just wondering...can you submit parking/toll receipts for auditionsto your accountant at the end of the year for a tax write off even if your child hasn't booked any work..i mean if you go on a hundred go-sees in a years time and don't get booked on any can you submit the receipts?

also, if you do book a job in ny or anywhere for that matter, should the agency pay for the parking and tolls?

You can deduct expenses for looking for work only if you have income (your child's income not yours). Headshots, parking, tolls, mileage, classes, etc are all deductible up to the income amount. These are your expenses and will not be paid by an agency. If you are doing something like a student film, you can try and negotiate that upfront.

Ditto what notblond said for the taxes, as for the second, I've never had a reimbursement from the agency for work my child booked, that's the parents responsibility and then later you can have the receipt for taxes.

For a student film you can see if they'll negotiate parking/tolls, etc. Some have a small budget and put that in their breakdowns as compensation but it's best to talk to them to see what their idea of reimbursement is.

thanks so much for the info...very useful!

I would like to say thanks also, while I was not sure I have been saving metro north receipts !

When I took a tax workshop earlier this year, and you didn't get paid, or maybe not enough that it would be worth it, you can save them for this year's taxes and do it next year. Especially, if you got a high price item like a computer.

Weve done a couple of student films and only one has reimburst us anything (not even close to what it cost) I save every reciept we spend that has anything to do with this biz. If your child makes enough that you have to pay taxes its best that you have every reciept on fle to deduct at the end of the year! Parking and tolls definatly add up after awhile!

You can only submit receipts for tax deductions if your child gets a 1099 (self-employed). If your child works for a company and they give her a W2, the company is listing your child as an employee so you cannot deduct tolls, parking, and mileage because the government considers it as "travelling to work" so that is not tax deductible. But I believe you still can deduct for comp cards & pictures but your child has to have an income.

It's best to ask your accountant just to be sure, but in the meanwhile, we have saved every receipt, written down every appointment/casting we go to, written down all the mileage, etc. just in case we can use it to deduct during tax time.

my dd is apparently in this biz for the experience of it...certainly not the pay. if i go into the city 2x's a week for two different go sees and then back once again for a calback...hmmm let's see how those numbers rack up....total parking about 75.00 tolls about 25.00. that brings the grand total to 100.00. at least one tank of gas about 90.00. so now i am at almost 200.00. now if she books the job and will be in the city for an extended period of time...make the parking more like 50.00 a day,maybe a little more.

without a doubt, most print jobs that my dd has auditioned for/booked have not paid more than approx. 250-350.00. occasionally they are bigger like in the thousands; but not that often.

so, now that you are saying that i cannot get reimbursed b/c she received a w2 not a 1099 it is absolutely clear...we do this because we have absolutely nothing better to do with our time...lol.

itis clear like with everything else...you have to spend money to make money. maybe someday she will book some unbelievable job that will pay for her college career; but for now we are just having fun. i was just hoping to get some cash back for all of the money i've already dished out. i will continue to save all of my receipts and give them to my accountant at the end of the year...you never know!

You can deduct it (as long as they don't pay you back), but you have to choose which deduction at the end of the year is going to help you more:
the standard one or if all your receipts total more than or the same as the standard deduction or do the profit/loss one. But I heard the losses should be only 2/5 years of the "business".