Aaron Marcus breaks down what actors and models can deduct from taxes. Everyday clothes don't count, but performance-only costumes like a glittery Vegas outfit do. Classes, books, travel to auditions, and unpaid lodging are clear deductions; streaming subscriptions and movie tickets as research are risky.
Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus, and here is your weekly acting and modeling information letter. Very first thing I want to say is take a look at my wardrobe, or at least my top. It just kind of looks like a regular kind of fleece. I'm going to save this for another blog later. I'm going to be driving in about— well, as soon as I get done with this, I'm going to be driving about 2.5 hours to audition for a TV commercial, and I very specifically Uh, thought about wearing this fleece, and I'll tell you about it later. Hopefully it will have made a difference and, and might help me book the job, but I'll tell you about that later. That's not really what I wanted to talk about today. It has to do with, uh, things that you can deduct for your taxes, uh, if you are an actor or a model. So the very first thing I want to let you know, as you know, I'm not an attorney. Uh, I can't give you legal advice. I can't give you tax advice. I'm not an accountant. I'm not a CPA. So I'm just sharing information with you, things that I've heard, and hopefully this will still be really helpful to you. One of the questions that I'm asked quite often is, what kind of things can I deduct from my taxes? What are business expenses? And so here's what my philosophy has always been, and this is what I've done. Very first thing is, I mean, look, you want to sit down and talk with a tax expert, somebody who knows the entertainment industry, and they can really give you all the details. But sometimes people think that if they go out and buy a pair of pants for a film that they're going to be doing or a TV commercial or a certain shirt or sweater or new shoes or something like that, that they can deduct it because they used it in their project. And my understanding is that cannot be a tax deduction. You cannot deduct that from your taxes. If it is wardrobe that you can actually wear for everyday usage, you cannot deduct that as a business expense. If it's something that's really unusual, let's say you are a performer in Las Vegas and you have this wild and crazy glittery kind of wardrobe that you use in your performance, yeah, that can be a deduction because it's something that you would not wear when you're doing grocery shopping or bowling or going to your kids' PTA meetings. So it has to be something that's very unique and can only be used during a performance or for business purposes. There are some people that I know who will deduct movie tickets if they subscribe to companies like Netflix. They will deduct that, or things like Showtime, because they say, well, look, this is my way of doing research. I need to learn and watch other actors. I want to watch how directors direct their kinds of projects in case they audition for them. Personally, I don't do that only because I also just watch it for enjoyment sometimes, and there will be other things that I'm watching on Netflix that really is not necessarily industry-related for me while I'm watching it. So I don't. And so once again, that's a good thing to ask somebody who prepares taxes for people. But the important thing to keep in mind is You really need to find out very specifically what is a tax write-off. Like, for instance, any acting class that I take, those are tax write-offs. Any acting or modeling book that I purchase, for me, those are tax deductions. I do have some deductions for travel. If I'm traveling to New York and I'm taking a train or however I'm doing it, that's a deduction for me. If I have to stay overnight during a shoot and I'm not being paid, it's not being supplied to me, that would be a tax deduction. deduction for me. So the important thing is there are definitely some deductions that you can take. There are some deductions I would not recommend taking, and the most important thing is find out from an expert so you don't run into any kind of tax issues when it comes time to paying your taxes. So I hope this was helpful to you. Certainly, if you have any questions, always go to my facebook.com/howtomodel page, and that way you can ask your question. And also, don't forget, like the page so You can always get information when I'm posting it there, but also I will answer any questions that you have, any information you want to share, and other people will be able to do that as well. And it's just a great way to help continue to build this community of actors and models from around the world. If it's more of a personal question, you can always email me at aaron@howtomodel.com. I hope this was helpful to you. I look forward to talking with you again next week.
