Multibomber
New member
While I'm waiting for my Adderall to kick in so I can finish all the homework I didn't do over spring break, I thought I'd let all you kids know how you can get a big fat check from Uncle Sam. If you have a job, you can get a much bigger tax return, all thanks to your band!
Heres what you do:
1. File an LLC with your band. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-llc.htm Basically you'll say you're a professional drummer and playing drums in your band is your business. It doesnt matter how old you are or how much money you make, and filing an LLC is very cheap.
2. Pay with a debit card every time you buy gas, heads, sticks, drums, anything drumming related, food-related, or transportation related. You can also pay cash but you'll have to save the receipts... every single one.
3. When you do get paying gigs, or if a friend owes you money for mowing their lawn or walking their dog, ask them to write you a check and on the memo, have them write "drumming" or "music" or something to that effect.
Heres where you make your money:
Say you made $20,000 working at McDonald's last year and they took out $4500 in taxes. If you have all your receipts for sticks, drums, heads, etc. or payed with a debit card, thats a deduction. A deduction is a way to reduce your amount of taxable income. Say you spent $1000 on drum equipment last year.
$20,000
-$ 1,000
-------------------------------------------
=$19,000
Now they can only tax you on $19,000 instead of $20,000, so you're going to get some of that $4500 back... probably about $400. Now heres how rich people get rich. Remember how I mentioned gas and food? Since drumming is your business, you can say that the gas you bought was to go play a show. You get so many cents back for evey mile you drove. All the food you bought, you say you bought for the band. You guys have to eat when you practice, and you practice everyday. Now all your gas and food purchases are tax deductions. You probably spent $10,000 on food and gas last year. So now:
$20,000
-$ 1,000
-$10,000
-------------------------------
=$ 9,000
Now your taxable income is only $9,000... now your tax return check is gonna be about $4000!! That my friends, is how you make money in your band. Now you might be asking yourself "Multibomber, is this legal?" Ask any business owner, senator, governor, legislator, or President of the United States. Not only is it legal, it's how our system was made to work. All you have to do as an American is play by the rules and you can live very well.
BTW, if you dont understand any of this, theres plenty of people on this board who can explain this even better than i can... ask your parents! They'll probably be thrilled that you have an interest in saving them money. Oh ya I forgot to mention that... if your parents claim you as a dependent, they'll get the money back, not you. But it wont be hard to convince them to give you a chunk of change or buy you that sick new snare drum if they know its basically going to be free for them. You could probably even get them to pay for your whole band to talk to a tax attorney (costs about $100) and he'll tell you even more things than I can think of right now. Remember: Parents want to see you take initiative! Treat your drumming as investing in your future, and they will too!
Heres what you do:
1. File an LLC with your band. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-llc.htm Basically you'll say you're a professional drummer and playing drums in your band is your business. It doesnt matter how old you are or how much money you make, and filing an LLC is very cheap.
2. Pay with a debit card every time you buy gas, heads, sticks, drums, anything drumming related, food-related, or transportation related. You can also pay cash but you'll have to save the receipts... every single one.
3. When you do get paying gigs, or if a friend owes you money for mowing their lawn or walking their dog, ask them to write you a check and on the memo, have them write "drumming" or "music" or something to that effect.
Heres where you make your money:
Say you made $20,000 working at McDonald's last year and they took out $4500 in taxes. If you have all your receipts for sticks, drums, heads, etc. or payed with a debit card, thats a deduction. A deduction is a way to reduce your amount of taxable income. Say you spent $1000 on drum equipment last year.
$20,000
-$ 1,000
-------------------------------------------
=$19,000
Now they can only tax you on $19,000 instead of $20,000, so you're going to get some of that $4500 back... probably about $400. Now heres how rich people get rich. Remember how I mentioned gas and food? Since drumming is your business, you can say that the gas you bought was to go play a show. You get so many cents back for evey mile you drove. All the food you bought, you say you bought for the band. You guys have to eat when you practice, and you practice everyday. Now all your gas and food purchases are tax deductions. You probably spent $10,000 on food and gas last year. So now:
$20,000
-$ 1,000
-$10,000
-------------------------------
=$ 9,000
Now your taxable income is only $9,000... now your tax return check is gonna be about $4000!! That my friends, is how you make money in your band. Now you might be asking yourself "Multibomber, is this legal?" Ask any business owner, senator, governor, legislator, or President of the United States. Not only is it legal, it's how our system was made to work. All you have to do as an American is play by the rules and you can live very well.
BTW, if you dont understand any of this, theres plenty of people on this board who can explain this even better than i can... ask your parents! They'll probably be thrilled that you have an interest in saving them money. Oh ya I forgot to mention that... if your parents claim you as a dependent, they'll get the money back, not you. But it wont be hard to convince them to give you a chunk of change or buy you that sick new snare drum if they know its basically going to be free for them. You could probably even get them to pay for your whole band to talk to a tax attorney (costs about $100) and he'll tell you even more things than I can think of right now. Remember: Parents want to see you take initiative! Treat your drumming as investing in your future, and they will too!
