More tax advice.

Here is a template that breaks down various performer related tax write-offs. Buying leotards and make-up payoff somehow!

There is also a great benefit to being able to claim oneself as a "Qualified Performing Artist". Wikipedia describes it as: an “above the line” deduction, meaning that it is used while computing a taxpayer’s Adjusted Gross Income. It is an exception to the general rule, which requires job-related expenses to be a miscellaneous itemized deduction subject to the “2% haircut” rule of itemized deductions. As such, it is a favorable tax situation for the performing artist taxpayer.

To qualify for this deduction, a taxpayer must fit certain criteria:

• The taxpayer must have worked as a performing artist for at least two employers,
• the amount of the deduction must exceed ten percent of the taxpayer’s gross income that is attributed to those performances, and
• the adjusted gross income of the taxpayer, not counting this exception, does not exceed $16,000. See I.R.C. § 62(b)(1).

Happy tax time!