For some people, making a living as a musician or performer is a mere dream. If you’re lucky enough to turn your dream into a reality, keeping your paperwork in order from the get-go is essential to avoid headaches further on down the line. Filing your taxes is a far cry from the rock and roll lifestyle you may be living, but failing to declare your income is a surefire way to put a premature end to your musical career.
Why Use Dead Simple Accounting?
We’re experts when it comes to accountancy services for musicians. Our director, James, has been the lead guitarist of a band for the last 15 years, and understands the trials and tribulations that many musicians face when it comes to filing their taxes. Whether you’re looking to setup as a freelance musician or form a limited company, we can offer advice on what’s right for you every step of the way on your journey to global stardom.
But don’t just take our word for it, we’re rated 5 stars across Google and Facebook.
Who We Work With
We’re lucky enough to work with a range of highly talented artists across the world, from young bands just starting out, to globally acclaimed artists and producers. They trust us to manage their finances and the boring paperwork that comes with it, so they can focus purely on the creative side of things.
Here’s just a short list of some of our music clients:
- Architects
- Sylosis
- TESSERACT
- Monuments
- Nolly
- Craig Reynolds
- Devil Sold His Soul
- Nubiyan Twist
- ONIPA
- Billen Ted
- Bleed From Within
The reviews speak for themselves
See what our clients have to say about us
What Expenses Can Musicians Claim?
Claiming expenses is one of the most important aspects of accounting for musicians, as it allows you to recoup many of your costs. While this sounds great in principal, you have to ensure that anything you claim for is ‘wholly and exclusively’ for the purpose of your business, otherwise your claim may be denied.
Musicians and creatives are able to expense some very unique costs that you may not have considered, including but not limited to:
- Travel expenses
- As a musician you’ll likely be travelling to gigs, and may incur costs around motoring such as fuel, road tax, insurance and repairs. You may also be able to claim accommodation costs for overnight stays away from home.
- Instrument insurance, repairs, consumables
- Smaller items such as drum sticks and strings may also be claimable costs.
- Promotional costs
- Including but not limited to: flyers, posters, photo sessions etc.
- Rehearsal room/studio/instrument/equipment hire
- Phone bills (if business related)
- Stage clothes
- This can be a bit of a grey area, so be sure to consult an accountant for advice.
- Music
- For example sheet music, tab books etc.
- Solicitor’s fees
- For example if you’re having contracts drawn up.
- Music Equipment
- Such as MP3 or CD players, if you can prove their for business purposes, for example if you’re using them to learn music.
- And more..!
In order to claim for these it’s vital that you keep on top of your paperwork, keeping hold of receipts, contracts and invoices. We appreciate it may be tricky to keep hold of receipts, especially after a gig at your local pub, so consider getting a filing cabinet (as well as making digital copies), to help keep everything in order.
You also need to be realistic and tax efficient. It’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to claim on first class train tickers or swanky hotel rooms, so keep this in mind when planning work related trips.
You can find a full list of expenses for musicians here.
Need Some Further Help?
If you have any further questions or would us to help with your musician tax needs, get in touch with us today.
Useful Resources
These days there’s an abundance of tools and resources at your disposal, software that handles your invoices and expenses, to mobile based banks that cut the boring paperwork.
We only work with the best of the best, and have partnered with several big names to offer you various goodies when signing up.