ACTORS
ACTORS
Business, Legal, Tax Matters
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ACTORS
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ACTORS
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Business, Legal, Tax Matters |
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A good deal of an actor’s business matters will revolve around accounting and tax planning. But it certainly can go beyond this.
Check List For Business and Legal Matters |
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Business affairs can become complicated when the actor is working on remote location. When you have landed that role on a series or a film that takes you on location for months, it might be time to look for a business manager. |
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Legal Aid |
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When you start filing your income taxes as a full or part time actor, seek an Entertainment Accountant. They will be aware of all current and allowable deductions. |
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Copyright and Infringement Information |
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Seek out an entertainment attorney to take care of the vague and various details of an entertainment contract that requires the specific knowledge of a specialist. |
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Hiring a Manager |
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Keep business cards on your person. They are an important networking tool. |
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Use our communication tools (chat room; message board; messaging tools etc.) to reach others who can provide you with more help and information |
If you land a major opportunity (pay wise and touring) but the aspect of a contract has not been brought up, you might politely suggest that one be drawn up as a way to clarify the expectations between both parties.
Actually you can do a simple contract yourself by writing down in very simple language all the verbal promises you and your employer have made to each other, typing it, dating it, putting everyone else’s name and address on it, and everybody signing it with the subsequent distribution of copies and original to respective parties.
VLA is a nonprofit legal service organization supported in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and through gifts from corporations, foundations and individuals.
VLA offers lectures on specific legal topics which are open to both attorneys and creative professionals. They include:
To help you track where your money is coming from and
Useful Industry Terms To Know |
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Administration. The supervision of all financial, copyright and contractual aspects of either an entire catalog or a particular song. Angel. The financial backer of a play. Assignment. The transfer of rights to a song or catalog from one copy-right proprietor to another. Clearance. The right of a radio station to play a song. Clearance Agency. Same function of a performance rights organization, such as ASCAP, BMI, SESAC. Common-Law Copyright. Natural protection of a song based on common laws of the various states. Was superseded by a single national system effective January 1, 1978. Co-Publishing. The joint publication of one copy righted work by two publishers. Copyright. As a noun, means the exclusive rights granted to authors and composers for protection of their works; a song or musical composition; as a verb, to secure protection for a song by filling the proper registration forms with the Copyright Office. Copyright Infringement. Stealing or using somebody else’s copyrighted song. Copyright Notice. Notice comprised of three elements:
Copyright Office. Federal government department, one of whose main purposes is to file and supply information regarding copyrights. Copyright Royalty Tribunal. A committee created by Public Law 94-553 to determine adjustments starting January 1, 1978, of royalty rates with respect to compulsory licenses for educational television, cable television, jukeboxes, and sound recordings. Impresario. An entertainment entrepreneur. Ink. To sign a contract. License. As a noun, it means a legal permit; as a verb, it is to authorize by legal permit. Pitching. The action a producer takes in trying to convince a studio to invest money in a project based on a concept or a script. Scale. Minimum SAG daily wage for principal actors. Syndication. A popular television show is sold to be broadcast in a local or regional market. |
what you may be spending it on, consider using a money management program. These software programs usually are available as of-the-shelf software programs that are easy to install on you PC or laptop After using one of these programs for a few months, you may be surprised at how much (or how little) money you are earning and how much money you are wasting.
In whatever you may do to earn a living while pursuing an acting career, you need to allocate a part of every paycheck toward developing your future acting career. That may include paying for cosmetic surgery, buying new head shots, traveling to auditions in other cities, or taking additional classes in acting, voice, singing, dancing, or improvisation.
After you are a member of one of the actors’ unions, you are eligible to join the Actors Federal Credit Union (mservices@actorsfcu.net) located in New York City. Like most credit unions, the Actors Federal Credit Union normally pays a higher interest rate on savings accounts and charges slightly lower interest rates on loans. Best of all, because the Actors Federal Credit Union caters to actors, it understands the nature of the entertainment industry. While a regular bank may not consider loaning money to someone without a regular history of work, the Actors Federal Credit Union may be more understanding.
Paying taxes on income earned from performing can be somewhat more complicated than paying taxes on the income from a normal job or career. For starters, the company that you work for in the 9 to 5 world automatically deducts state and federal income taxes out of your paycheck. As a performing artist, it is up to you to set aside a certain amount of your acting paycheck to cover any income taxes that you may owe. Neglecting to do this could result in a sizable amount to be paid to the government at tax time that you are not prepared to pay. Through your accountant or tax preparer you may also consider paying quarterly estimates to the government to keep yourself covered.
Acting is a business. Therefore the government allows you to write off all types of acting related expense up to the income you earned through acting. So if you earned $1,000 for the year, the government may allow you to claim up to $1,000 in acting expenses. Of course, consult a tax advisor for more details. Always keep accurate records of your acting expenses on anything remotely related to acting, including the cost of head shots; printing up your resume; travel expenses to and from auditions; makeup; any meal and lodging expenses incurred while working as an actor; the cost of acting, improv, singing, dancing, and auditioning classes; dry-cleaning costs; postage; gym membership; and anything else that you spend to help your acting career. Of course, any expenses must be used exclusively for your performing arts career. You can't just buy a new wardrobe or a new computer and claim that they are career expenses since they could also be considered personal items.
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Click the titles of the above books for their availability, or enter the title of a book not shown in the above listing in the search box below. |
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Search for magazines by entering the title or keywords in the search box below. |
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Be sure to keep accurate records of your acting expenses and consult your tax adviser for specific information about tax deductions, such as when and under what conditions these deductions can be taken. Possible deductions include the following:
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Follows is a nationwide listing of Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts organizations (from http://www.starvingartistslaw.com/help/volunteer%20lawyers.htm):
| California | ||
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| Colorado | Connecticut | District of Columbia |
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| Florida | ||
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| Georgia | Illinois | |
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| Kansas | Louisiana | Maine |
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| Maryland | Massachusetts | |
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| Minnesota | Missouri | Montana |
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| New Hampshire | New Jersey | New York |
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| North Carolina | ||
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| Ohio | Oregon | |
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| Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | |
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| South Dakota | Texas | |
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Utah | |
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| Washington | International | |
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