Tax question on a flip - Paying cash for materials and workers

[John Nisewonger]

Getting ready to close on a house I plan on rehabbing/flipping.  I am finding a lot of materials and appliances for sale on craigslist that are waaaayyyy cheaper than buying from lower, HD etc.  I also found a group of guys that I used to work with in construction that are willing to help but wanted cash as payment.  I'm talking like $16-18 an hour for guys I trust compared to $30-35 an hour for general contractors that I am pulling out of the phone book.

When I go to pay my chunk of tax on my profit, can I write off these things I paid cash for?  It still might be beneficial to pay the cash prices since the savings is so great but would be even better if I can write that off.

Your thoughts and experiences??  Thanks guys/gals