Taxes for Creatives
Resources for tax season, whether you're an individual artist, or running a creative business or nonprofit!
As an artist, tax season can be stressful.
That’s why the Help Desk is here to guide you through your taxes with pro tips, resources from our partners, and more! We’ve distilled some key information below.
Filing Taxes as a Creative Business Owner
All businesses have to file taxes. But as a creative business owner, what your tax documents include may be different from other professions. And if you are just getting started, you may not be making enough money to be considered a business yet. Below are a few key tips to help you get started.
- As a business owner, you need to file business taxes as well as your personal taxes.
- Because you are a creative business, there may be expenses that you incur that are justifiable as part of your business – and you can deduct them from your tax liability.
- Your taxes may be simple and you can self-file using electronic filing, but you might also benefit from consulting a tax professional, to make sure you are doing things right and keeping more of your money in your pocket.
Looking for more help? Check out these partners who can help you file.
Filing Taxes as a Creative Nonprofit
Nonprofit organizations file different tax documents than individuals or businesses. And, the type of tax document you file depends upon how much revenue you have – and what kind of nonprofit you are. Below are some key resources and tips for filing your 990 taxes with both the federal and Illinois departments of revenue.
- All nonprofit organizations have to file taxes to both the federal and state revenue agencies.
- The nonprofit tax documents – form 990 – captures revenue and expenses, as well as details on the organizations mission and charitable contributions – for the organization for a particular fiscal year – which may not be the calendar year.Â
- Taxes are filed on a quarterly basis, so you need to keep your monthly finances current so that this is an easy process.
- Nonprofits with annual revenue below $50,000 file the 990-N, or the e-postcard, which is a simple filing where you attest that you did not make more than $50,000 in the previous fiscal year.
Other Resources
Check out our past Help Desk webinars!
Arts Alliance’s Help Desk supports artists and creatives in navigating the complex world of public funding. From demystifying taxes to our running list of funding opportunities, we can help you find resources to support your creative practice! Get in touch with our team here.
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Support this work
If you’re a funder interested in helping the Alliance provide funding navigation services to the creative sector, we’d love to talk! Reach out to our Senior Director of Development, Kaitlin Donnelly, at [email protected].
