sketchy, the landlord will ask for a W-2 or 1040. They may accept a copy of your bank statement each month, but no guarantees.

A letter from your employer would typically suffice. It does not have to be notarized but it would not hurt either. She does have to sign it though.

It can be a simple statement like " my name is Kim Lee I own Kim's Flower shop. Laura Smith works for me at $10/ hr. She typically works 35 hrs per week. I pay her by personal check or cash every 2 weeks." or something like that.

Some landlords would also accept your current year tax return for proof of income. This may not work however if this is a recent job and/ or no income from this job is on your tax return.

Many landlords have a special form for this type of verification as well. It is really best to check with the landlord as to what they want to see.

Since she doesn't really speak English I would just stick with your income tax returns as proof of income. All your reportable income is there, unless of course you are a criminal.

Are you trying to say that you are self-employed? Doesn't sound like you have an employer-employee relationship. Also doesn't sound like you are paying tax on this income.

You might be able to satisfy the requirement with photocopies of 3 of the checks.

I'm 22 and trying to get my own and first studio apartment. I've worked in a rather unconventional setting where I get written personal checks or just paid cash. I tend to not deposit all my money because then I just spend it all so I've made a habit of just securing all my cash in my room and only deposit a grand or so a month to pay bills online and for quick little spending.

One of the requirements is: "Copies of three most recent pay stubs -OR- formal written verification from the employer indicating reportable income."

I don't have any pay stubs, so what is this "formal written verification"? Could I get as much detail as possible please? My boss is a traditional Korean woman so she doesn't really understand American things so I have to explain to her what to write or at least how to write it. Does it just need to be a written letter? Notarized? Etc?