How exactly does one report less income than one receives from one’s employer? I don’t think most companies would be willing to falsify the W-2s for their employees. That seems like the kind of thing that would bring about prison time for people.
If you file a W-2 you are screwed, period. The government will rob you blind
Accountant I knew always said, it isn’t about how much you make, it is about how much you keep. He always said a guy making 80K a year with 1099/self employed income keeps more money then the guy making 120K a year with w-2s because the self employed 1099 guy gets to write just about everything off.
And if the W2 guy rents, he might as well just sign his paycheck over to the IRS at that point.