Speaking of taxes
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Its a long and drawn out story, my Christmas Eve struggles this year. I won't get into exactly how it turned out this way, but I thought for about 2 hours that I was going to have to play the most lucrative night of the year for free. It's no one's fault, really, though I think I'd be completely within my jurisdiction to blame a choir director. Laying blame doesn't really get anyone anywhere, though. The bottom line is that I figured it out.
Remember, Reader(s), that any time you play for a church, it is a non-profit organization. And remember that when you play for FREE, it is considered a fully tax-deductible charitable donation. Get a receipt from the church where it happened and hand it over to your accountant*. Keep in mind, as a freelancer your income is often self-employment income, so you will be taxed DOUBLY as an employer and employee. (Even though you are just one person... it doesn't seem fair, does it?) Take your deductions wherever you can, whether it is your Starbucks receipts or your "charity."
And a word to the wise: If an ill choir director calls you from a hospital bed the day before Thanksgiving nearly begging you to find a brass group for his Christmas Eve service and promises you a reasonable fee, trust your gut. If you think this guy is full of crap, he probably is. Get it in writing before you go contracting your colleagues. Never take a gig from someone who is highly medicated. Oh, and if it seems too easy and too good to be true, it probably is.
*I'm sure some of you thrifty do-it-yourself-ers out there do your taxes yourself. Frankly, I place a high price on my time and sanity, so I pay someone else to do it. Kudos to those of you who spend an evening in early April pulling your hair out and making sense of it. I just can't bear it.
Posted byL. at 10:51 AM
Labels: Charity, Christmas, Taxes
