Category: Art Education

VAT for Artists UPDATE #1/2019

3/3/2019

My VAT for Artists page on Art Business Info for Artists has just had a fairly major overhaul

Major update - art education and digital services

The following two sections:

VAT on Art Education - eligible bodies and business activities - I'd be interested to hear from all art schools which do not qualify as eligible bodies.
VAT on Digital Services - required reading for anybody who is supplying anything for sale which is a digital supply.

Some may be surprised by what is - and is not - deemed a digital service i.e. vattable (Source: VAT rules for supplies of digital services to consumers in the EU)

Unless you sell digital services entirely through digital platforms or marketplaces, who take on responsibility for accounting for the VAT due, you must consider how you intend to account for VAT on supplies of digital services to consumers.
VAT rules for supplies of digital services to consumers in the EU

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Two new sections re. turnover and art societies

PLUS I've created two new sections relating to:

Calculate VAT Taxable Turnover - those who indulge in barter would be well-advised to pay attention to this!
VAT on Art Societies ("Clubs and Associations") - which needs more work. I'd like to hear from art societies who have sought and received expert advice on how they account for or claim exemption from VAT.

Nothing is particularly related to recent changes so much as the needed to be reviewed and needing to review and update for changes which have been made by HMRC - and to fill some gaps in the information.

I'll be going back and will do some more updating - after my brain stops hurting!

If any any art tutors, suppliers of digital art supplies/tuition and art societies have any comments / queries please comment below - but I cannot guarantee I can assist. ALSO please do follow the official guidance links supplied first.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
Those who need to know about VAT need to start somewhere.....

None of the information on the VAT for Artists page is definitive, comprehensive or complete.
None of the advice on the page should be treated as professional.
Information and advice may also be out of date.

That's because it's absolutely impossible to keep up with all the changes unless you are a qualified professional practitioner who is doing VAT full-time and there's no way I'm going to do that!
However I do reference relevant government and EU guidance where I can - and official guidance is always a good place to start when checking any aspect of VAT. It also helps frame specific questions to professionals which can reduce fees due for advice requested and given.
This page also references advice and guidance from one firm which does appear to know what it is talking about in relation to the EU regime in different countries and cross border sales- and I have found few equivalents. I'm not averse to hearing about more!

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How to be a successful artist (revised)

1/12/2017

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[UPDATE: This new section and this blog post have been revised since first published]

Back in August I indicated I was developing a new section for the Art Business Info for Artists website.

I've now published the NEW SECTION page which I'm calling PRACTICE as shorthand in the main menu.

However it's full title is PRACTICE - How to be a successful artist - and it's about what else you need to do to become successful besides making art!

I'm grouping content into three areas - outlined below and publishing contents as I finish each new section.

Live links are shown in red

Business Habits

Starting Out - TIPS for an Emerging Artist
Moving On - Being a Professional Artist (coming soon)

Real Life Business Practices

Studio Practices
Office Practices. This page identifies future content - and published content to date e.g. How to back up image files
Time Management

Learning Opportunities

Art Schools in the UK
Art Business Courses
The Best Books about the Art Business for Artists (coming soon)

The banner for Art Schools in the UK

How you can help

In terms of future development of this section, it would be especially helpful to know what are the things that

matter most to you
you find it most difficult to find out about.

I've included forms on the published pages if you'd like to make any specific suggestions as to what you'd like to see included and/or prioritised.

I'll be developing more content for this new section over the winter so....
if you want to keep up with more developments and new content
I suggest you
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TIPS for those starting out as artists

1/11/2017

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I've published a NEW PAGE - TIPS: Starting Out as an Artist - in the new PRACTICE section of this website. (see How to be a successful artist)

It's not about 'how to paint' - instead it's all about the attitudes, habits, knowledge and practices related to the art business which will help emerging artists develop their careers - and exhibit and sell their art.

So If you want.....

to be a success as an artist
to avoid failing as an artist
to be successful selling 'daily paintings'
to sell your art online
to exhibit your work
to be more productive
to develop your career
to get representation by a gallery
to cope in a recession

why not take a peek at it?

It's by no means a finished page. I've got a lot more I can add to it - but it would be very interesting and helpful to me to know what you think of it so far.

Do please take a look. I'd appreciate feedback or leave a comment on this blog post below.

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Why more artists need to study business

18/9/2017

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Paying for health care and business insurance, saving for retirement and recovering from disasters can be tough to handle for artists without traditional jobs

'The Moneylender and his Wife' by Quentin Massys (1456-1530)

Smart Art: Why More Artists Need to Study Business is an article and a 20 minute podcast (RECOMMENDED). This post provides a quick briefing on what it's about.

They both focus on why artists need to be more than just talented artists in order to succeed and survive in the art world and what they need to know and do.
All quotations are from the article unless otherwise stated.

Traditionally, the artist was seen as this type of person who was aloof or being unaware of the real world. It gave them some X-factor. But not anymore, because there are more than 2 million artists in the U.S., and they have to survive somehow. According to data, we know that only 40% of them will remain as working artists within five years, and only 10% of them will persist in the long run.
Gizen Saka

The participants are:

Jenifer Simon, director of programs and outreach at CERF+ - a nonprofit that helps provide artists with a financial safety net, and also helps people needing emergency relief and being prepared for meeting an emergency
Gizem Saka, an artist who is also a senior lecturer at Wharton Business School.

CERF+ is committed to helping artists build resilient careers through sustainable business practices that can contribute to the likelihood of rebounding from setbacks, whether due to minor mishaps or major emergencies.
CERF+ - Craft a Career

Key points include:

every art school should have a business class for their students
artists need insurance otherwise a setback might mean their career ends with a nasty accident which destroys their artwork, art materials or studio.
artists MUST have public liability insurance for any interaction with the public by them or their artwork in a gallery or other location.
studio safety is critical - artists need to be well informed about the space they are going to be inhabiting (see
artists need to consider risk management - how to manage risk and identify what they can least afford to lose. What is the most critical event that could affect your ability to make art and how likely is it to happen?

Ghost Ship - Site of a fire on December 2, 2016 that killed 36 people in an artists' collective housed in a warehouse in Oakland, California

Artists need to know:

what their hidden costs related to business expenses are
whether or not their studio use at home is covered under their normal residential home insurance policy
how to avoid injury - and become unable to make art - due to repetitive strain injuries
how to find affordable places to work and be safe
why artist communities are so essential to helping each other out in an emergency
why financial plans are essential to developing an art business or a business related to art.
how to be a savvy artist when it comes to getting funding and making a living from their art or interest in art.

and finally......

My response to the first comment on this article from Luis G. Renart, Emeritus Professor of Marketing, IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Barcelona, Spain is my 2013 post Picasso the businessman - branding and the value of art a.k.a. this man doesn't understand what an astute business man Picasso was!

REFERENCE:

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NEW section about being an artist - under development

22/8/2017

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I'm currently developing a new section on Art Business Information for Artists to make room for all the tips I've developed and collected about

being an artist and
how to be a successful artist!

STEP UP

The name keeps changing but it's essentially about stepping up to the reality of what it takes to become a successful artist. It's about:

habits
practices for real life
learning - and continued professional development.

Below are a sample of some of the topics it will cover
plus two topics I've recently posted about on Making A Mark.

HABITS

This is essentially about being an artist and

what are the things which make an artist different,
what are the challenges they will face,
what are the habits they need to develop if they want to be successful

Topics will include

Starting out as an Artist - moving on from being an amateur to becoming a professional artist
Being a Professional Artist - this will include coverage of the nature of an artist's career. This section will include a page devoted to examples of the working lives of professional artists. Yesterday I wrote about A Portfolio Career as an Artist
Teach Art - this might be a seperate section, but will cover the various ways you can teach art and what the requirements are if you do.

Step Up #2

REAL LIFE

This is about real life and professional business practices for artists.
Art is not all about making art. There's a lot of routine which you need to make time for and which need to be followed if you aren't going to be wasting your time and living and working and storing your art in a complete mess. Plus professional practices which can make a difference between being a successful artist and an "also ran".

Topics will include:

Studio Practices - what needs to happen to if you want to e.g. how to be safe in your studio; how to store your art; how to inventory your art
Office Practices - things that need to be done to keep on top of the paperwork - and the art! Examples include: How to back up your images; how to comply with legislation relating to data protection - see below.
Time management - how to differentiate between the important and the urgent
I'll also be adding in book-keeping, budgeting and business planning into the Money & Tax section

I've just written a blog post on Making A Mark about Is your art organisation or business ready for GDPR - the replacement of the Data Protection Act? - which is about the new mandatory legislation which will be introduced and become effective on 25th May 2018. It applies to all artists maintaining a contacts database for marketing and/or sales.

LEARNING & Continued Professional Development

Topics will include

The Best Business Books for Artists
Art Schools in the UK - for those wanting to develop further by taking a degree in fine art at undergraduate or postgraduate level
Art Business Courses Online - for those wanting to develop their knowledge, skills and competences relating to the business of art. I'll be giving particular emphasis to those where I've had positive feedback
Mentoring - opportunities to consult with me in relation to different aspects of your development or conundrums to face.

"I want to thank you hugely for such a very useful and shrewd report and for all the time and thought you have put in. I agree with virtually every point you make and recognise the need to address a lot of the issues"
a recent client

Let me know your priorities

I'm always very interested to hear about people's priorities as to things they want to know about. So let me know what you think. You can

leave a comment on this blog post
or, if you'd prefer to be more private write to me via the feedback form on my Contact Page.

Step Up #1 Photo by Daniel von Appen on Unsplash
Step Up #2 Photo by Mikito Tateisi on Unsplash

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Art Business Info: NEWS

VAT for Artists UPDATE #1/2019

Major update - art education and digital services

Two new sections re. turnover and art societies

How to be a successful artist (revised)

How you can help

TIPS for those starting out as artists

Why more artists need to study business

NEW section about being an artist - under development

STEP UP

HABITS

REAL LIFE

LEARNING & Continued Professional Development

Let me know your priorities

Art Business Info. News for Artists

Visitors so far

Author

Archives

Categories

Art Business Info: NEWS

VAT for Artists UPDATE #1/2019

Major update - art education and digital services​

Two new sections re. turnover and art societies​

How to be a successful artist (revised)

How you can help

TIPS for those starting out as artists

Why more artists need to study business

NEW section about being an artist - under development

STEP UP

HABITS

REAL LIFE

LEARNING & Continued Professional Development

Let me know your priorities​

Art Business Info. News for Artists

Visitors so far

Author

Archives

Categories

Major update - art education and digital services

Two new sections re. turnover and art societies

Let me know your priorities