With the MTNA conference right around the corner, we got Charles Harris, CPA back on the podcast to discuss tax deductions for business travel and attending conferences. We talk about common expenses associated with business travel, which ones are deductible and which ones aren’t.

We answer questions like:

• Are meals 100% deductible when I’m traveling?

• Can I deduct my plane ticket it I pay for it with points?

• If my family is traveling with me, can I deduct their travel expenses?

• If I book a local hotel for a staycation and teach a virtual lesson while I’m there, can I count it as a business trip?

A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode162.

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Today I’m talking to the Christina Whitlock - an independent piano teacher whose studio has flexed and changed many times throughout her career to adapt to what she wants and needs out of life and business in different seasons.

If you are familiar with Christina and her podcast, Beyond Measure, you know she is a huge encourager for music teachers and you’ll get a huge dose of that in this episode. We also hear about some big changes she’s made in her own studio over the the last several years, how she rolled out the changes, what worked and what didn’t, what she’s learned about evaluating change, and more.

A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode161.

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Music Studio Startup Snapshot 009 – Christina Whitlock

We’ve had a lot of tax talk on the podcast lately and I know that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I get it. I promise we’ll keep it to a minimum today, but I do want to let you know about an upcoming webinar that I will be co-presenting with our CPA, Charles! Join us on Thur, February 6 for our Self-Employment Tax Crash Course. You can register for that at musicstudiostartup.com/tax. That’s it! That’s all I’m going to say about taxes.

Let’s hear a good ol’, inspiring studio success story. I think a lot of listeners are going to relate to today’s guest. Alison had been teaching for a number of years, had a nice-sized studio, and was beginning to feel the drag of teaching into the evening hours. So she decided to do something about it. She set out to shift her schedule to more daytime hours. She successfully made that shift (with some genius networking strategies!) and the result was… not what she expected!

Listen in to hear how Alison made (and continues to make) effective shifts in her studio and what she has learned along the way.

A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode160.

💰Register for the Crash Course in Self-Employment Taxes Feb. 6 at 11am Central

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Charles and Andrea sit down to answer some of the questions we’ve been getting about our new tax prep services for music teachers!

• Can I self-file taxes?

• What are the tax deadlines I need to be aware of?

• What is the mileage deduction? How does the mileage deduction work?

A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode159.

FREE Webinar: Self-Employment Tax Crash Course - Thur, Feb 6, 2025

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Q1 Mastermind Groups start Jan 27

Happy new year! For a lot of studio owners, January represents the beginning of tax season so I’ve got Charles Harris, a CPA, as our guest today to talk about all things self-employment taxes.

We’ll cover a bunch of things including the earning thresholds for when you need to earn to start filing taxes and what to do if you did not earn a profit in your business this year (spoiler: it can benefit you to file anyway!). We’ll also talk about what’s different for the 2024 tax year and what we know (and don’t know) about expected changes for the 2025 tax year.

Plus, we’ll share an exciting announcement about new services coming to Music Studio Startup this year and a new perk for Hub members!

A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode158.

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Q1 Mastermind Groups start Jan 27

 If you've ever wished you could travel, but have told yourself that you can't take time off or it's too expensive or whatever, this interview will have you rethinking those assumptions.

Today, I'm talking to a returning guest about how he has designed his studios, plural, to be able to take extended backpacking trips every year. We talk about budgeting for the trips, how he preps his students and teachers, and how he keeps things on track while he's away. Here's my conversation with Noah.

A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode157.

A quick reminder that next Tuesday, Dec. 10 is our BOIR Filing Party. If you have an LLC and it’s been on your To Do list to file this report, join us!

If you missed Episode 156 where I talked about the new BOIR filing requirement for LLC owners, you’ll definitely want to check it out.

📅 Register for our BOIR Filing Party on Tues, Dec. 10

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Today’s episode is more of a public service announcement for studio owners who have businesses that are registered in the US.

On January 1, a new reporting requirement from the US Treasury Department went into effect and it might impact you. I’m talking about the Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting rule or BOI Reporting requirement from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), part of the Corporate Transparency Act.

Today I’m going to share what I learned in my research of the ruling. I’m going to go through this in a Q&A format that traces the path I took and the questions that came up for me as I determined whether or not I would be eligible and then what the registration process entailed.

Hopefully it’ll help you jumpstart your own research.

A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode156.

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and I’m not giving legal advice here. This is strictly for informational purposes and it’s up to you to ensure your business is in compliance with all applicable laws.

📅 Register for our BOIR Filing Party on Tues, Dec. 10

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