ArtWitch Podcast: Permission to Thrive + Money Mindsets

In this episode artist and tax expert Hannah Cole joins ArtWitch host Zaneta to talk all about money.

Art Witch Podcast with Zaneta

Tax expert and artist Hannah Cole discusses all things money with Art Witch Podcast host Zaneta of Brooklyn, New York. They also talk about mindfulness in this nearly hour-long podcast interview. How did Hannah go from being an artist to also being a tax expert and running a membership program?

Hannah speaks about empowerment for creative people (especially for BIPOC people and women) and they talk about smashing the patriarchy. They discuss issues people have with earning and having money and how to change your attitude. What can you accomplish when you are not trying to run from money issues and fear of the IRS? Taking control of your money and finances will give you the time and space you need to thrive in your creative career. We can shift what we think we're allowed to access, and we can find permission to thrive in our art practices.

What action steps can we take to get control of our money and our taxes? Hear about how to take advantage of the new tax credits from the recent American Rescue Plan stimulus bill that freelancers need to know about. “Involuntary” home schooler parents need to take advantage of the family leave credits. What can you do as a freelancer to prepare for tax season? What is the brand new retroactive change to unemployment tax laws from the stimulus? What advice does Hannah have for people who haven’t filed their taxes yet?

Listen to the interview below! Check out all of Art Witch’s podcast episodes here. Sign up for the free March 30 Masterclass that Hannah mentions in the broadcast here.

Unemployment Tax Savings from the 2021 Stimulus Bill

If you or your spouse collected unemployment in 2020, you need to watch this video!

President Biden recently signed the American Rescue Plan into law, and it has some very exciting provisions for people who collected unemployment during 2020. Hannah Cole of Sunlight Tax created the following short video to give you the latest information about how the new law will apply to unemployment income.

Hannah goes through specific information about the unemployment taxes affected by this retroactive legislation. Hannah covers what you need to know about filing, whether you have already filed your 2020 taxes or whether you have not filed yet. She goes through a few scenarios to show how much you can save depending on your current tax rate and whether more than one person in your household was collecting unemployment last year.

Here’s what Hannah has to say:

What the tax savings is on $10,200 of unemployment income (thanks Democrats!), and a shoutout to those of you who called, texted & knocked to get out the vote--you had a hand in this tax bill that will lift 50% of American children out of poverty and take a meaningful step towards guaranteed income for families with children. You made a difference. Americans (of all parties) will benefit from your work! Thank you!!!❤️🇺🇸

Watch the blog for a longer post about the entire stimulus bill coming soon!

Artist/Mother Podcast with Hannah Cole of Sunlight Tax

Interview with Kaylan Buteyn about Hannah’s art journey and financial tips for creative people

Hannah talks with Kaylan about when she started out as an artist, her life as an artist, and how her career progressed to a tax expert specializing in helping artists and other creative freelancers. She talks about her career in accounting and what experiences led to her decision to start her own company.

Other topics covered in this hour-long podcast are the factors involved in choosing a type of business and how getting your finances organized gives you more room for creative work.

Understanding where your money is going and getting your finances organized give you more head space, more time to spend on other things, a clearer vision for your practice. They discuss how women are taught differently about money than men and money shame and breaking down stereotypes. Hannah shares some empowering advice for anyone feeling down. Her mission is to help artists feel more organized and in control of their own money.

Hannah also covers the basics in bookkeeping and profitability to get your business moving forward and how to get into the habit of tracking your finances.

Hannah will be available via zoom on the Artist/Mother network for a live Q&A to answer any lingering questions you have on March 16th, 3:00pm ET.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

The Artist/Mother podcast is created and hosted by Kaylan Buteyn. You can see more of Kaylan’s work on her website or connect with her on Instagram @kaylanbuteyn

How Can Freelancers Benefit from New Tax Laws?

Hannah’s short interview on BPR Radio

Hannah Cole had an interview with Matt Peiken of Blue Ridge Public Radio in North Carolina last week. She discussed the new tax laws and some of the areas where artists and other freelancers can benefit from them, like sick and family leave credits.

Although she talked to Matt for about an hour, the broadcast only contained a short clip. You can listen to Hannah and read about the tax law changes in her discussion with Matt in the article on the BPR website.

If you missed the live Shuttered Venue Operators Grants webinar mentioned in the article, click here to sign up to get the replay video.

What Do Arts Organizations Need to Know About the Federal Shuttered Venue Operators Grant?

Congress earmarked $15 billion in grants for performing arts venue operators impacted by the pandemic and here’s what you need to know.

On December 27, 2020, a congressional stimulus bill that was passed and signed into law by then President Trump had several provisions to help US residents through the COVID-19 crisis. Among these are additional stimulus payments, enhanced and extended Federal unemployment benefits, additional Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) money, simplified PPP forgiveness rules, an extension of the temporary charitable contribution deduction for taxpayers who take the standard deduction, and a doubling of the business meals deduction from 50% deductible to 100% deductible for the years 2021 and 2022 so long as the meal is purchased from a restaurant. (Takeout meals are okay.) These provisions should provide some help to all of us as we continue to weather the economic crisis.

But one item in the bill will specifically help people in the arts. Congress earmarked $15 billion in grants for arts venue operators whose income decreased due to the pandemic crisis. The money is meant to help these organizations weather the rest of the crisis, with priority given to the hardest-hit venues, and $2 Billion set aside for smaller, so called, “main street” venues. The funding is targeted primarily towards live venue operators, movie theaters, talent representatives, and live performing arts organizations. Museums (including zoos and aquariums) are eligible with some additional restrictions.

So, what do these grants look like? The Shuttered Venue Operators (SVO) Grant money, which will be administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA), provides grants of up to 45% of the organizations’ gross earned revenue (or $10 million, whichever is less). …read more…

This article first appeared on Hyperallergic on February 23, 2021.