I Fixed Tax Day!
(Well at Least I Found Us Some Deductions)
It’s just one month until our taxes are due, and this time of year can be a big wet blanket sogging our creative spirits.
I’ve noticed this for a few years and I’ve been working on it. I’m pleased to report, I have a mindset change that is working better than Turbo Tax.
I’m turning tax day into a stARTistic holiday — a day to reboot, restore, and re-fun my decisions for the year.
Starting with fun facts: Laughter is deductible! Creativity is deductible!
Disclaimer: I don’t have any financial guru letters behind my name, so maybe consult your accountant. But I have survived four+ decades of taxation with no audits and honestly if that isn’t expertise, tell me what is.
Bottom line: things that help you make more money are deductible on your taxes. And most people miss out on deductions because they forget this. For example, you know what is scientifically proven to help you be more successful at jobs and money making? Creating and laughing.
It’s called professional development, Karen. (And I say that as a Becky.) Things that help us do our jobs and make more money to pay more taxes should not get taxed. That would be double taxation or something.
So, armed with this knowledge, consider the things that can now be paid for with your business account:
A creativity retreat. Here’s a big list.
An art class. Art lessons make you a better employee and leader, and I have receipts. Art classes improve cognitive abilities, increase emotional intelligence, boost productivity, and more, depending on the art form.
An improv class. Employers actually LOVE seeing this on resumes. Do a search of local and online courses. Just reading the course descriptions will make you say “yes, and.”
A comedy show. Watching live comedy boosts creativity, memory and problem solving skills. And of course laughter, no matter how you get it, releases neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins — all feel-good chemicals that reduce stress and improve cognitive function.
Find a show at a local comedy club, or go to an open-mic night.
If you’re in Kansas City on tax day, April 15: I’m putting on show! It’s called the Ladies Laugh Lounge, (it makes men laugh, too, so 100 percent deductible, I’m sure.) I started the show a few years ago during my “Year of Yes,” because I had to. I committed to say ‘yes’ to all ideas that fit a certain criteria while I was writing my book Start More Than You Can Finish.
During the process, I learned volumes about the power of laughter and how much creativity, laughter and stARTistry have in common. I wrote about it HERE after I went to a tax-deductible comedy writing workshop.
If you’re in Kansas City, I hope you’ll come to the Ladies Laugh Lounge — April 15th at The Funny Bone in Zona Rosa. p.m. LEARN MORE HERE.
One person who is celebrating this April 15 as a day of stARTistry is the adorable creative blonde in the top left corner, Rachel Sexton. This is her first comedy show EVER!
Every show, we feature a first-time comic, and believe me when I say, it is life changing — for all of us! These women are almost always recommended and urged by friends, because they’re natural laugh makers. But getting on a stage for four minutes is different than telling drunk stories to your besties. So these first-timers possess those essential stARTistic qualities — courage and curiosity.
What are you curious about starting? What are the ideas that want your attention? What are the projects that deserve a re-start?
What if you consider April 15 a fresh start? Or maybe it’s April 16 at midnight.
I know, I know, not everyone waits until the last minute to do their taxes, and not everyone hates tax day like I do. But to many, April 15 is what behavioral scientists call a “temporal landmark,” a good day to start new habits, take action or reset goals.
If tax day isn’t a temporal landmark for you, try one of these.
• The first day of the month
• Mondays
• The first day of spring, summer, fall, and winter
• The day of an important religious holiday
• Your birthday
• A loved one’s birthday
• The first day of school or the first day of a semester
• The first day of a new job
• The day after graduation
• The first day back from vacation
• The anniversary of your wedding, first date, or divorce
• The anniversary of the day you started your job, the day you
became a citizen, the day you adopted your dog or cat, the day
you graduated from school or university
Now go finish those taxes so you can start something fun!