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 A note from the FNO
newsletter editor...
Greetings FNO Bands and
Performers,
As the year comes to an end,
this article is awesome for musicians to prep for tax time! Jeri
is a great consultant and you can check her out online here at PerformingBiz.com.
I am going on maternity leave in a couple weeks so I won't be around
the FNO scene for a while. Be sure to direct any questions you
might have to info@festivalnet.com.
Best wishes for a terrific holiday season,
Julie
Cochrane
FNO Marketing
800.200.3737
Festival Network Online
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Year End Tax Tips
- By Jeri Goldstein
 The holiday season has begun and that should
signal year-end planning and assessment. Some acts may be performing a
great deal during the holidays, with private parties and special events
scheduled. Others may be entering the "slow" season and find you have
some extra time on your hands. This is great time to take stock of your
supplies and inventories, evaluate how well you did financially and do
some end of the year tax planning.
The first place to begin is to review this past year's income. Gather
all of the touring expense receipts and personal expenses. Make an
appointment with your accountant to do a preliminary review if you
haven't been tracking your income and expenses throughout the year.
Whether you are working with an accountant, (which is highly
recommended) or doing your accounting on your own, this preliminary
review can provide the necessary information regarding the tax
liability with which you will be faced this year. With a heads-up
before the end of the year rolls around you can take some pro-active
measures to reduce your tax bill and insure that you are well stocked
to begin the next touring season. If you find that you don't need any
additional deductions this year, you might delay spending money on some
of the items suggested below until well into the next year or delay
payments for the items until after January first.
Let's start by looking at your office supplies. If you keep a stock of
computer paper, labels, business checks, notepads, calendar systems
such as Day Timer, CD-Rs, etc., this may be the perfect time to stock
up for next year. By spending the money on the supplies now, you can
expense these items in this year's tax return. If you mail-order the
supplies in bulk, you not only save money on the sales tax and on the
per item cost, but you won't have to spend extra time while you're busy
touring doing last-minute shopping for office supplies and pay premium
prices.
Merchandise inventory might also be getting low. T-shirts and CDs might
need re-ordering for the winter and spring touring season. This may be
a difficult time to push your job through at the manufacturers since
they may be swamped getting their orders completed by Christmas. If you
need some additional deductions, you might place your order with the
manufacturer and send a deposit before the end of the year even though
the job won't be done until the beginning of the next year. You are
still able to take the deduction for the deposit in this current tax
year. If you are confident about your manufacturer, you may pay for the
whole job in advance.
This is a great time to review your promotional material. Does it need
an update featuring some of the new and exciting career developments
that recently occurred? This is also a great time to think about next
year's tours and create any new thematic posters, flyers, one-sheets or
set up a new photo session. By planning ahead for next season's tours,
you will be ready to send out new materials to prospective bookers and
the media. Again, any expenses incurred in this last month can be
deducted in the current tax year.
If your financial review reveals the need for some major purchases, you
might first consider whether you have maximized your contribution to
your retirement plan. If you have not, or if you haven't started a
retirement plan, there is no better time to do so than immediately.
Again check with your accountant or a financial planner for a plan best
suited to your needs.
Once the retirement plan is in place and fully funded for the year and
you are still looking for additional expense items, consider the state
of your instrument insurance—do you have any? If not, consider adding a
rider to your renter's or homeowner's insurance. Check with Clarion about their instrument
insurance. ASCAP also provides instrument
insurance.
Now that you have taken care of some very important financial
considerations and still find room for further deductions, perhaps you
can purchase some long needed stage equipment, a new instrument, a new
computer or peripherals. Check with your accountant, some of these
purchases may only qualify for depreciation rather than a full expense
deduction. Perhaps you can make plans for a marketing campaign or pay
ahead for conference registrations and organizational memberships. By
tracking deadlines for registrations, not only will you benefit from
the expense deduction in the current year you will more than likely
save money on the early registration discounts offered by the various
conferences. Look ahead to the next year to determine whether any
upcoming expenses can be paid ahead during the current year to benefit
from the deductions. Or, if you are set for this year's tax deductions,
you may need to consider delaying payments on certain purchases until
after the New Year and take the deduction in the next tax year.
This is a great time to take advantage of a year-end review for tax
purposes and do some very strategic planning for the next touring
season. Not only will you reap the benefits this year, but you'll
jump-start your planning for next year as well. Good luck!
Jeri Goldstein is the author of, How
To Be Your Own Booking Agent The Musician's & Performing Artist's
Guide To Successful Touring 2nd Edition UPDATED. She had been an
agent and artist's manager for 20 years. Currently she consults with
artists, agents and managers through her consultation program
Manager-In-A-Box and presents The
Performing Biz, seminars and workshops at conferences,
universities, for arts councils and to organizations. Jeri has released
a 3-hour seminar on CD-ROM, Marketing
Your Act. The Seminar is set up in 5 modules with information
about Marketing, Creating Effective Promotional Materials, How To
Access the Media, A Marketing Template and Niche Marketing. No
expensive conferences to attend-learn at your convenience to boost your
career. Her book, CD-ROM and information about her other programs are
available at are available at Performingbiz.com or
phone (434) 591-1335 or email Jeri.
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