Venue pays with a check. ..

[Joeynone]

There is nothing wrong with a venue cutting a check... They are treating it as the business that they are... Just like the band should. It's great when you get some tax free American Cheetos but if you treat your band as a business, then you should be prepared to accept payment as a business. #endrant

 

[Thor]

Subject to there being sufficient funds, I would agree.

 

[Abrahampost]

Hope this doesn't steal the thread too much. Recently I have been playing a venue in town that requires tax info/1099 and pays in a check. This is all fine by me and I adjust the band members pay accordingly for the tax burden.

Now this same venue will also use promoters to book out gigs and on those gigs the promoter pays us in cash from the door, but the venue still requires a 1099 from every band on the bill. If I am an employee of the promoter for the show why would the venue need to issue a 1099 for me? Shouldn't they be dealing with the promoter? In this case isn't the tax burden on the promoter? Otherwise why am I getting middled by everyone?

 

[Thor]

Depends on the arrangement he has with the venue. He may get a cut, get a 1099 for his piece and he doesn't want to pass through all the bands income streams, so the venue splits it between the band(s) and promo team. Basically, it appears you are all subcontractors, not employees, as employees get a w-2.
They are then documenting their income and expenses. The 1099 is fine as long it is for the actual amount you were paid.

 

[Abrahampost]

Cool I assumed it was something like that. I usually don't stress as long as the numbers line up.

 

[jeffbassguy]

we play quite a few gigs in Massachusetts and the state is very strict about income reporting so normally we each have to take a turn in giving tax information if the venue has to report it for 1099 purposes..most of us are llc'd individually so it is really a non issue. If you are really concerned, i would recommend setting up an entertainment llc and start taking deductions for gas, gear, meals etc and you will find you can actually make out better in the tax game.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

The last thing you want is to be paid by a bandleader for a bunch of gigs and then at the end of the year he asks for your SSN so he can give you a 1099.

 

[fdeck]

Soooooo...... maybe the best thing for BL to do is to just accept all checks written to him, file all apporpiate 1099s, and then hand a bill to each of the other two members for 33% of what the BL pays to the IRS.

To the best of my knowledge, The BL still files 1040a and never has itemized a thing in his/her life. So maybe this approach would be the easiest? Just take the hit on their refund?

First, I am not an accountant. With that said...

Here is how I think it works. You are running a business, albeit a simple one that is not a corporation or an LLC. It is called a "sole proprietorship," and does not require creating a legal business entity. Here are what the steps are:

1. You use Form 1040, not 1040A or EZ. You still don't have to itemize, but 1040 has some entries that you need. The main things to notice are Line 12, (business income), Line 27 (self employment tax), and Line 57 (self employment tax again).

2. Fill out Schedule C-EZ (profit or loss from business) if possible, otherwise Schedule C. Line 1 is how much money you took in. Line 2 is how much you paid to band mates (non employee compensation). The difference is your profit. The instructions tell you where to enter your profit on Form 1040 and Schedule SE...

3. Fill out Schedule SE (self employment tax). The instructions tell you where to enter two numbers on your Form 1040.

4. Now you fill out Form 1040 in the same way that you filled out Form 1040A in the past, but including the numbers entered from the two Schedules. Done.

 

[Kmonk]

Most of the venues we play pay by check. They do not cash it for us though. Some larger venues as casinos require a tax ID number to be on file so they can accurately report to the IRS. We always set aside some of the money from each gig for tax purposes.

 

[fdeck]

The last thing you want is to be paid by a bandleader for a bunch of gigs and then at the end of the year he asks for your SSN so he can give you a 1099.

Actually, that's exactly what I want, because it means that I made more than 600 bucks.

 

[hsech]

Unless you are a full time professional, keeping up with things is pretty easy. I have a spreadsheet where I put the name of the venue, the date, the round trip mileage and the amount.

 

[pnchad]

This won't help anyone this time around but...

After being lazy for years and years, sometimes claiming some sometimes claiming none - I was an idiot

It is so easy (especially now with things like Legalzoom) to just incorporate. The best scenario is for every member to be a corp or LLC whereby the BL simply gets all the FEIN numbers and issues the 1099s at years end

Then each individual can claim as much or write off as much as they like depending on their situation

It's crazy - I wish I had done it 25 years ago. If you don't like paying anything, everything is deductible - strings, picks, gas, car, amps, clothes, food, booze, travel"................. Just can't show a loss more than 2 yrs in a row

Now a days you just use a company debit card for every thing and the accounting is right there for you

If it's your primary income and your worried about SS later, pay your withholding, etc.

Done and easy

 

[ashtray]

More non-professional tax advice:

- Consult a CPA!
- Report your earnings
- Report your expenses!!

On a Sch C, the top line is how much you took in. The rest of the lines are for expenses including travel or use of a car, advertising, etc. If you bought special clothes to wear for a gig (or had a tux rental), that's an expense. The gear you use are depreciable assets, and the stuff like new strings, strap, tuner, cables, etc are all expenses too if used specifically for the band.

But don't do something on your tax return bc some guy on the internet posted that you could deduct your pet cat - contact a CPA. It might cost you $$. Otherwise use a tax software that has a Sch C and maybe offers support as well.

Bottom line: you only pay tax on the net income from your band business. If you are making a decent net income, you are doing something right! Or maybe you're not buying enough gear...

 

[PauFerro]

Doesn't bother me at all -- shows they are professional. Just make sure you cash it fast -- I waited too long and it bounced. They rewrote it without any problem.

 

[DirtDog]

checks are still a thing?

No kidding, eh? I just get the bar to Netflix me the money. Or something like that.

 

[MegaSwing]

No kidding, eh? I just get the bar to Netflix me the money. Or something like that.

Me like.

 

[JimmyM]

Only time checks trouble me is when they bounce. Otherwise I couldn't care less.

 

[lil nelson]

I ran a contracting business for 9 years, and am very familiar with 1099. You don't need a tax ID #. You can use your SS# if your am individual and run your books as "cash". If you have a full time job and play for extra money then you can show a loss year after year as long as you have receipts. Filling out the schedule C is easy. It allows you to itemize all your expenses. Like for the year 2014 you bought a bass an amp and strings and stuff from Guitar Center. Then you enter Guitar center $2500 only. You bought gas from every station across the state, you just enter Fuel $1500 for the year. Make shure you save all your receipts for at least 7 years. Showing a loss is easy, were all musicians and we load $5000 worth of gear into a $1500 car and play a gig for $50.
It also really helps to take some $ and open a checking account titled as a DBA. You can swipe your debit card for things other than related to music and still deduct it.
Let's say your fan of a NFL team and you buy a $100 jersey. List it as an expenditure and if you get audited it was a costume for a gig etc.. Yous your imagination.

 

[PauFerro]

none of the band can complain if you show them a P&L report once in a while that shows where all the money went.

The way I do it is look at myself as a sole proprietorship, so the guys in the band don't need to know anything about revenues. I will never show them the financials, but I do 1099 them.

In fact, when I send a booking confirmation to a client, I put a statement in the confirmation that they should give the check to me in a sealed envelope, and should not disclose the total to anyone but myself as "musicians work at different rates". Which is true. In my view, it's none of the musician's business how much the gig paid in total, as I booked it an did all the work. Same goes when a member of the group books a gig -- at that point I'm suddenly a contractor -- if he says the pay is $100, and I accept, his obligation to me is over. I encourage members who book gigs to take a commission, and I don't have to know what it is.

I have a rule now that I should, under most circumstances, get a larger share than the band when I book the gig. On big gigs, its higher, on small dollar value gigs, it's smaller.

I find I need that bit of extra money to feel compensated for all the time I spent arranging rehearsals, booking gigs, doing the website, facebook, getting cats music, etcetera.

 

[I am Soma]

No kidding, eh? I just get the bar to Netflix me the money. Or something like that.

Maybe request they pay you in gold coins contained within a leather pouch?