Tax Write Offs. Tax Write Offs Everywhere…

It’s no secret that streamers don’t like paying taxes, we don’t either. Don’t let taxes drag down your profits as a streamer or content creator.

Using bookkeeping software should be one of the first things you do to take control of your stream as a business and attempt to reduce your tax liability. Bookkeeping will allow you to classify your stream expenses and potentially turn them into tax write offs.

What can you write off you might be asking? Well let’s start with some of the easy ones:

Computer Equipment & Software – Yes this means games. Since you are most likely using games or other pieces of software to entertain your audience, this is a necessary business expense for you. Don’t forget that if you purchase computer parts, upgrades, or even a whole new system that this is necessary for you to complete your work  they can be written off

Your Streaming Space – Also known as your home office. Most people are streaming out of their homes, and that means that part of your mortgage or rent goes towards the space for your stream. This percentage of space can be written off every year. As a simple example, if you use 25% of your space for your stream, and your rent is $1,000, then you can write of $250 per month for a total of $3,000 per year.

Travel Expenses – I’m assuming you went to Twitchcon. Well, you guessed it, that travel expense can be deducted. You went to a location to help promote your business, maybe took some meetings, and tried to grow your brand. All of which are very legitimate business expenses.

Meals & Entertainment – Do you have a partner for your stream? Are you collaborating with other streamers? Well, if you go meet with them for coffee, lunch, or dinner, and discuss business during the meals, then the meal expense can be written off as a tax deduction. Up to 50% of the total expenses associated with meals & entertainment can be deducted as long as you are conducting business.

As you can see, if you are spending money on your business, the stream, then there is a possibility that the expense can be written off to lower your taxable income.

Contact Us to learn more about what you can do to lower your taxable income and protect your earnings as a streamer.

 

Joe Occhipinti


Joe Occhipinti
Joe@warrenstreetwealth.com
714.823.3328

Joe Occhipinti is an Investment Advisor Representative of Warren Street Wealth Advisors, a Registered Investment Advisor. The information posted here represents his opinions and is not meant as personal or actionable advice to any individual, corporation, or other entity. Any investments discussed carry unique risks and should be carefully considered and reviewed by you and your financial professional.  Nothing in this commentary is a solicitation to buy, or sell, any securities, or an attempt to furnish personal investment advice. We may hold securities referenced in the blog and due to the static nature of content, those securities held may change over time and trades may be contrary to outdated posts.

This Too Shall Pass

This too shall pass…

It’s 10:38 p.m. on November 8th, 2016 and it appears global stock markets don’t like our pick for the 45th President of the United States of America. Last I checked, the S&P 500 futures were trading lower by about 4%.

My phone has been lighting up since about 6:00 p.m., but nobody asked about my thoughts on the election or who I voted for. I cast my ballot for the Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson, for the record. Most of the texts were of the “should I buy?”, “sell?”, or “I feel really bad for you” variety. Anyone who got a response was likely bored to tears with my response:

“This too shall pass.”

Consider me wired for this stuff, or desensitized, or maybe a combination of the two. For our clients, we can’t allow ourselves to get too high or too low based on the sentiment of the individual moment, otherwise we’d deliver little value.

The President is a small actor on this global stage and global economy we’re all a part of. I give the American worker, the global consumer, and businesses everywhere too much credit that can’t be shared with the POTUS. Should they be revered and respected? Sure, whenever possible. Do they dictate profits? Currency movements? Interest rates? Tangentially at best.

All Presidential policies run the gauntlet in hoping to see the light of day, and by the time they do, corporations and investors everywhere will adapt and carry on.

Markets work. Even if in the short term they drive us mad. I invest because I believe in you. I believe we’re always getting better, developing new products, better services, and those who risk their capital to support that should and will be rewarded.

Trump doesn’t change that. An ugly election season doesn’t change that. We’ll approach investing the same way today as we did yesterday. We seek value, and we seek to protect capital when the trend is against us. Fear can never be allowed to define a process.

This too shall pass.

Respectfully yours,

 

Blake Street, CFA, CFP®

Blake Street

Blake Street, CFA, CFP® is an Investment Advisor Representative of Warren Street Wealth Advisors, a Registered Investment Advisor. The information posted here represents his opinions and is not meant as personal or actionable advice to any individual, corporation, or other entity. Any investments discussed carry unique risks and should be carefully considered and reviewed by you and your financial professional.  Nothing in this commentary is a solicitation to buy, or sell, any securities, or an attempt to furnish personal investment advice. We may hold securities referenced in the blog and due to the static nature of content, those securities held may change over time and trades may be contrary to outdated posts.