Will I Get Taxed Twice for Touring?
Two states can each put a claim on the same show money — the state you played in and the state you live in. The tax code has a built-in fix so you don't actually pay twice.
Your home state generally gives you a credit for income tax you paid to another state. So while two states can each touch the same dollar, the credit means you don't really pay full tax to both.
Why it looks like double taxation at first
Your resident state taxes all of your income, everywhere you earned it. A state you toured in taxes the slice you earned there. On paper, that's the same show money being claimed twice.
The fix: the credit for taxes paid to other states
Nearly every state that has an income tax offers a credit for taxes paid to other states on your resident return. In plain terms: your home state says, "You already paid tax on that income to the state where you performed — we'll knock that amount off what you owe us." That's what keeps the same dollar from being fully taxed by both.
The credit is usually limited to what your home state would have charged on that income, so it isn't always a dollar-for-dollar wash — but it stops true double taxation.
The order matters
- File the non-resident returns first. You need to know what each touring state actually charged before your home state can credit it.
- Then file your resident return and claim the credit for those taxes.
- Keep every state's return together. The credit only holds up if you can show what you paid elsewhere.
This is general education, not tax advice — Done Deal Digital isn't a CPA firm. State tax rules change and every artist's situation is different. For your situation, work it out with a qualified CPA.
That's the short version
Make the credit actually work in your favor
The chapter in On the Road walks through the order you file in, how the resident-state credit is calculated, and the mistakes that leave money on the table — so two states never really tax the same dollar.
Get the Guide — $39 →Or get all seven tax guides in one — The Complete Tax & Money Guide, $99 →