Not long after graduating with her MFA from Boston University in 2005, artist Hannah Cole sat down with her tax advisor, a meeting that didn’t go as expected. “The reason I’m a professional painter and also a tax pro is because I was so upset at the way I was treated when I tried to do my first tax return,” Cole said.
The accountant viewed art as a hobby and not a profession. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, how can this guy defend me in an audit when he doesn’t believe in what I’m doing in the first place.’”
Cole shared the story during a virtual workshop on taxes for local freelancers, artists, and creative businesses in February. It’s the third straight year she has taught the class as part of the Arts Foundation’s Creative Exchange program, helping guide the Cape’s artistic community in navigating the complex world of taxes.
For Cole, this workshop was admittedly different than the first two. “I’m in a hard time right now because I’m speaking to you from Asheville, North Carolina,” she said. “Four months ago, I lost 20 years of art in one night.”
Her home was one of an estimated 74,000 that were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina in late September of last year.
Being a creative is not easy. It’s why Cole has dedicated a portion of her professional life to supporting fellow artists like the nearly two dozen who attended this year’s class. In it, she covered everything from self-employment taxes to paying quarterly taxes to filling out a Schedule C to itemizing deductions to the difference between a hobbyist and a professional artist.
Among the tips she offered to attendees was this one: keep a good calendar that includes time spent on bookkeeping, marketing, applying for grants, advertising, and contacting clients, potential clients, and venues.
“You are allowed to make money,” she stressed, encouraging the group to find ways to maximize their earnings so they can focus on the essentials in life. “You deserve to eat. You deserve to rest. You deserve to live in a safe place.”
She ended the webinar by emphasizing the importance of the work they are doing as creatives on Cape Cod. “The thing I wish I had heard in difficult times, and I kid you not, I am in one right now — in our world things feel scary. We feel like we’re losing our sense of community, connection, empathy, and being able to disagree in a respectful way,” she said. “When I get down about that stuff, what gives me hope is you. As a creative person, you are the empathy muscle of our culture. You model it for others. You create transformative experiences in the world, whether through storytelling, through photography, or making a gorgeous piece of art that makes someone feel.
“What you’re doing is building bridges,” she continued. “This stuff [you are doing] is incredibly important and what our world needs right now.”
Learn more about Hannah Cole at her website, Sunlight Tax.
You can also listen to Hannah’s podcast, Sunlight, here.
Read Hannah’s reflections on Hurricane Helene in this story published in the Atlanta-based nonprofit magazine, Burnaway.