If you earn any money as a model then you have to pay taxes on it. You may not like it but that's the way it goes. If you are an underage model then your parents will be responsible for making sure the proper forms are filed or sent to your CPA. For models that are 18 years of age or older, you'll have to start keeping track of and reporting your income accordingly.
Think you can get away with not reporting your income? Think again. Uncle Sam and the IRS show no mercy and all it takes is one audit and penalties to quickly ruin your day (not to mention your finances).
I wanted to make this initial post to address the fact that if you model, whether it's part-time or full-time, you'll need to be prepared to receive the proper tax documents, understand what they are, and what is needed of you when it comes to tax season.
Have I already lost you? Not sure what in the world I'm talking about? Don't worry, after this post, I plan on doing two, more detailed posts. The first one will address handling taxes for the parents of underage models and the second will address dealing with taxes for models that are of age (18 and older), so don't worry, if I've piqued your interest with this topic, or downright confused you, I'll soon provide you with more than enough information for you to digest and add to your modeling career experience.
I told you, modeling isn't always fun and games. =)
Because I live and work in California, I am mostly familiar with how the process works for that state. If you need more information or want to know how taxes and modeling work in the state you live in, I would recommend visiting the IRS website as well as researching online for other links about taxes and the state you live in.
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