The Ultimate Musician’s Tax Deduction Checklist: 100 Ways to Keep More of Your Money
If we asked you how much money you made at your last gig, you’d probably give us the number on the check. Maybe it was $500.
But if we asked you how much you kept... the answer gets a lot fuzzier.
Did you subtract the gas to get there? The parking? The strings you broke? The percentage of your cell phone bill you used to book the venue? The website hosting fee that keeps your EPK online?
At Musicians Tip Jar, our mission has always been simple: we want you to succeed as an artist and as an entrepreneur. And the biggest mistake we see independent musicians make isn't a bad chord progression—it's treating their career like an expensive hobby instead of a lean startup.
The "Hobby" Trap
When you treat music like a hobby, you pay for gear with money from your day job, you play gigs for "exposure," and you fear the IRS.
When you treat music like a business, every guitar string, every Uber to the airport, and every Spotify subscription becomes a tool to lower your taxable income.
The difference isn't how much talent you have. It's how much you track.
Take the 100-Point Challenge
We built the tool below to be a wake-up call. It’s a list of 100 legitimate, legal tax deductions that musicians miss every single year.
We want you to scroll through it and tap every single item you’ve spent money on in the last 12 months.
If you score 0–10: You’re just getting started. Keep going!
If you score 11–30: You’re a "Weekend Warrior." You’re spending real money, and you need to start tracking it.
If you score 31+: You are a Professional. You are running a complex operation with inventory, assets, and overhead.
Why This Matters
If you are spending money on these 100 things but not tracking them, you are essentially tipping the IRS. You are paying taxes on income that should have been written off against these expenses.
So, go ahead. Take the challenge below. See how many "invisible" costs you're actually paying.
And when you realize just how messy your financial picture actually is? Don't panic. That’s why we built The Financial Roadie. It’s the system that automates all of this for you, so you can get back to the music.
The 100-Point
Write-Off Challenge
Tap the items you've paid for this year.