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I spoke last year with the person who does my taxes about deducting music expenses, and the thing that I remember being key was that I be making money from music. So you report your income from music, and then report your expenses from music. For those of us with other means of income, you're allowed to report a loss for some number of years (three?), but at some point you're supposed to be making more money from your business venture (music) than you're spending. If you report a loss for some number of years in a row it's helpful to provide proof that you are actually trying to make a profit, for example reporting advertising expenses. nathan On Wednesday, April 9, 2003, at 11:45 PM, John Tidwell wrote: > --- jimfowler <jimfowler@prodigy.net> wrote: >> how does one go about deducting music equipment >> purchases from your taxes? >> does music have to be your sole (or main) source of >> income...thus making it >> a business expense? >> >> -jim > > It's been a while since I've done this stuff, but... > > Income is a key word. You would need to be bringing > in some money related to the equipment in question > or at least have a business plan to show a reasonable > expectation of making a go of it. > > Business is another key word. Most of us make music > for fun. Maybe we call it a hobby or artistic > expression. Neither one counts for much on a tax > return. Business intent could be demonstrated by > keeping the equipment in an area dedicated for > business use. A port-a-studio in your bedroom doesn't > cut it. Building a studio in your basement or back > yard might. > > In any case, most of the equipment we use would be > depreciated over a number of years rather than > expensed all at once. In a business setting, guitar > strings might be expensed since they are "used up" > within a year. Your brand new Eventide is expected > to last a bit longer however. > > I seem to to recall that there are some special rules > that apply to performing artists. There might even be > an IRS publication devoted to the topic. > > I'm afraid that I dealt with more Amway salesmen than > musicians (shudder). > > John > > > > > > > > > > ===== > John Tidwell > > > > > __________________________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Tax Center - File online, calculators, forms, and more > http://tax.yahoo.com >