Tax season is upon usa.

But before you get-go heading for the edge to avert combing through all of your receipts, have a look at some of the tax deductions you can merits as an independent artist.

Depending on where you are in your visual career, you may exist asking if your practise counts as a business (as recognized past the IRS) and not a hobby.

If y'all are running your fine art practise similar a business, fifty-fifty if you are operating at a loss, you tin can deduct that loss from other income you earn, such as wages and salaries from second jobs.

How exercise yous know if you qualify?

If yous carry your fine art practise in a businesslike style, put fourth dimension and effort into your artwork to make it profitable, depend on income from your artwork for your livelihood, take been successful in making a profit during some years of your fine art business, yous most likely authorize to take deductions.

As a general rule of pollex, your business should exist making a profit for at least three out of five years or you should be able to demonstrate that yous are working actively toward making your business profitable.

Doing things like keeping authentic records of your bear witness entries, gallery activity, business concern expenses and time you put into your artwork all work in your favor when trying to bear witness your credibility as a business.

One time you have determined you qualify, don't miss out any of these common deductions.

Materials & Supplies

Any difficult materials you employ to make your artwork can be deducted from your taxes. This includes your supplies, raw materials, electricity that might be used to create your piece of work, and frames. These materials are more often than not things you apply up inside the year (think paint, clay, glaze, canvases, etc.)

You can also write off whatsoever role supplies you lot have purchased to run your art concern such as paper, cards, postage etc.

Studio Expenses

If yous have a studio outside of your home, the total hire and utilities are fully deductible business organisation expenses. For those that have an art studio in your abode that is used exclusively for your art business or making fine art, you can deduct a portion of your monthly overall expenses for that space.

Advertising

Annihilation you lot spend money on promoting your work can be deducted. Advertising expenses include print ads, business cards, fliers, sponsorships, Facebook and digital ads, also as your website hosting and creation costs.

Vehicle Expenses

Y'all tin can merits a portion of your auto expenses if you apply your vehicle for your art business. Specially if you use your motorcar or truck to transport your work to shows or fairs or to pick up materials, you can claim your vehicle in mileage or a percentage of your personal vehicle use.

Fees

You lot can write off your processing fees from companies like Square, Etsy or Paypal equally well as fees yous paid to enter juried shows or fairs.

Memberships

There are a lot of bonuses to having professional memberships. Plus, yous tin can write them off too as whatsoever museum memberships.

Contract Fees

What counts as a contractor? Anyone you lot pay in order to brand your work. This includes fabricators, photographers, administration, etc.

Large Equipment (Depreciable Avails)

Depreciable assets are annihilation that y'all volition utilise for your art business or studio for more than one year. Recall computers, kilns, cameras and whatever larger expenses that are used over multiple years.

These are substantial expenses. For these larger items, you tin can study the asset's depreciation as a deductible expense or you tin can claim a larger deduction in the first year.

Legal and Professional Expenses

Our recommendation? Get a professional to help you lot with your revenue enhancement training—yous tin write off their fee!

Repairs and Maintenance

Any expenses related to repairing or maintaining your equipment or office space would go into this category. For example, if you're a photographer and you send your camera to the shop to get calibrated and cleaned, the maintenance price should go in this category.

Travel

As an artist, yous are probably traveling to shows frequently. Not only tin yous deduct the miles traveled, you lot can deduct transportation like Uber rides, airfare, and hotel costs.

Business organisation Meals

In order to deduct the cost of a restaurant repast, you need to conduct or discuss business during that meeting or soon thereafter (say, you meet up with an creative person to discuss an upcoming collaboration together). Keep in mind that you also can only deduct 50% of your meal costs.

Cell Phone Costs

If you apply your jail cell phone for both business organisation and personal apply you can separate upwardly the monthly charges based on an estimate of how much you use the telephone for your art business.

Pedagogy and Conference Expenses

Have an fine art coach? Take a continuing instruction class? Attend whatsoever conferences this year?

Yous can deduct all of these expenses besides every bit any books, magazine subscriptions, online courses or anything else related to furthering your education.

Software Subscriptions

Software that helps y'all run your art business like Artwork Archive tin can be deducted from your taxes. If you pay for other subscriptions that accept monthly or annual fees like an accounting service or image service, you tin can deduct those equally well.

Remember, the well-nigh important thing is that you are making certain y'all are reporting all of your income and not over-reporting your expenses. This helps if you take kept close tabs on your expenses throughout the year and stay organized.

Use this every bit a jumping off point for your taxes, just always seek the advice and guidance from a tax professional.

Need to know how to conduct a year-end inventory of your artwork? Read on here.