US Legislation offers Tax Relief for Musicians, Performers
Bipartisan legislation has been reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that offers tax relief for musicians, actors and performers.
US Legislation offers Tax Relief for Musicians, Performers
The Performing Arts Tax Parity Act (PAPTA) will update the existing Qualified Performing Artist (QPA) tax deduction to reflect the current cost of living.
Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced companion legislation to PAPTA during the 118th Congress.
The original Qualified Performing Artist (QPA) tax deduction became law in 1986 and allowed working artists the ability to take an above-the-line tax deduction for work-related expenses. But the deduction has not been updated since. Today, it is only available to those making less than $16,000 a year.
Under current law, a Qualified Performing Artist is defined as having:
- performed services in the performing arts for, at minimum, two different employers during a taxable year
- an amount of allowable deductions exceeding 10 percent of their gross income related to those services
- an adjusted gross income of no more than $16,000.
$100,000 individuals / $200,000 for married joint filers
To better reflect today’s cost of living, the bill introduced by Congressman Vern Buchanan (R-TN and and Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA would increase the income ceiling to reflect today’s cost of living more appropriately: $100,000 for individuals and $200,000 for married joint filers.
PAPTA also includes an automatic Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increase to ensure that the deduction remains relevant as the cost of living increases.
This legislation is supported by the National Independent Venue Association, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the America Federation of Musicians (AFM)the Motion Picture Association, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Americans for the Arts, the League of American Orchestras, the Theatre Communications Group, the Actors’ Equity Association, and the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE).
“This legislation is a lifeline for the artists who bring independent stages to life. This bill is an important step toward building a fairer, more sustainable live ecosystem that benefits independent stages, artists, audiences, and communities alike,” said Stephen Parker, Executive Director, National Independent Venue Association.
Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, a Berklee College Of Music professor and the founfer of the Skyline Artists Agency
