The New Tax Guide for Artists of Every Persuasion

Peter Jason Riley is a CPA who for many years has practiced in the Boston area. His book opens with basic material that applies to everyone, offering a roadmap through today's tax landscape and general discussions of different types of income, various kinds of expenses and IRS-allowed tax deductions. Following are the chapters that deal with the specific tax situation relevant to each category of artist. These range from the cost of acting lessons and makeup through depreciation of guitars and the maintenance of home studios to income from teaching jobs and royalties. In the final sections of the book, Riley considers various ways performers and other arts professionals can reduce their taxes, explains how to prepare for an audit, and suggests ways to locate, evaluate, choose and effectively work with a professional arts-oriented tax advisor.

Himself a tax accountant, Riley urges all artists to hire one to do their actual taxes, but here explains the kinds of records to keep and ways of thinking about income, expenses, and taxes that are peculiar to the arts. In addition to discussing general topics, he includes separate chapters for show business, music, visual arts, and writing. He also provides sample forms for keeping track of expenses and other tasks that he invites readers to copy and use. He has not indexed his work.
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