Do you Pay Taxes?

[CerealKiller]

And how do you pay Quatrerly or Yearly. Please give me some advice

[mindonstrike]

Somehow I don't think asking that question in public will elicit the most honest...er...um...accurate answers.

Yearly.

[marklwood]

Without stating my opinion on the moral issues, not reporting income can be a double edged sword. It is great to think of all the $$ you are saving but try to buy a car, house, or anything else on credit. As far as paying quarterly versus yearly, how good are you at saving the cash needed at the end of the year? The other financial advise I give to everyone I know is if your not filing a schedule C why the hell not. Take your favorite hobby, woodworking, quilting, whatever and start writing off everything that can be construed to involve this enterprise. You can lose $$ for years on this and not put up a red flag. You are only perfecting your craft or building your business to fall back on in times of need or after you retire.





Disclaimer: I am not an accountant or an attorney. I in no way am responsible for any problems you have after taking my advice. You F***ed up and trusted me.

[WDEWDAD7]

I agree that not too many will want to respond on whether they are paying taxes or not. However, it is true that if you are applying for some sort of credit, you will be asked for either a profit & loss statement for the last 3 years, or possibly you can apply "stated income". But, it has to be verifiable. I have my taxes done and include karaoke as my secondary business. I have a day job, so I have an extra amount taken out of each paycheck to pay for my self-employment taxes. I don't have to worry about quarterly taxes that way, and it hurts a lot less that way. But, you really should get professional help and opinions for your individual circumstances. Daryl.

[swany]

So far I'm creeping up to earning a profit with my business. I have exploded in the last two years and added two more shows and that takes a lot of the profit, but I'm looking at future earnings.

My bars and regular gigs fill out a 1099 for federal and state purposes. I keep records and claim all earnings and usually wind up settling for at least one third back of what I paid in. That's just with my business deductions, taxes and all the little things that filing a very long form gets you. I'm wondering about this year, my wife retired and I've been for two years.

Yeah but I settle up once a year. Politics the way they are I wondering how I'll fare next year.

[Lonman]

I pay every quarter, actually more than i'm supposed to so I can figure in a refund every year! I do not get paid under the table at all (actually only one club in 15 years allowed this). I've always had to submit either my 1099 or SSN.

[madjim- with the Lord]

Freedom Ain't Free!


Jim

[capnvic]

Since I don't generate enough profit from my shows to offset the costs of discs and replacement and additions to my equipment, I generally will record it at the end of the year.
Sorta maintain a break even situation....

[rickyrey]

Is there any place around that pay you enougn to buy disc, maintain and buy equipment and loudspeakers? Is there anyone fair enough around where you can see some profit wthout giving up to those low budgeted pirate thieves?

All of my equipment
I bought it with hard work

I have 801 discs x 15.00 = 12,000
All of my discs
I bought those with hard work

All of my gigs
got them with hard work

But I can not help but to think

Do owners and party planners really care about quality, experience and pro equipment? They are willing to pay for fancy food and beverage, rentals and decoration but the one that keeps the party going is forgotten.

From now on I will not do low budgeted shows, I had been around 17 years now (since cassette karaoke) so I will not disrespect my skills and experience any more.

And on top of that you have to be ultra honest and pay taxes for every cent that you so hardly earned.
Any opinions about this will be truly appreciated.

[rickyrey]

Thinking of closing business down

[marklwood]

Rickyrey, there are only 3 ways to increase your revenue.

1. Cut costs.
This is a little hard to do without becoming one of those pirates.

2. Increase the number of customers.
Also hard to do but can be done by (a) investing in more equipment and disks and adding employees or (b) trying to find more gigs at different times, like birthday parties or events during the day. (c) Have you thought about a teen club? You could charge a cover and sell food and drinks.

3. Increase the amount of $$ you get from each customer.
As you have already stated, a little hard to do, but think outside the box. Do you have to rely on bar owners for all your revenue? Maybe you could take over as the party planner. How about securing a venue and doing an A-Z event space? With limited funds, I would start with event planning. When you can establish yourself as the go-to guy for that, consider buying or renting a warehouse or old school/church. Don't limit yourself to doing what you've "always done".

You either grow with the times, or wither and die.

[rickyrey]

Thanks for the tips

Maybe, times are changing and this was so much fun before but now I see so little or no respect from customers and from owners that I do not know what else to do to please them.

Just today my disc provider told me that another karaoke company had closed down operations. I am talking about Legends Karaoke, Sounchoice stopped doing latin karaoke like two years ago and there are a lot of other companies that are limiting new disc releases for example, Pocket Songs.

Feel that what lies ahead is not a bright future.

[RailMom]

Originally Posted by CerealKiller

And how do you pay Quatrerly or Yearly. Please give me some advice

A tax consultant will tell you that as a 1099 tax form, you should put away 15% of overall EARNED monies. That's not including the cost of whatever fees you need inorder to run, operate, function the business. That way, you're at least "covered" on your tax fees.

Typically a "traditional" employer contributes 7.5% into taxes (by law) into a taxable employee. The employee is also taxed the additional 7.5% (to equal that 15% I mentioned earlier) through Social Security, FICA, etc.

But, remember, you are ALLOWED deductions! (Especially if you are claiming business and personal together, which most KJ's do. Also, don't forget dependents are deductible too.) Keep ALL your gas receipts, CDG receipts, equipment cost, upgrades, even the stuff you bought on MTU... tax deductible for maintaining the company. Some people are meticulous about keeping their receipts. Some - not so much. But, the IRS recommends that you keep all records for 7 years, after which discard is okay, unless of course, you're in the middle of an audit or in appeals from the IRS.

If you plan on "breaking even", which is what most people in the industry do, so that they don't have to "out-of-pocket" at the end of the year, make sure you can CYA (cover your "ass"ets).

For those whom have a larger scale business with SEVERAL employees, you may consider trying to file a "S Corp" eligibility with the IRS. Of course, there are a lot of pros and cons between a S corp and a C Corp, so I can't tell you what to do. However, I will suggest you look into it, especially if you have employees (SEVERAL to make it worth while, not just one or two employees) and a spouse or outside investor in the company. You can get a HUGE tax break if you qualify.

I hope that helps you a little, as far as a guideline. But, I will suggest seeking the counsel of a professional for assistance. (I have an EXCELLENT guy I can refer, just shoot me a private message and I'll give you his info. He's out of Colorado, but has high profile clients all over the country. He's awesome!! And he doesn't rake you like H&R Block!)

[Lonman]

Originally Posted by rickyrey

Thanks for the tips

Maybe, times are changing and this was so much fun before but now I see so little or no respect from customers and from owners that I do not know what else to do to please them.

Just today my disc provider told me that another karaoke company had closed down operations. I am talking about Legends Karaoke, Sounchoice stopped doing latin karaoke like two years ago and there are a lot of other companies that are limiting new disc releases for example, Pocket Songs.

Feel that what lies ahead is not a bright future.

Times may be a changing, but karaoke is still pretty strong in the world. The manus that aren't playing by the book are getting shut down, this will keep the ones that are stronger. Home machines are getting more popular & will create more that want to sing in front of an audience. Legends is actually Sunfly (at least it was at one point) so they just may have shut down that line.
Karaoke is a changing, I think it's going to the way of downloads which it seems may be the case why some of the 'legit' manus are being slow in production because they have to aquire the proper licensing (just a thought - not fact). If not, well then we'll all be out of a job - although it still won't happen overnight. I don't know about anyone elses show, but mine is not heavily reliant on the 'new' - meaning current on the radio songs, these tend to only be popular for a couple weeks anyway 9 out of 10 times. Most are picking the 70's-90's rock & country from all years, and these are the LOW 20's asking for them.

[bryant]

[quote=RailMom;81314]A tax consultant will tell you that as a 1099 tax form, you should put away 15% of overall EARNED monies. That's not including the cost of whatever fees you need inorder to run, operate, function the business. That way, you're at least "covered" on your tax fees.
quote]

I believe this only applies to social Security taxes, usually total 9 -10% self-employment, State tax about 10%, then federal between 15 and 25% there abouts.

When I get a bonus from my regular job, an automatic 30% total is taken out to help account for the three taxes above. I believe a KJ's total is about the same. Then when you file you will most likely get some back as deductions reduced your overall net salary.

[CerealKiller]

Wow thats alot of info Thank you so much for all your posts


Don't feel down about karaoke or the future. things change and anyone who has been doing this long enough starts to question if it worth it or not. give it time and if you still feel the same way in 6 month maybe its time to quit but I think its one of the greatest jobs in the world.

[muzicman144]

I'm pretty sure no one who chooses to continue a career in Karaoke has to worry about a thing. Ever since man hit this earth, he has always looked for the chance to be hero or make a fool of himself (or herself). have a great time doing it, and get applause at the same time. This is the outlet man/women has searched for.
Manufactors who produce the karaoke product are just as the KJ's who use it. There are good ones who will survive, and bad ones who will not. As for those who operate illegally, time will eventually tell on them.
As for taxes, most will pay tax on 1099's, and put the cash in their pocket. I seriously doubt anyone pays tax on cash money, despite the claims some will attempt to make as to complete honesty. I know most KJs are pretty much legiimate with their music files, but most have shaded the edge a little at times, despite claims to the opposite. Just the way most humans are.
muzicman

[Lonman]

I've never worked in a club that hasn't required me to fill out a 1099 & I got a yearly summary at the end of the year. Are there some that do not require it? They have no record of where their money went, bad business on their behalf.

[muzicman144]

I'm not asking anyone if they pay taxes on cash deals, which most private functions are. Most clubs i know of do require you to sign a 1099. Perfect sense and the way to do business, no question. I'm not judging either way, but i know of quite a few clubs that do not require a 1099. Bad business, i don't know, maybe they know something i don't know. I certainly would require it.
muzicman

[bryant]

Originally Posted by Lonman

They have no record of where their money went, bad business on their behalf.

You can be sure they do, (know where their money went)they just make sure the gov't. has no record of where it went.

I had one bar owner a while back pay me cash all the time,(of which I still account for and pay taxes on) but he writes out a slip and the bar manager signs it. One day the owner called me and asked if i had a 100 dollars extra in my pocket, he claimed he was exactly 100 dollars short the next day and the slip he had written was for 100 dollars more than he normally pays me. I had a wad of bills in my wallet from all the w/e gigs and just had to take his word for it. I gave him back 100 dollars, and paid taxes on the other 200.