Do You Know Your Tax Deductions As An Actor?

Tax season is here and everyone is trying to figure out last minute deductions to save money this year. If you are not sure what deductions you can claim as an actor, here are some tips to help you save money and (maybe) get a refund this year.

• Self-employed actors can deduct expenses directly related to acting activities that are not viewed as "extravagant" when it comes to properly doing their work. In other words, the deduction must be deemed to be "ordinary and necessary" in the eyes of the IRS.
• Some actors try to deduct everyday items like makeup and a gym membership on their taxes. However, the use of these items must be clearly defined by the actor. For example, makeup for a photo session or a stage play can be deducted but makeup bought for use during a normal day cannot be deducted. A gym membership is rarely deductible because it is considered exercise and not "research" or "training".
• Clothing is also an area to be handled with caution. An outfit bought for an audition can fall into the deduction category but clothes bought to wear to lunch or the beach are not considered tax deductible. 
• Items that might count for "research purchases" include magazine subscriptions and books for the purpose of staying up to date on your profession. Movie tickets can count as research for your job as well as some (or all) of your cable, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu subscriptions.
• Fees paid to your reps or a PR firm can be marked as business expenses. However, you will need to provide statements showing your payments as well as examples of the services they provided. Also, fees paid for acting classes, private sessions and casting director workshops might be good deductions for you.
• Keep track of your mileage as you drive to auditions, agent and manager meetings, acting classes, rehearsals and acting jobs. They can be counted as business trips. In addition, out of town travel for work can include some deductions. 
• Did you mail anything related to your career last year? Fed Ex, UPS and USPS expenses that were a result of mailing resumes, headshots and other career items can fall into deduction territory.
• Resumes and headshots, along with postcards and fees charged by sites like LA Casting, can all be classified as "promotional expenses" when filling out your taxes.
• Finally, making business calls can be written off on your taxes. Plus, a new phone can be a tax deduction if you have the proper paperwork to show its business use.

I hope the examples listed above help you save some money. As always, consult with a tax professional when using the above deduction examples. To quote the JP Morgan website:

"This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult with your own tax, legal and accounting team before engaging in any transaction."

Take the money you save on your taxes and invest it in your career with new headshots or taking an acting class.

This actor is finishing his taxes this weekend.

A Recap of (Recent) Life in Hollywood

Instead of focusing on one topic this week, I'm going to do a mixed bag and discuss a variety of "life in Hollywood" events from the last few weeks.

• I was recently approached by a writer, who is also a bestselling author, about doing a profile piece on me. He found my blog and wants to feature me in a magazine article about people who take the unexpected path in life. We are working out the final details and the interview should happen in a few weeks.
• Zach, along with two of his friends, decided it was time to give back to the community. They helped plan and implement a bowling event to raise funds for cancer research. The "Bowling Bash To Strike Away Cancer" raised over $15,000 during the 3-hour event. They served as the red carpet, social media and recruitment chairs for the event. They also helped host the bash and enlisted some of their talented friends to perform as well as serve as the official event photographer and event support. It was nice to see them excited about helping a great cause and work so hard to make the event such a success.

Zach Louis hosting the start of the ceremony.

• I've had a couple of conversations in the last week about turning my blog into a book. In fact, I've spoken with two people from different companies in the past week about writing a book. One of them found me through hashtags I use regularly on social media. The other person found me searching for blogs about acting and Hollywood. I'm in initial talks with them and it's definitely an intriguing idea.
• There was a production crew in our neighborhood last week. I discovered them while taking Doc on his morning walk. The crew asked us to stop for a moment while they finished filming a scene. I was fine with waiting but Doc kept pulling on the leash, When it was finally time for us to pass through the trucks and crew, I noticed Doc had peed on the stack of daily sides left on the ground by the guy who wouldn't let us pass. I smiled at Doc and quickly started walking. My dog knows how to show his displeasure while not messing up the scene being filmed.
• Zach just started his summer vacation from college. On the agenda for this summer? Creating a YouTube channel and its content, writing new stand-up material and testing it around town, guitar lessons, sleeping late, acting classes and auditions. It might be summer break from school but the kid doesn't know how to take it easy. He is determined to create opportunities while waiting for auditions from his agents.

Writing this update reminds me I need to get book proposal samples together for both of the interested parties! I need to review the samples closely because spell check likes to spell "dadager" as "dada get" or "da did ma". Looks like a manual review night ahead of me.

This actor is looking forward to summer fun.

Using Social Media To Promote Your Career

There are a variety of social media outlets available to actors today to help them promote their careers. From Facebook to Instagram to YouTube, social media is a vital part of the daily lives of people around the world. Are you choosing the right social media platforms to promote your career?

I do social media for a variety of clients ranging from cosmetic surgery to spices to crowdfunding to insurance quotes. All of these industries need specialized content for each social media outlet. Actors are some of the most creative people on the planet yet they feel using the same content across the board is perfectly acceptable.

It's not.

The social media sites listed below are ones I use on a daily basis. How can you use them to help your career?

• Facebook - The obvious choice for any actor when it comes to promoting their work and career. Used by billions of people, Facebook is an excellent way to build a community of fans you can interact with on a daily basis on a fan page.  It's also an excellent way to control your image without anyone seeing your personal posts that would be bested saved for a private FB account.
• YouTube - Are you a singer, stand-up comedian, actor or acting coach? If so, do you have a YouTube channel? If the answer is "no" then my question to you is "why not???" You can talk about your skills and talents all you want on your other social media pages but a YouTube channel is one of the best ways to share your skills with the public and reach a mass audience. It's also a great showcase of your talents that you can direct agents and managers and casting people to check out online.
• Twitter - I love Twitter because it teaches you how to get your message across in 140 characters or less. Creating compelling copy while still making a complete statement in a limited amount of space is not an easy skill to master. Learning to get your message across on Twitter can also help you be more focused and in the moment during auditions and meetings.
• Quora - Even though Quora is basically a giant online Q&A session, it can still help you further your career. Search for the people you admire and/or want to work with in the future and follow them on Quora. Engaging with them on a regular basis can put you on their radar but you do need to exercise caution and not be a part of every discussion they are involved with on Quora. There's a difference between being helpful and friendly and coming across as a stalker. I use Quora a lot for a hair restoration specialist I work with in Beverly Hills. Anyone that looks at my interactions on Quora will get the impression that I am completely obsessed with my hairline as well as hair restoration techniques and news.
• Google Plus - It seems like even Google doesn't care about Google Plus anymore but it is still there for you to share some links to your work or IMDb page. It will take some effort on your part to find the best G+ communities to place your links and videos in so don't expect to just make a post and see instant interaction I mainly use G+ as exposure for this blog. 
• Instagram - Even with their new (and awful) logo, Instagram is a great tool when it comes to marketing your carer. Since IG is a visual platform, it's vital to post a photo or video that is visually appealing to others. Post a photo from the set of your latest project or the costume from a play you're working on or even the script you're currently writing. Reaching eyeballs beyond your followers is pretty easy on Instagram by following a few simple tips:

1. You get one link on IG (in your profile) so make sure it points to the site you want others to view
2. Use hashtags to help others find you. Just remember that too many hashtags makes you look desperate to connect. Simply using your name as a hashtag might not gain you much attention. Using general hashtags such as #acting or #actorslife will connect you to others since they are phrases that are searched for on a regular basis.
3. When you gain new followers, share their photos when appropriate. Casting directors and other industry people appreciate having their content shared. However, don't share everything they post or you'll come off as desperate to be noticed.
4. Respond to all comments on your photos. The 30-seconds you take to respond helps build relationships.
5. Be creative with your photos and videos while sharing some of them exclusively on IG There's no reason for people to follow you on multiple sites if they can simply find the same content on FB and Twitter as they do on IG.

• Reddit - Exercise caution if you want to promote yourself on Reddit. Many people that post pitches about their work or links to their own videos get ripped apart in the comments section or simply have their link booted from a subreddit as being inappropriate or not fitting the rules of the subreddit. Make sure that your post is unique and out of the ordinary in order to make it through the crowd on Reddit.
• Vine - This social media platform used to be one of the main outlets to find new talent on the Internet. The looping video platform showcases creativity and the ability to show your talent to the world in easy to digest six-second bites. However, a good number of ad buyers have turned away from the app which has caused many "Viners" to follow the ad money and marketing sponsorship dollars to Snapchat, FB and IG. This has also led to a decreased amount of content that is "Vine exclusive" as more Vine users are now sharing their content on other platforms. Many platforms realized the viability of updating their video content and were able to catch up to Vine when it failed to make any changes and stayed with its 6-second format. I rarely use Vine for business just because of the decreased amount of eyeballs that see the content.  New talent can certainly be found on Vine but there is less marketing money and individual deals being pumped into the app so there are less breakout Vine stars than in the recent past.
• Snapchat - The platform that I am finding great success with when it comes to posting videos. Even though the maximum length of a Snapchat video is only 10-seconds, a series of 10-second videos can run one after the other to create a story. You can have people follow your story on Snapchat to create a narrative that connects the 10-second videos. Share your music, make a short film or do stand-up comedy as your story. I normally keep my client video stories to 3-minutes or less in order to keep fatigue from setting in from too many 10-second videos in a row.
• Periscope - The good news is that the live streaming video aspect of Periscope allows you to show your talents in a live broadcast setting. However, Periscope  requires people to add you on the app so it takes a performer with good worth of mouth or an amazingly dedicated fanbase to make a dent in terms of getting attention from others in the industry.

Now that you know the tools you have at your disposal, make use of them and promote yourself and your career in creative ways. Nobody is more invested in your career than you so be your own biggest fan and make social media work for you.

This actor is getting ready to start his own YouTube channel.

Tax Deductions For Actors

It's that time of year! Tax season is here and everyone is trying to take deductions off their taxes in an effort to save money.  Not sure what deductions you can claim if you're an actor? Here's some tips to help you save money and perhaps even get a refund this year.

The first thing to remember is that actors are often considered "independent contractors" and not employees. For the purpose of your taxes, acting is your line of work/your business. As such, a self-employed actor can deduct expenses that are directly related to acting activities and are not extravagant when it comes to properly doing their work. In other words, the deduction must be deemed to be ordinary and necessary in the eyes of the IRS.

Some actors try to deduct everyday items like clothing, hair, makeup and gym memberships on their taxes. This is a very fine line to walk for many people because the use of the above items must be clearly defined by the actor. For instance, makeup for a photo session or a stage play can be deducted but not makeup bought for use during a normal day. Clothing is always an area that needs to be handled with caution. Even if an outfit was bought for an audition, clothes that can be worn to lunch or to the beach are not considered tax deductible. A gym membership is rarely deductible because it is considered exercise and not "research" or "training".

There are some items that count as "research". Some examples include movies, magazine subscriptions and books that keep you up-to-date on your profession. Movie tickets can count as research for your profession as well as some (or all) of your cable, Netflix and Hulu subscriptions.

How much money did you pay to your agent and manager last year? Any fees paid to your representatives or a PR firm are marked as business expenses. However, you do need to provide statements showing your payments as well as examples of the services they provided. Also, any fees you paid for acting classes, private sessions and casting director workshops can be deducted.

Be sure and keep a mileage book in your car as driving to auditions, agent and manager meetings, classes, rehearsals and paid acting jobs can all be counted as business trips. Also, traveling out of town for work can include some deductions. The expenses that only happen due to being away from home for the night can be deducted.

Did you mail anything career related last year? Expenses from Fed Ex, UPS and the Post Office that were a result of mailing resumes and headshots can all be deducted.

Speaking of resumes and headshots...Those two items along with postcards and fees charged by sites like LA Casting can all be classified as "promotional expenses" and can be deducted from your taxes.

Any acting union dues you pay are tax deductible.

Finally, doing business on your phone can be written off on your taxes. Making business calls as well as buying a new phone can be tax deductions if you have the proper paperwork to show how you used them for business.

I hope the examples listed above help you save some money. Take the money you saved and put it towards new headshots or a publicist and make this the best year of your career!

This actor just finished his taxes.

How I Spend My Time When I'm Not Writing About Acting And Hollywood

Besides spending my time writing about Hollywood, I do copywriting and PR for a living. My worlds intersect sometimes but there are many subjects I promote that have nothing to do with acting. I'd like to give you a glimpse into my world with some of my favorite business related conversations from the past 2 or 3 weeks. All of the quotes below are from people who sought me out for my PR or writing services:

• "I'd like you to represent me and help me get some speaking engagements. I've written a 5-volume book series about being abandoned as a teenager as well as my life in foster homes and drug dens. I'm thinking my presentation can conclude with a medley of my favorite Broadway songs performed by my line of copyrighted sock puppets."
• "The copy needs to speak to a 50+ female who might be a mother but could also be a cougar while still retaining her dignity after a night in the arms of her mid-20s co-worker. Do you think you can find the written voice for our line of weight loss snacks?" 
• "The event will be in June. If you don't raise enough money to reach your projected sponsorship goal, would you be okay with covering the rest on your credit card?"
• "I'd love to hire you but I'll need to take credit for everything you write so my wife won't know I didn't do any work on the project."
• "I was looking at your sample copy. It was really good but you wrote "practice" when it should be "praktice". (I'm not making that up!)
• "I'm thinking of holding the world's largest hamster race in DTLA on a Sunday morning. How much press can you get and can you ask the reporters if they would stand inside giant hamster balls?"
• "My book should be done soon and I need a press agent to help me promote it. I think there's an audience for a book on how standing on one leg can activate your psychic abilities."
• "I don't understand what public relations does for a client. Can you run a 3-month campaign for me for free so I can observe what you do to see if I like it?"

As odd as Hollywood can be at times, it's nothing compared to some of the weird questions and requests I see on a daily basis while working.  

Don't get me wrong...I welcome your business ideas and the chance to work together. There are just a few business proposals that amaze me every week!

This actor is always ready to work on his career.