Artist Resources, Grants for Artists, Creative Projects, Making Money for Artists

If you’re getting the feels as Tax Day approaches, you are probably human. There’s no tax education in this country (and how bananas is that?!?), so feeling confused or misunderstanding what’s required are common. As a tax educator for creative people, I see people frequently misunderstand how their taxes work, and Tax Day is the moment where it hits all at once. As we approach April 15, I’d like to clear up some common misconceptions about the tax deadline.

When you think about your biggest supporters, who comes to mind? It’s probably not the foundation that gave you a grant, and it’s probably not members of your online community who have given you donations in the past. While you’re absolutely grateful to all of them, they aren’t who you think of as your biggest supporters. The faces you conjure up are most likely going to be members of your family and your closest friends. The reasons are obvious: they believe in you! They’ve got your back! They’ll do anything to support your passion. So it begs the question: why haven’t you asked your biggest supporters for donations?

What kind of face do you find yourself making when you hear the word "budget?" Is it the same face you make when it's time to go to the dentist? In an ideal world, artists would love if they didn't have to budget and instead create freely, indulging in unchecked amounts of chocolate and coffee along the way. But in this world, creating a budget for your artistic project, however painful it might seem at first, can actually bring you some ease – and maybe even a fresh smile – as you work toward your goal with the knowledge that you don't have any unexpected cavities that need filling.

Picture this: it's a late night in deep February and you're Gollum-hunched over your laptop, sifting through old receipts and invoices, sipping on stale coffee, and wondering if maybe — just maybe — you should have paid someone to do your complex artist taxes this year. Or perhaps you're on the equally harrowing flip side: you just dropped $800 on an energetic social media manager and now you're eating instant ramen for a month, second-guessing whether those fast-paced Instagram reels were really worth it.

As we head into tax season this year, and your feelings and fears about taxes begin to swell, remember: there is no tax education in this country. And that’s bananas! It’s no wonder that US tax literacy is so low. So if taxes confuse you, I want to reassure you that you are not alone, and you’re not broken. Your creative work is shifting the culture for good, so let’s make sure you stay on the right side of the law and get the most out of your taxes. That way, you can keep your focus where it belongs: on your amazing work. As an artist and tax pro who helps self-employed creative people manage their taxes, I want to help you navigate the top five tax pitfalls I see in my work.

In the Gentle Reminders series, we provide working artists with essential and convenient reminders for the care and maintenance of a nimble and flourishing creative practice. If your art is a garden, this series is about the continual weeding, watering, and miscellaneous upkeep it requires. A few months ago, we reminded you to review your *!%# contracts. This month, we are exploring how tidying up your virtual workspace can jumpstart your creative practice.

It’s rejection season, baby. For creative beings who bravely put themselves out there this fall and winter, I tip my hat to you—regardless of the outcome. The first months of the year are a notoriously brutal season for artists because, while a small percentage of us just received happy news (you finally got that grant!), the vast majority of working artists are questioning why they poured hours of their precious free time into applications that go nowhere.

Whether you’re a deductions nerd (👋) or an artist with a zest for building something in the world (❤️‍🔥), this guide offers quick, actionable information for navigating the tax implications of fiscal sponsorship with confidence and ease. With a little planning, research, and tidy documentation, tax season can (and should!) be a breeze. Begone, tax headaches!

Nobody becomes an artist because they secretly want to become their own accountant (“If I could do it all over again, I’d drop out of art school and become a CPA!”). But once you're deep into your creative practice, managing the financial realities becomes a real and undeniable part of the work. Creative success can become a double-edged sword, saddling you with budgets to manage, contracts to negotiate, and quarterly estimated taxes to calculate. To say nothing of the receipts scattered across medieval costume pockets, battered cello cases, and buried email threads.

My measuring stick for rising inflation is the cost of an iced lavender matcha latte. It used to be $5, then $6, now a harrowing $7. Every time I reach the checkout screen, a familiar, condescending voice comes blaring through my head: