Touring Taxes: What Now?
Here's the whole road trip in one breath — the four things a touring artist actually has to keep straight, and the checklist to run before and after every tour.
When you tour, you can owe income tax in more than one state, because most states tax money earned inside their borders. The habits below keep that from turning into an April mess.
The four things, in plain English
- Where you played can tax you. A paid show can create a filing in that state, not just your home state.
- Your check may come up short. Some states make the venue withhold performer tax up front — that's a prepayment you can claim back.
- You won't really pay twice. Your home state credits the tax you paid to touring states, so the same dollar isn't fully taxed twice.
- Merch is its own tax. Selling shirts and vinyl is retail — most states want sales tax collected on it, separate from income tax.
Before the tour
- Start a tour log: date, city, state, and what you're paid for each stop.
- Ask each venue/promoter whether they withhold performer tax or collect merch sales tax.
- Set aside money as it comes in — don't treat gross show pay as spendable.
After the tour
- Gather every settlement sheet, contract, and 1099.
- File non-resident returns for the states that require them, to claim any withholding.
- File your resident return and take the credit for taxes paid to other states.
- Reconcile any merch sales tax you collected.
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
The complete field guide for the road
On the Road pulls all of it together — nexus, performer withholding, the double-tax credit, merch sales tax, and the California playbook — into one cited guide, with the tour log and checklists you can run every season so tax time is never a surprise.
Get the Guide — $39 →Or get all seven tax guides in one — The Complete Tax & Money Guide, $99 →