Why Was My Show Check Short?
You played the show, the guarantee was clear — and the check came up short. Often that's the state taking its cut up front. It's real money, and usually you can get it back.
Some states require the venue or promoter to withhold state tax from a performer's pay before you ever see it. It's often nicknamed the "jock tax" because states first aimed it at visiting athletes. It applies to touring entertainers too.
What's actually happening
In certain states, the party paying you — the venue, promoter, or producer — is legally required to hold back a percentage of a non-resident performer's pay and send it to the state on your behalf. To you it just looks like the check is smaller than the deal. It isn't a fee and it isn't the promoter shorting you; it's a prepayment of state income tax in your name.
The key point: it's a deposit, not a loss
Withholding is not your final tax bill. It's money paid toward the tax you might owe that state. When you file a non-resident return for that state after the year ends, you settle up:
- If they withheld more than you actually owe, the difference comes back as a refund.
- If they withheld less, you pay the small remainder.
- Either way, what was withheld can usually be credited so you're not taxed twice on the same dollar back home.
How to protect the money
- Get it in writing. Ask the venue or promoter for documentation of exactly what was withheld and for which state.
- Save the settlement sheet. It's your proof of the amount held back.
- Actually file the non-resident return. Withheld money you never claim is money you're gifting the state. The return is how you get it back.
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
Get the withheld money back the right way
The chapter in On the Road shows you which states withhold from performers, the paperwork that proves what was taken, and how a non-resident return turns that withholding into a refund or a credit instead of money you never see again.
Get the Guide — $39 →Or get all seven tax guides in one — The Complete Tax & Money Guide, $99 →