Financial Relief Options For The Full-Time DJ Operators

Correct me if I am wrong but to qualify for unemployment for self employed, you must have paid income tax for the previous year.

So many of my dj friends who haven't claimed a dime of dj income are thinking of applying... I bet that is an audit waiting to happen.

Yep!

Are you sure the $10K is a "grant" ?? If you are not using it to keep employees on the payroll it may remain as a loan. I think it unlikely that a sole-proprietor or S-Corp without an active payroll would be approved for a grant while the owner's are simultaneously eligible for unemployment under the new expansion.

Grants would logically be given to those businesses with the biggest coincident footprint, meaning - a DJ whose business operation has no ripple effect with other coincident businesses is a low priority. On that basis alone - it would be wiser to grant $10 to brides who cancelled their wedding plans because that money would end up hiring new vendors across several different trades.

I don't think DJs at large are going to be a high priority in jump-starting the economy.

I heard there is only funds allotted for about 100,000 of these forgivable 10,000 dollar grants/loads .... im interested to see if any of the "dont need it , but might as well get free money" minded people get it.... Not sure if its first come first serve...or if each case is thoroughly reviewed... but i agree with comments above that , once the dust settles, there will be an avid interest in how that money was spent... the govt may even get a lot of it back in fraud/fines.

cc

Proformance said:

Are you sure the $10K is a "grant" ?? If you are not using it to keep employees on the payroll it may remain as a loan. I think it unlikely that a sole-proprietor or S-Corp without an active payroll would be approved for a grant while the owner's are simultaneously eligible for unemployment under the new expansion.

Grants would logically be given to those businesses with the biggest coincident footprint, meaning - a DJ whose business operation has no ripple effect with other coincident businesses is a low priority. On that basis alone - it would be wiser to grant $10 to brides who cancelled their wedding plans because that money would end up hiring new vendors across several different trades.

I don't think DJs at large are going to be a high priority in jump-starting the economy.

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If you actually filled it out one of the classifications is s-Corp, sole proprietor, gig worker, independent contractor, who often have no employees. The PPP is the one for keeping employees on. This is designed to make up for lost revenue to keep the business or individual afloat.

djcrazychris said:

I heard there is only funds allotted for about 100,000 of these forgivable 10,000 dollar grants/loads .... im interested to see if any of the "dont need it , but might as well get free money" minded people get it.... Not sure if its first come first serve...or if each case is thoroughly reviewed... but i agree with comments above that , once the dust settles, there will be an avid interest in how that money was spent... the govt may even get a lot of it back in fraud/fines.

cc

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They allotted a bit more than that, as that's only $1 billion. In fact (i could be slightly off on this), they either approved or are about to approve another 250 Billion for this grant (as well as the PPP I think). And yes many "I dont need it but I'll get it" are doing it. I spoke to a number of dj's in NJ and its their accountants calling them telling them to do it... just like mine did. Keep in mind, I, like others, do have expenses that are constant such as rent, subscriptions, utilities, etc.

djtaso said:

If you actually filled it out one of the classifications is s-Corp, sole proprietor, gig worker, independent contractor, who often have no employees. The PPP is the one for keeping employees on. This is designed to make up for lost revenue to keep the business or individual afloat.

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If it's indeed a grant, and it's going to people with no employees then the scrutiny is going to be quite high. The goal is to maximize the economic return on each dollar which means re-employment of as many people as possible. No doubt there will be massive fraud but, making individuals whole is not the strategy here.

A grant (or any loan you don't pay back) is taxable as income. So, if your income dos not actually take a hit and the grant moves you into another tax bracket you could potentially keep less of your income than had you not received a grant. Moving into a higher bracket applies tax to the entirety of your income and not merely the amount over. A jump from 28% to 34% for example, might even negate the value of the aid unless it saved someone from eminent closure.

Proformance said:

If it's indeed a grant, and it's going to people with no employees then the scrutiny is going to be quite high. The goal is to maximize the economic return on each dollar which means re-employment of as many people as possible. No doubt there will be massive fraud but, making individuals whole is not the strategy here.

A grant (or any loan you don't pay back) is taxable as income. So, if your income dos not actually take a hit and the grant moves you into another tax bracket you could potentially keep less of your income than had you not received a grant. Moving into a higher bracket applies tax to the entirety of your income and not merely the amount over. A jump from 28% to 34% for example, might even negate the value of the aid unless it saved someone from eminent closure.

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If you're talking about employees... that is what the PPP is for. This is designed to make up for lost revenue... so theoretically... it shouldn't put you in a higher tax bracket since you're making up ideally for lost revenue. I think it is more of a forgivable loan... so I am actually not sure if it counts as taxable income either, unlike the unemployment stimulus of $600/week. I could be wrong, but honestly I don't see much being discussed on that particular subject. In all honesty, I feel a lot of this is being done as they go along and making tweaks. From my understanding, all they do for the 10k is just check your credit to see if there are any red flags, and that's about it. Which, I should mention, if any are applying and they have a freeze on their credit for identity protection purposes, this would be an ideal time to lift that until they do their check.

djtaso said:

If you're talking about employees... that is what the PPP is for. This is designed to make up for lost revenue... so theoretically... it shouldn't put you in a higher tax bracket since you're making up ideally for lost revenue. I think it is more of a forgivable loan... so I am actually not sure if it counts as taxable income either, unlike the unemployment stimulus of $600/week. I could be wrong, but honestly I don't see much being discussed on that particular subject. In all honesty, I feel a lot of this is being done as they go along and making tweaks. From my understanding, all they do for the 10k is just check your credit to see if there are any red flags, and that's about it. Which, I should mention, if any are applying and they have a freeze on their credit for identity protection purposes, this would be an ideal time to lift that until they do their check.

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It's forgivable if it's used for payroll (Up to $100k.) I expect the same rules will apply to the $10K package. This will have to be demonstrated with tax documents like W-2 or 1099-MISC before it becomes a grant. There are also provisions for rent or mortgage payments - but that will apply to capital property such as a restaurant that pays to maintain it's leased land or purchased building. It's most common for example, That a Pizza Hut franchise sits on leased land - regardless of who actually erects or owns the building.

. You won't get a grant (forgiveness) to pay a mortgage on a personal residence.

Proformance said:

It's forgivable if it's used for payroll (Up to $100k.) I expect the same rules will apply to the $10K package. This will have to be demonstrated with tax documents like W-2 or 1099-MISC before it becomes a grant. There are also provisions for rent or mortgage payments - but that will apply to capital property such as a restaurant that pays to maintain it's leased land or purchased building. It's most common for example, That a Pizza Hut franchise sits on leased land - regardless of who actually erects or owns the building.

. You won't get a grant (forgiveness) to pay a mortgage on a personal residence.

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It’ll be tough to gauge that though when the 10k has no underwriting process. And a tax return doesn’t show what you did when. Even the PPP allows for up to 25% to be used for non payroll purposes. But that requires underwriting and is a more in depth process

Hey as long as the government is handing out free money, I'll ask for it with my hand out too! ...The ship is sinking anyway, might as well reap the rewards while we can before it's all under water. So many people think we will have a "V shaped" recovery out of this...I have to laugh when I hear it!

The economic pain from this is going to be around a long time. ...And now various mayors of cities are already saying expect the shut downs to last well into June, and the first half of July is probable. ......With the shut downs lasting that long...Economy is going to be screwed for a long time!

2020 and 2021 are going to suck for the event industry as a whole. Most of the holiday parties this Winter will not be happening. Summer picnics, and all sorts of conferences will be cancelled. Lots of companies/small business are going to close down for good. Unemployment will not be returning to the low 3.5% we had before. Lots of debt will be created. Toilet Paper is probably going to be back ordered and in short supply until at least Labor Day at this point.

Hollywood is delaying all their current production movies. AMC Theatres is probably going to go out of business with out real special help to save them. I can see many entertainment venues and entertainment themed bars going under.

With all the bad coming down the pipeline from this, might as well take free money.

...And if this grant money actually comes in before the end of May (doubtful that it will) I will be using it to pay my biz expenses any way.

...Going into May, I am basically supplementing the DJ business with income from my day time job in order to pay for The Storage Unit, and my business subscriptions in May...First time I have ever had to use money that was not funded by the business itself to pay for business stuff...and it wasn't my fault. I blame that on the politicians/leadership who shut down the economy wether it was the right thing to do or not

...So yeah, give me money!

To the extent that you are claiming to

djmagicmoments said:

Correct me if I am wrong but to qualify for unemployment for self employed, you must have paid income tax for the previous year.
So many of my dj friends who haven't claimed a dime of dj income are thinking of applying... I bet that is an audit waiting to happen.

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Whether or not you had income is a separate issue from filing a tax return. The majority of DJs are part time and even if they file a tax return with a schedule C for "DJ services" their DJ income would likely be deemed a hobby that generates income rather than a business. Unless you can show DJ service to be your primary income source it is unlikely you would qualify for any kind of assistance on that basis.

If you don't file tax returns at all - the government may not know you exist unless there's a W-2 or Social Security account associated with your income. The problem at that point is that whatever benefit you are entitled to would go first toward any unpaid taxes. If you were not immediately denied or adjusted, then at the very least any benefit you receive would likely be followed up with an audit. That begs the question: "is the IRS actually capable of handling that workload?" Thee agency is already reeling from huge backlogs of Identity theft cases, tax law changes, and a reduced staff.

You won't even get that $1,200 check if any of the following apply:

• you have an outstanding federal or state tax debt
• you owe child support payments
• you have not yet filed prior year returns (2018, etc)
• you are already receiving Social Security Payments or other assistance

Proformance said:

To the extent that you are claiming to


Whether or not you had income is a separate issue from filing a tax return. The majority of DJs are part time and even if they file a tax return with a schedule C for "DJ services" their DJ income would likely be deemed a hobby that generates income rather than a business. Unless you can show DJ service to be your primary income source it is unlikely you would qualify for any kind of assistance on that basis.

If you don't file tax returns at all - the government may not know you exist unless there's a W-2 or Social Security account associated with your income. The problem at that point is that whatever benefit you are entitled to would go first toward any unpaid taxes. If you were not immediately denied or adjusted, then at the very least any benefit you receive would likely be followed up with an audit. That begs the question: "is the IRS actually capable of handling that workload?" Thee agency is already reeling from huge backlogs of Identity theft cases, tax law changes, and a reduced staff.

You won't even get that $1,200 check if any of the following apply:

• you have an outstanding federal or state tax debt
• you owe child support payments
• you have not yet filed prior year returns (2018, etc)
• you are already receiving Social Security Payments or other assistance

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That last part is half true. Non filers can get the stimulus as can social security recipients (and they don’t even need to file taxes depending on their income levels for some of them). My father in law is on social security and he is getting it. It was designed to be given, even if the person wasn’t in financial need, to help stimulate the economy.

DJ Ricky B said:

Hey as long as the government is handing out free money, I'll ask for it with my hand out too! ...

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That's a calculation to be made - not necessarily a move that will enrich you.

For example, if the assistance you receive is taxable, and you don't need it you could be better off not taking it. Net losses can be carried back against prior year returns - meaning you could qualify to recover taxes you paid on profits realized up to three years prior.

djtaso said:

That last part is half true. Non filers can get the stimulus as can social security recipients (and they don’t even need to file taxes depending on their income levels for some of them). My father in law is on social security and he is getting it. It was designed to be given, even if the person wasn’t in financial need, to help stimulate the economy.

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Does he have other income from annuities, investments, or survivor benefits that were impacted by the pandemic? From what I've heard, because SSI was not impacted, retirees do not qualify for the $1,200 checks. I'm not sure if that changes should they also claim dependents or head of household.

Proformance said:

Does he have other income from annuities, investments, or survivor benefits that were impacted by the pandemic? From what I've heard, because SSI was not impacted, retirees do not qualify for the $1,200 checks. I'm not sure if that changes should they also claim dependents or head of household.

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It wouldn’t make a difference. From the below article:

The checks, which are nontaxable, will be based on 2019 tax returns if they’ve already been filed (though the deadline has been delayed to July 15), and for those who have yet to send in their returns, 2018 figures. The checks are based on all income, which means retirees, Social Security and those who claim other benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income, are eligible.

The Internal Revenue Service said earlier this month people who claim Social Security will not need to file a tax return and that the government will use their Form SSA-1099 statements to generate the payments.”