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Keep Calm and do your Tax Return NOW!

22/1/2018

If you are a self-employed artist living in the UK and earning income from your art, this is a little REMINDER that The deadline for paying tax for the 2016-17 tax year is 31 January 2018.

If you haven't yet started - or completed - your tax return then now is a good time to find that file with all your invoices and tax receipts and get stuck in!

That's because the fines for late filing of your tax return AND payment of any tax owing kick in after 31 January.

Estimate your penalty for Self Assessment tax returns more than 3 months late, and late payments.
HMRC

Plus you don't want to get caught up in the meltdown of submission which always seems to happen at the end of January when all those who left it to the last minute start to wail when it's difficult to log in to the system and file your tax return and pay any tax owing.

Or maybe HMRC have fixed that?

TOP 5 Tax FAQs

These are the TOP FIVE most frequent questions which get asked about tax this month

Do I need to fill in a tax return?

Check if you need to fill in a Self Assessment tax return

How do I know how much tax I owe?

NO NEED TO WORRY! When you fill in a tax return online, it automatically works out and displays how much tax and Class 4 National Insurance contributions you owe. It will also allow you to print your calculation.

How do I register to send my return online?

I’ve lost my User ID and password, what do I do?

Watch the HMRC YouTube tutorial below to find out:

When does my 2016/17 return need to be completed?

Your online Self Assessment tax return needs to be in by 31 January 2018, otherwise you will receive a £100 fine.

Which brings us back to where I started!

Tax Tips for Artists

If you need any more help, you can try looking at my page on Tax Tips for Artists . I can't promise it has the answer to every question but it will probably steer you in the right direction. (Please note I do NOT offer advice to individuals and information is offered without any liability.)

I'm going to be updating this page in the near future while preparing my Tax Tips for Artists talk on 5th March 2018 for The Heatherley School of Art in Chelsea - which is free to anybody who wants to come (but there is limited seating!)

Finally here are some of my past blog posts on the topic of tax

Ten Tax Tips for Artists - some of which are reminders for me! Plus some links to guidance on what to do and what not to do!
Ten More Tax Tips for Artists - Round about this time of year - just as I'm submitting my tax return to Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs, I write a blog post about tax - for artists.
Do Hobby Artists need to complete tax returns - reasons why people who are not full time professional artists living in the UK might need to complete a tax return.

You can also find more GENERIC help on the HMRC YouTube Channel.

Here's their Self Assessment Video about the weakest excuses and worst expenses they've had from taxpayers!

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Check out what Google thinks about any adverts on your website or blog

15/1/2018

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Image from the Google Video "Introduction to the Ad Experience Report"

Google is getting increasingly concerned about the number of people who are using ad blockers because of annoying and intrusive adverts which disrupt or destroy ur viewing pleasure.

Which when you're looking at an art website is precisely what the experience should be - viewing pleasure!

The reality is that

some of us do use adverts on out blogs or websites (e.g. for art supplies we recommend or art books).
I use AdSense and Amazon associates (for books) on this website to help defray the costs of running it. (It's not cheap!)
However we might not always realise we are using adverts.

The important thing is not to use adverts which annoy people like me - because I'm one of the 69% of people who HATE music blaring out at me or things which pop up and hide what i'm trying to read - and consequently sue ad blockers.

According to a Google Video released last month "Introduction to the Ad Experience Report" there is a way for you to check out how your website rates in terms of ad experience. If there's a problem you get told what it is and how you can address it.

You can watch the video below.

You can also access it for your own sites via https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/ad-experience-unverified

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How to sell your art in 2018 and beyond?

7/1/2018

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I read a post by Barney Davey on Facebook yesterday which I thought highlighted some really key issues about selling art that would:

resonate with quite a few artists who working hard at trying to sell their art.
provide a great briefing for those starting out in terms of "need to know" factors.

So I asked Barney whether I could reproduce it on this blog and he said 'Yes' (for which many thanks) - so here is it. Except I added in some bold which you can't do on Facebook to make it a slightly easier read!

How to sell your art in 2018 and beyond
by Barney Davey

How to sell your art in 2018 and beyond? Use galleries or sell directly to patrons? Here are my thoughts.

Galleries come and go. They don't share buyer info. Nothing comes between the relationship of patrons who buy directly from the artist. It might be easier at first to market to galleries, But, doing the work to build direct patronage is the best long-term solution. Own as much of your distribution as possible. Then you are in the cat bird's seat in choosing who and where you let your art get sold by third parties, including galleries. There were never enough galleries to go around in the best of times for galleries. Now, there are fewer with less clout than ever. I don't see a future without galleries. I see a future where smart marketing artists and galleries collaborate. An artist with a list and social media tribe of their own is a much hotter prospect for forward-thinking galleries than one with no following.

Just 50-100 patrons who buy directly from the artist might purchase up to 250 - 500 originals over the course of a career. A devoted direct buying collector base is the most valuable business asset an artist can possess. Those relationships can't be taken away on a whim with no remorse or recourse like deals with a gallery, licensor, publisher, or agent can. When artists market one-to-one with direct mail or email, they have no competition as with a gallery, publisher or licensor for their work. They own the relationship and the pipeline.

A visit to Henry Hudson's studio - you can entertain prospects and show your work outside a gallery

Consumer interest in buying directly from the source is only going to increase. Take advantage of the movements to support local businesses and indie artists to build a pool of patrons in the warm market around you. Then leverage those sales to expand your reach and add secondary channels like galleries as a way to help sell all the art you make.

There is room to sell direct and through galleries. Be respectful, honest and transparent in your dealings with third-parties. Trust but verify and don't dally when you see red flags. Having your own customers makes it easier to negotiate and to just say no when dealing with third-parties. I hear that building list of direct buyers in a warm market is hard. I reply it's much easier than trying to convert strangers into buyers or to put together a string of galleries that you must monitor and support to keep your sales going.

Selling art is like all sales. It's a numbers game. If you get enough qualified eyeballs on your work, you hit your sales quotas. So, the question comes down to who controls the process of getting the traffic and who controls the relationships that ensue from them. Not so long ago, actions like these would be career suicide.

Smart, ethical galleries today are willing to work with artists who also sell direct. If everyone plays fair in such relationships, everyone wins.

REFERENCE:

You can find Barney Davey and his books and courses on Art Marketing News and on his Facebook Page
Read about my take on art galleries on A Guide to Art Dealers and Art Galleries
This is my guide to Open Studios
This is the website of Henry Hudson who makes paintings out of plasticine (see above image) - hence why my studio visit was so informative! Interestingly this was an event for collectors organised with the help of a magazine that helps promote art to collectors.

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Art Business Info: NEWS

Keep Calm and do your Tax Return NOW!

TOP 5 Tax FAQs

Tax Tips for Artists

Check out what Google thinks about any adverts on your website or blog

How to sell your art in 2018 and beyond?

How to sell your art in 2018 and beyond
by Barney Davey

Art Business Info. News for Artists

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Art Business Info: NEWS

Keep Calm and do your Tax Return NOW!

TOP 5 Tax FAQs

Tax Tips for Artists

Check out what Google thinks about any adverts on your website or blog

How to sell your art in 2018 and beyond?

How to sell your art in 2018 and beyond by Barney Davey​

Art Business Info. News for Artists

Visitors so far

GET Art Business Info. NEWS by Email

Author

Archives

Categories

How to sell your art in 2018 and beyond
by Barney Davey