Being a Starving Artist
If you are a performing artist, you can deduct business expenses related to your work, even if you don’t itemize. This is one of the very rare and unusual tax deductions listed on the tax forms that seems to work in favor of artists.
But before you start performing your victory dance, you should know this tax deduction also has some considerable restrictions: You need to be employed by at least two employers based on an actual Form W-2 and you need to receive at least $200 from each of them. Your expenses should not be less than 10% of what you earn as a performer and the icing on the cake: your adjusted gross income cannot exceed $16,000, even if you’re married.
