ARTISTS HAVE A SUPERPOWER

by Hannah Cole of Sunlight Tax

I’m a longtime professional artist, and a tax expert, and the founder of Sunlight Tax. When I started my career as an artist, I found it impossible to get the tax and financial information I needed to set up my business right (and I had some truly horrifying experiences along the way - like my dad's accountant ignoring the mileage log I painstakingly track for 2 cross-country trips to residencies. It was a $4000 deduction, that he just ignored!).

I founded a company, Sunlight Tax, whose mission is to serve creative people, just like you, who are self-employed, with relevant tax and financial education, so you can bring your unique vision to the world.

I see all kinds of incomes in my tax practice, and the one thing it confirms for me is that, once past the basic human needs, money and happiness aren't related. I've been doing a lot of reading on the science of happiness lately, and also on the financial independence movement, (favorites: Mr. Money Moustache, the Frugalwoods, and the Mad Fientist) and I've suddenly been noticing the strong thread of happiness science within the extreme-frugality movement.

And I had a thunderstrike: artists have a superpower. We already know this. No one goes into art because their top priority is getting rich. And most artists do go into it because they feel a need, and they get things out of art that are more important than money. Things like connections, community, curiosity, continuous learning, challenges and projects, and engagement with the unknown.

So this post is just a word of appreciation.

But here are a few things you can DO with your money to help it grow and give you lifelong security. Because that is my particular passion project:

Open a SEP IRA.

Open a separate bank account for your art, so it's not mixing with your personal account.

Download the visual guide to artists' deductions that I made for you, so you never miss a deduction again: https://www.sunlighttax.com/artistsguide

And if you want to grow your business sustainably, manage your taxes and build a stash of F***-You money so you can control your time and have a bigger impact with your work, you can get simple tax and money tips every week by listening to the Sunlight podcast. In this show, we’re talking about taxes, money, and careers for creative people who have a big vision for changing the world with their work.

https://www.sunlighttax.com/podcast https://www.sunlighttax.com/artistsguide

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