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Not asking for tax advice, but

merlinhimself

Senior Member
How many of you have written off the following,

Rented/bought movies
Tickets to concerts
Video games

I work in film and tv, but want to write for video games, so I was curious if I could write off video games as business development

I may be getting ahead of myself but I also bought a VR headset :emoji_grimacing:
 
A minimal amount shouldn't be an issue especially if you are making money already in music. It's just when your expenses for business development exceed your income, you may get audited. :)
 
Yes.

For anyone who works on staff somewhere (and getting a W2) - those unreimbursed business expenses would no longer apply as they raised the standard deduction. BUT, if you have other related income (like royalty payments) they would count as a loss towards that income.
At least, that's my understanding of it. Don't quote me, I'm not anywhere close to a tax pro.

Also, with the changed withholdings, be prepared for a significant reduction in refund or increase in taxes owed. Unless you were on top of adjusting your withholdings earlier in the year (not me).
 
I've written off all of the above.

If it can make you feel less guilty... I got a Switch, XBOX, PS4 and VR headset written off as "sound effects analysis". I don't even work in the videogame industry.

My expensive accountant approves too ;)

Edit: I genuinely did remake a few sound effects of each game I own. But that just naturally happens.
And I also maintain relationships with my clients over online gaming. It actually feels like a chore sometimes haha!
 
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I know an illustrator who wrote off tons of comics, artbooks and movies that he bought as reference material (there's basically nothing you couldn't use as a drawing/painting reference), and when he got audited he had to pay back a 5-figure sum... ymmv

I only write off software, hardware, business trips to conventions, and educational books/videos, but not games, movies, etc.. If they ever audit me I wonder if I have to pay back what I saved for writing off audio libraries because I wrote off a lot more than I ever earned with it.

I've heard when you're hit with an audit where I live, they'll just look long enough till they find something that they can demand payment for, which leads to wildly inconsistent rulings on what is ok and what isn't. Seems to be more leeway there than one would think, but not always to your advantage.
 
Yeah I think I'm more worried about being audited than anything. The total write-offs are about 15% of my total income I would say
 
I wonder how many people think "write-off" == "free"
This.

If anyone reading this thinks they are getting free stuff, it's more like a discount of whatever your marginal tax rate is, as I understand it at least.

I'm sure I'm paying a hefty mark up, but I go to H&R Block. They have definitely reduced my tax bill over the years. With all the deductions I appreciate having the audit protection insurance too. I'm also sure I could take that extra money and invest in stocks or something and eventually build up enough cash to cover any shake down from a potential audit. But, I'm a musician not an accountant and YOLO.
 
I don't know about other parts of the world, but the IRS looks for things like after you bought that game as research, did you try writing music to it? Or copying the music from it as a learning exercise? Do something music related with it? Things like that look good. And did you manage to get work making music for games? Or even be able to show you tried? You also never want to zero out your income unless it's a hobby. Or you still live with your parents. They'll wonder how you live. Most of the time if your deductions look reasonable, they won't even look at it. I guess I should mention I do have an accounting degree. Though accounting isn't my primary job.
 
While "entertainment" goods can be considered a luxury for most, we make entertainment goods as a job. Therefore, they are needed tools and materials for our job.

In my country, not particularly kind with musicians, photographers are explicitly allowed to write off cameras and supports. Musicians are not officially allowed, but it is common practice to deduct expenses for musical instrument, sheet music, CDs, and so on.

Paolo
 
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