<div style="MARGIN: 0px"><font style="FONT: 12px Helvetica; COLOR: #0010dc" face="Helvetica" color="#0010dc" size="3">Fellow Students/Performers,</font></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0px"><font style="FONT: 12px Helvetica; COLOR: #0010dc" face="Helvetica" color="#0010dc" size="3">In the spirit of the new year and <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1260956491_9" style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">tax season</span> I type this email. By night we all perform, take classes, etc. but by day we have our day jobs. I work at a <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1260956491_10" style="BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">public accounting firm</span> specializing in small business and individual taxation/business consulting. Instead of working for the man the rest of my life, I've decided to prepare tax returns this tax year. I understood the need for this E-mail while talking to a fellow performer last week. Someone had given him some very bad advice pertaining to taxes and that bad advice probably cost him a few hundred dollars. Depending upon your situation you may be able to take advantage of classes, workshops, meals, headshots, websites, etc. and deduct them on your tax return, thereby decreasing your tax liability. </font></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0px"><font style="FONT: 12px Helvetica; COLOR: #0010dc" face="Helvetica" color="#0010dc" size="3">Here are a few scenarios that may pertain to you:</font></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0px"><font style="FONT: 12px Helvetica; COLOR: #0010dc" face="Helvetica" color="#0010dc" size="3"> 1.You are going to receive a 1099 during the year and that means that you are responsible for more tax than if you were to receive a w-2 from the same company. Have you budgeted for this tax? Do you know if you need to send quarterly payments? </font></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0px"><font style="FONT: 12px Helvetica; COLOR: #0010dc" face="Helvetica" color="#0010dc" size="3"> 2.You received cash for work you did on the side and think that you shouldn't report this. The IRS says that you have to report any income received, but it would be very difficult for the IRS to prove that you received cash, although they could do it. You may be able to lower your taxable income by reporting the cash. Sounds counter intuitive, but it's true.</font></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0px"><font style="FONT: 12px Helvetica; COLOR: #0010dc" face="Helvetica" color="#0010dc" size="3"> 3.The IRS may try to classify your activities as a hobby and not a business venture, thereby eliminating a loss deduction from your ordinary income. Do you know the hobby loss rules?</font></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0px"><font face="Helvetica" color="#0010dc">Check out this link for free info <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/Taxrefundme">http://www.squidoo.com/Taxrefundme</a></font></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0px"><font style="FONT: 12px Helvetica; COLOR: #0010dc" face="Helvetica" color="#0010dc" size="3">As a fellow performer, I understand the lifestyle and would be glad to help out in any way I can. Even if you are not a performer I would be glad to talk to you about your tax situation. Lastly, April 15th will soon be upon us. If you are not able to file by the deadline, you will still need to pay off any tax liability to avoid a late payment penalty, but you can apply for a six month extension with form 4868 to avoid a late filing penalty. If you have not filed a tax return within the past three years and you were due a refund, then the IRS will take your refund and it will no longer be available--ridiculous I know! That is enough tax talk for now.</font></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0px"><font face="Helvetica" color="#0010dc">Cheers,</font></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0px"><font face="Helvetica" color="#0010dc">Charlie</font></div>