Comments on: Specifics on Musicians’ Tax Deductions

By: Ed Pearlman

Ed Pearlman — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 16:39:50 +0000

@Xacto and Jo: No, I didn’t make that up about the GPS. If you have it for the purpose of finding gigs, I guess it’s deductible but you might want to investigate to be sure. Usually if you use something for dual purpose (business/personal) it’s hard to prove how much was business use and therefore hard to deduct. As to the $ gift to a student, I don’t personally see how that can qualify as a necessary business expense. A gift of a teaching aid, sheet music, relevant recording, graduation pin, certificate, etc, could be deductible, but it’s harder to justify a straight money gift. Still, it’s best to check with an accountant to talk over the specifics of your situation if you really think it could be considered a necessary expense.

By: Jo

Jo — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 01:31:07 +0000

Hi, I am a piano teacher and I was wondering if the $ that I will give to my students as a graduation present could be deducted in my yearly taxes? I have taught him for 12 years Thx

By: Xacto Staplers

Xacto Staplers — Fri, 28 May 2010 14:07:32 +0000

This is a great list. Although, some of these may be a little questionable I think. A GPS system?

By: Ed Pearlman

Ed Pearlman — Tue, 04 May 2010 01:59:38 +0000

@Ellen: To track mileage, yes, you should include the miles you used to get to students’ homes and back home again. (Not the miles you used to go grocery shopping, etc., though.) You should have a written log, preferably in a spiral notebook so it’s clear, if you ever have to show it, that all the entries were written as they happened. You put in the date, odometer readings at start and finish of trip, and the destination and reason. You can search the IRS site for the document that specifies what the IRS needs for documentation, just to be sure you’re doing it right.

Logging and deducting mileage good for travel to student homes, to gigs, teaching-related errands, etc. But if you are actually an employee of a studio or school, you can’t deduct mileage getting to and from work–that’s considered commuting. If you’re an independent contractor and your primary place of business is home, you can deduct your traveling mileage to where you teach. It can seem a bit tricky at first, but if you read the IRS publication about this you get the picture of what they’re looking for.

By: Ellen

Ellen — Mon, 03 May 2010 18:38:06 +0000

For tracking & deducting mileage while traveling to students’ homes, do I deduct the “going to” portion (point A/current location -> student’s home) or “to and from” portion (point A -> student’s home -> point B)?

By: Ed Pearlman

Ed Pearlman — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:38:19 +0000

@Chris: sorry if this is too late for you for this filing, but for future reference, if you are self-employed you are basically the sole proprietor of yourself as the company. If there is some form somewhere that asks you to separate “self-employed” from “sole proprietor” write another comment and let us know! If you file as self-employed you will want to file Schedule C, and also the self-employed tax form. If you got a 1099 as you said, you didn’t have any taxes withheld so you’ll need to fill out a form for that. Again, it’s important to check with a professional or use good software like TurboTax, or study the tax code feverishly to understand it all; you can also call the IRS and they will help you with questions too.

@Len: I would not want to get between you and an IRS agent auditing you! I have no idea if you have leeway for arguing with her on this. This is why some people use an accountant or an advocacy service such as TurboTax offers (others may also offer such service) so that you can have an experienced advocate who knows what battles to pick and which ones aren’t worth it. If the IRS agent views the reception after your recital as entertaining people, she’s telling you it belongs on line 24b of Schedule C, which is for “deductible meals and entertainment” and that’s a 50% deduction. As teachers, we may consider such expenses essential to the event, but it’s a bit of a gray area, because you could have a recital without a reception. Since I’m not familiar with your particular situation, it’s impossible for me to say which way it should be for you, but you could discuss the situation with the IRS agent and see what she thinks. I’m sure she would explain her rationale and listen to yours.

In any case, it’s helpful to know that the IRS may consider a recital reception as an entertainment expense.

By: Len Wicks

Len Wicks — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:01:55 +0000

In an audit the irs agent wants to give us only 1/2 deduction for recital expenses which includes rental of a chapel, accompanist, flowers, and reception expenses. We put reception expenses under promotional events which is a full expense deduction, but she wants to give me only 1/2 and list it under entertainment expenses. Any thoughts?

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 01:25:17 +0000

Hi! Great site, lots of info here.
This is my first time filing a tax return in the US and as a teacher so safe to say I’m a little confused. I teach piano at a school whereby every month I send in an invoice with the hours and the total amount to be payed. I received a 1099-MISC with the amount in box 7 under nonemployee compensation.

1. What other forms do I need to fill out?
2. Would I be considered self-employed or sole proprietor?

Any help would be much appreciated
Thank you!

By: Ed Pearlman

Ed Pearlman — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:35:57 +0000

@Connie: If you’re using tax software, it should take you through the steps — usually you have to list mileage for the year, and then how much of it was for business, and then it will calculate your deduction. You need to have documented it throughout the year in order to claim the mileage. Since the IRS deduction for 2010 for business mileage is 50 cents per mile, because of the cost of gas and maintenance, you really would get a deduction of about $2000 if your business mileage was 4000 miles for the year.

By: Connie

Connie — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 22:35:57 +0000

Hi! this info is great. I just finished working on my taxes, but am unsure I did the mileage portion for my husband’s gigging correctly. Under Schedule C it asks if a car is used for the business- I put yes, and listed the mileage there (about 4,000 miles) and the software put about $2,000.00 as a deduction- that seems too high- was I to list mileage under a separate travel expense instead of saying the car is used for the business?
Thanks for any help you can give!