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Thread: Do you all declare yourselves as a dancer when reporting income?

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    Default Do you all declare yourselves as a dancer when reporting income?

    I heard from co workers that we don't have to declare ourselves as a dancer but we could make up anything, artist, makeup-artist, etc. while filling taxes... I would prefer to hide that I am a dancer because I am currently a student and after I graduate from University I want to work for the government... What do you claim yourselves as?

    And is it obligatory to deduct ''business expenses''? This is my first year of dancing and honestly I haven't kept many receipts of the clothing I bought for work... Also, is cab fees deductable?

    I am sorry if my questions seem dumb but I am still having trouble to find a new accountant because the one who took care of my taxes the last years is a close friend of my dad and I don't want them to know what I do... So right now I have nobody to address my concerns...

    Thank you very much for your help!

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    Default Re: Do you all declare yourselves as a dancer when reporting income?

    the IRS requires that you select the NAICS code number for your Schedule C tax return form ( profit or loss from a business ) that most closely matches the nature of your business ... which appears to be 711510 'Independent artists, writers and performers'.

    The IRS expects that business operators will deduct some amount of 'business expenses'. You can probably get away with deducting costumes etc. even if you don't have receipts as long as the dollar total is relatively small.

    Transportation between home and the 'first' place of business is never deductible as a business expense ( its considered commuting ). For dancers, the only deductible transportation expenses are for out of town bookings ( with accompanying hotel receipts showing an overnight stay ), or travel between a first club and a second club.

    If you are a college student, and if you plan on working at a gov't job in the future, be aware that many clubs will issue IRS 1099-misc forms for money paid out by the club to the dancer ( usually customer credit card charges etc. ). The name of the business running the club will appear on that 1099 form. When you apply for a gov't job in the future that involves any amount of 'public trust', you'll more than likely be subjected to an FBI level background check ... that in turn will more than likely turn up the fact that you once worked for DejaVu or Scores or Penthouse or some other recognizable 'adult business'.

    Also, if you are receiving any form of student loans or grants, the FAFSA form that your parents must file must list 'total household income' ... which includes your parents' income plus your dancing income. Failure of your parents to include your dancing income in the FAFSA application, and approval of a student loan or grant based on an inaccurately low 'total household income', can create big problems down the road. The IRS, college bursar's offices, FAFSA etc. all share financial information with each other. So you need to inform your parents that you are now earning an average of X dollars per week so that the proper 'total household income' number can be filed by your parents. Failure to do so could potentially result in a clawback of student grant / loan money, IRS audits of both your parents and your own tax returns ( with questions about whether or not your parents actually provide more than 50% of your total support to be able to claim you as their dependent ), etc.

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    Default Re: Do you all declare yourselves as a dancer when reporting income?

    Thank you very much for your reply, it was very helpful. However I am from Canada and remember asking the owner about 1099 forms, she told me she does not file anything for us, we are the one who choose to report our income or not. Would you have any tips on finding an accountant who is specialized in the adult entertainment industry? I tried asking some girls in the club with whom I talk to sometimes and they were not very helpful...

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you all declare yourselves as a dancer when reporting income?

    agreed that 1099's are issued under US IRS rules, and only issued to US citizens. There have been news stories that the UK revenue is working on something similar for British citizens for next year. I haven't heard anything at all about Canada etc.

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    Default Re: Do you all declare yourselves as a dancer when reporting income?

    NAICS is a North American code set. Mel is right. You use 711510 in Canada too.

    Z

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    Default Re: Do you all declare yourselves as a dancer when reporting income?

    ^^^ well, that is of course the 'catch 22'. Potential lenders will look for you to provide a verifiable source of income on any future credit applications. Potential 'straight job' employers will look for you to provide work history on any future job applications. As a self-employed 'independent contractor' these in turn lead back to your tax return filings as the only truly verifiable source of info.

    NAICS 711510 is very general, and can cover anything from script writers to aspiring street performers to 'strippers'. Thus there is little 'negative' publicity to be gleaned from someone simply seeing that code on your tax return. Of far greater consequence are 1099's received by you ... which in turn will include employer code numbers and names that can easily be linked to the adult entertainment industry. And while access to that sort of tax return detail isn't usually sought for run of the mill straight jobs, it may indeed be sought for jobs involving a professional license, for jobs involving the 'public trust' etc. And just because 1099's weren't sent out by a club last year does NOT mean that 1099's similarly won't be sent out this year. One new requirement of ObamaCare was a mandate that 1099's must be sent out to all payees who receive more than $600 per year. In 2012 the business lobby successfully obtained a waiver of this requirement ... but to the best of my knowledge this waiver wasn't continued for 2013.

    So yeah when it comes down to a dancer reporting her 'business' income to the IRS, indeed in situations where there aren't any 1099's or other 3rd party documentation you 'tell them a number'. However, the IRS is able to verify the general accuracy of the 'number' they have been given via the back door ... i.e. 'spending reports' made to the IRS by state DMV's, by college bursar's offices and FAFSA, by state title registration agencies, by banks and merchants ( 'cash transaction' reports and 'suspicious activity' reports ) etc. And of course the IRS also maintains a database of typical costs of living for every different US zip code area, thus they can project a typical cost of rent, utilities, groceries etc. Thus a dancer who does not receive 1099's proving that her actual income is above say $40k, and who chooses to report $20k in business income, might receive a proverbial 'knock at the door' if the IRS receives reports that the typical cost of living in her zip code area is $12k per year, that she registered a new vehicle worth $40k with an $8k down payment plus $6k per year in monthly car payments, that she paid $6k in college tuition over and above FAFSA loan and grant funding amounts etc.

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    Default Re: Do you all declare yourselves as a dancer when reporting income?

    ok, yeah i definitely see what you're saying. thank you!!!

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    Default Re: Do you all declare yourselves as a dancer when reporting income?

    Quote Originally Posted by Melonie View Post
    ... In 2012 the business lobby successfully obtained a waiver of this requirement ... but to the best of my knowledge this waiver wasn't continued for 2013.
    Not only was there not extension of the waiver for 2013, but now the 1099 requirement has been extended to rental property owners.

    ... And of course the IRS also maintains a database of typical costs of living for every different US zip code area, thus they can project a typical cost of rent, utilities, groceries etc. Thus a dancer who does not receive 1099's proving that her actual income is above say $40k, and who chooses to report $20k in business income, might receive a proverbial 'knock at the door' if the IRS receives reports that the typical cost of living in her zip code area is $12k per year, that she registered a new vehicle worth $40k with an $8k down payment plus $6k per year in monthly car payments, that she paid $6k in college tuition over and above FAFSA loan and grant funding amounts etc.
    Not only does the service maintain that database. But, the whole reason for collecting the NAICS codes is to improve the IRS database on income and expenses for each occupation code. Now, the service is developing a dedicated group of auditors fore each NAICS code. Those auditors are supposed to understand the industry and learn what are acceptable and even expected expenses and what are not. This is similar to the system used by the IRS for large companies under continuous audit. The auditors are very experienced with the company and industry. This, the IRS says, lowers audit costs and increases revenue. From the service' perspective a "win-win" solution.

    Z

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