Category: Money Matters

Good practice in paying artists and fair rates of pay

15/2/2020

Art Business Info for Artists has a new page about Paying Artists in the Money and Tax section. 

The aim of this page - https://www.artbusinessinfo.com/paying-artists.html - is to provide artists with links to resources about payments to artists covering:

research and survey data
current rates of pay
good practice in paying artists

It covers:

Paying Artists in the UK - a range of references to good practice guidelines and rates of pay
Exhibition Payments in the UK and Ireland - referencing developments in recent times to improve payments to artists
Paying Artists in North America (under development)
Working in Art Galleries and Museums (under development)

I'd much appreciate it if artists around the world could contribute links to any reputable resources relating to developments in

models of good practice for paying artists - particularly in relation to exhibition payments
fair rates of pay for different services provided by artists.

TELL ME about payment resources for artists
I'd much appreciate being kept up to date with current developments so I can share them with other artists.

Art present I have information about:

recent developments in the UK
developments - to a lesser degree - in Canada and Ireland

You can comment below or use the form at the bottom of the page

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VAT for Artists UPDATE #1/2019

3/3/2019

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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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Tax Tips for Artists in Australia

1/11/2018

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As part of my Tax Tips for Artists in the Money & Tax category section of my website, I've started a couple of NEW Tax Tips pages for Artists - to break out the specific tax aspects relating to artists in specific countries - namely the UK, USA and now Australia and Ireland.

This is about Australia: Tax Tips for Artists.

WHAT THIS IS NOT! The country-specific pages are NOT intended to provide a professional, all angles covered, definitive insight into tax for artists in that country. Not least because I'm in no way qualified to do that.

More it's intended as an alert for artists

highlighting things they may need to think about and
providing the ordinary visual artist with finding organisations, people and websites which are the first step to finding out more about what artists need to know about and deal with when it comes to tax - especially for those who are starting out....

A hobby is a pastime or leisure activity conducted in your spare time for recreation or pleasure. You’re in business, if your activity, as a whole, is commercial with an aim to make a profit.
Business or Hobby | Australian Government

Australia: Tax Tips for Artists covers:

The hobby vs business question - can you claim expenses against tax?
Australian Taxation Office - links to information that artists need to know about
Other resources about tax - for visual artists and arts organisations in Australia.
Tax for Australian Art Collectors - and the Cultural Gifts Program

While "Other Resources" includes a list of specialist tax advisers, I'm emphatically NOT recommending any specific accountants,

However I am trying to create a list of those who

claim to specialise in providing accounting services to visual artists - and
hence are more likely to know how to tackle any particularly specialist question which the Australian Taxation Office's information online does not seem to cover.

If you've got any suggestions of websites or organisations or people which provide provide helpful information or advice about tax, please drop me a line.

NOTE: This is the third in the country specific tax tips pages. You can also read about:

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Keep Calm and do your Tax Return NOW!

22/1/2018

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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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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

Good practice in paying artists and fair rates of pay

VAT for Artists UPDATE #1/2019

Major update - art education and digital services

Two new sections re. turnover and art societies

Tax Tips for Artists in Australia

Keep Calm and do your Tax Return NOW!

TOP 5 Tax FAQs

Tax Tips for Artists

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

GET Art Business Info. NEWS by Email

Author

Archives

Categories

Art Business Info: NEWS

Good practice in paying artists and fair rates of pay

VAT for Artists UPDATE #1/2019

Major update - art education and digital services​

Two new sections re. turnover and art societies​

Tax Tips for Artists in Australia

Keep Calm and do your Tax Return NOW!

TOP 5 Tax FAQs

Tax Tips for Artists

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

GET Art Business Info. NEWS by Email

Author

Archives

Categories

Major update - art education and digital services

Two new sections re. turnover and art societies

Let me know your priorities