Financial Advisor and CPA for Musicians, Actors and Artists
A flat-fee CPA and Financial Planner team that gives you personalized, holistic advice across your taxes and financial plan. We plan your gigs, royalties, tour states and estimates, and file your returns.
What we handle for musicians, actors and artists
A union job on a W-2, a run of gigs on 1099s, royalties from work you made years ago. One return has to make sense of all of it.
- 01
W-2 jobs and 1099 gigs in one year
A production withholds from your W-2 pay; nobody withholds from a gig. Your CPA projects both, then covers the gap with quarterly estimates or by raising withholding on a W-2 job, which the IRS treats as paid evenly through the year.
- 02
Royalties on the right schedule
If you are in business as a self-employed writer, composer or artist, the IRS has your royalties reported on Schedule C, where self-employment tax applies. Royalties from rights you bought or inherited go on Schedule E instead.
- 03
Residuals that keep arriving
Residuals can show up for years after the work, in amounts nobody can predict. Your CPA counts each payment toward the year’s estimate as it arrives, so a strong residual quarter does not become an April surprise.
- 04
Per diems on tour
A per diem paid under an employer’s accountable plan is left out of your wages up to the federal rate; anything above it is wages. On your own gigs you can use the standard meal rate, deduct 50% of meals, and deduct actual lodging costs.
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Agent and manager commissions
Commissions on 1099 work are a business expense on Schedule C. Commissions on W-2 work are unreimbursed employee expenses, which are not deductible on a federal return unless you qualify as a performing artist (see below).
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Tour income in every state
A state where you perform can tax what you earned there and require a nonresident return; California, for one, can require the payer to withhold from a nonresident performer’s fee. Your home state usually gives a credit for that tax, so the same dollar is not taxed twice.
How Nino helps musicians, actors and artists
Creative income arrives on its own schedule: a booked month, three quiet ones, a royalty statement in between. On an Advisor plan your CPA and Financial Planner plan your taxes and savings around that pattern and file the returns it produces.
Book a free consultation-
A plan in your first two weeks
Your CPA and Financial Planner build a tax and financial plan from your last returns, this year’s bookings and your goals, then revisit it every quarter, when a tour or a slow season changes the numbers.
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Returns for every state you worked
Your CPA prepares Schedule C from your profit and loss, along with your federal and state returns, and files nothing until you approve it. Plus includes up to three states; extra states are $150 each.
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Every account in one view
Nino’s AI software connects your bank, card and investment accounts read-only, so you can ask what this month’s deposits leave after tax and how long your reserve lasts without a booking.
Which tax choices matter most for performers?
Four decisions that change what a working artist keeps.
Whether you qualify as a performing artist
Qualified performing artists deduct W-2 performing expenses, such as commissions and gear, before AGI. You need W-2 work for two or more employers paying $200 or more each, expenses above 10% of that income, and AGI of $16,000 or less, a limit not adjusted for inflation.
SEP IRA or Solo 401(k)
Both are funded from your net 1099 earnings, not your W-2 pay. A Solo 401(k) adds a $24,500 employee deferral for 2026, shared with any other 401(k) you defer into. See Solo 401(k) vs SEP IRA.
Whether to work through a loan-out company
Some performers contract through their own company, which is paid for the work and pays them. It can make sense at higher, steadier income; it adds payroll and a business return, which Premier files, priced by complexity. Your CPA runs the numbers before you form one.
How big a reserve to keep
Hold the tax on each payment apart from your spending money, then keep several months of expenses in cash sized to your leanest year, not your best one. See where to put excess cash.
Pick your plan
Every Advisor plan includes a CPA and Financial Planner team, federal and state tax filing, and our Ultra software.
Essential
- Everything in Ultra software, plus:
- A dedicated CPA and Financial Planner team for you
- Single-filer return, quarterly taxes included
- Retirement & equity planning
- Quarterly advisor access
- Rentals
- 0
- K-1s
- 0
- States
- 1
- Brokerage
- 3
Plus
Most Popular- Everything in Essential, plus:
- A dedicated CPA and Financial Planner team for you and your spouse
- Married filing jointly return, international coverage included
- One coordinated plan for both of you
- Quarterly and ad hoc advisor access
- Rentals
- 2
- K-1s
- 5
- States
- 3
- Brokerage
- 5
Premier
- Everything in Plus, plus:
- Business bookkeeping and tax filings, priced by complexity
- Joint or single return, complex international coverage
- Advanced equity & estate planning
- Priority advisor access
- Rentals
- 5
- K-1s
- 10
- States
- 5
- Brokerage
- 10
Software plans starting from $20 a month
Our AI financial assistant on its own, with a 7-day free trial.
Guides for musicians, actors and artists
Read up on these decisions, or run your own numbers.
Solo 401(k) vs SEP IRA
A Solo 401(k) beats a SEP IRA at most incomes because it adds a $24,500 employee deferral and catch-ups. See the 2026 math at $60K, $150K, and $300K.
Read guideSEP IRA
A SEP IRA lets a business owner contribute up to 25% of pay, capped at $72,000 for 2026. Here is the self-employed math, the employee rule, and the deadlines.
Read guideWhere to Put Cash Above Your Emergency Fund
Keep 3 to 6 months of spending in insured savings. Park cash you need within a few years in T-bills, money market funds, or CDs, and invest the rest.
Read guideTax and Financial Deadlines for 2026 and Early 2027
Every date from October 2026 to April 2027: estimated taxes, December 31 moves, tax forms, IRA and HSA deadlines, and the life-event clocks that run on their own.
Read guideSEP IRA Contribution Calculator
Estimate your 2026 SEP IRA maximum as a sole proprietor or S corp owner, the federal tax it saves, and the Solo 401(k) alternative.
Open calculatorRetirement Calculator
Estimate retirement income, how long savings could last, and any funding gap.
Open calculator
More people we work with
See how our CPA and Financial Planner team helps people in situations like yours.