The taxman cometh: A journey to financial literacy for right-brained creative types

"Would you like a Hershey's Kiss?" accountant Deb Dilworth asked me seven years ago. When I piece together this memory, it slowly crescendos from a sunny moment in time when I met this wonderful woman into remembering the frenzy that brought me to her in the first place.

Why did our paths cross again? Oh yes. I was doing my taxes.

Why did I employ her services? Oh yes. I was recovering from several years of people taking advantage of me financially and an artist income gone haywire.

Why was she offering me a Hershey's Kiss? Oh yes. That's because I was so overwhelmed with anxiety about my money situation that I had three years of back taxes sitting in boxes to the left of my bed. It shouldn't be a surprise that I ate not one, not two, but the entire glass dish of Hershey's Kisses.

"[Artists are] spending so much time polishing their craft...yet they also have to know how to run a business," says Deb, who has been preparing taxes for 17 years. Eight of those years have been spent at Artbooks, which specializes in taxes for artists. "It's not because they're incapable," she continues. "It's just an inherent fear they may have for the whole process. And when we fear something, we tend to avoid it."

For those of you unfamiliar with the process of doing taxes as a freelancer or artist, here is a basic breakdown of the enormity of the task. Unlike you lucky SOBs out there who deliver one fancy, precious T4 of your earnings with taxes already taken off, artists have to report their earnings when filing so that Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) can determine exactly how unlucky they will be. This process includes gathering the countless pay stubs you received from your countless gigs and showing all the expenses you spent in order to maintain the business of you. For me, this means days of sorting receipts into expenses such as rent, business travel and supplies, creating a profit and loss document for my accountant and crossing my fingers that the taxman won't come to get me.  And while this may seem pretty straightforward, consider the number of administrative hours you're spending finding money to actually do your art.

We already don't make a lot of money to start with, so the last thing we need is for the taxman to swoop in and to ask for more.- Ryan G. Hinds, artist

"We already don't make a lot of money to start with, so the last thing we need is for the taxman to swoop in and to ask for more," says Ryan G. Hinds, an artist who describes himself as someone who has a strong and tight relationship with his taxes. I shudder to think of the paperwork behind his earnings considering the diversity of his gigs (entertainment reporter, cabaret artist, assistant director) and the complications of his expenses (hiring dancers for his annual Pride showcases, costumes, touring fees). But he takes it all in stride. "There's a lot of glitter in being an artist, but there's also a lot of grit. This is one of the gritty things that we need to buckle up and get done throughout the year and remain positive."

To get artists to this same place of calm, Artbooks' website even gives folks a suggested process for sorting, tabulating and documentation — including ample amounts of rest between each stage. I ask Deb if this hand-holding for artists and their finances is because we're generally a less organized bunch.

"That would be a fair assumption," she says, letting out a careful giggle. "But artists are quick learners. As soon as they are given instructions, they develop a system they can follow and they figure it out just like everyone else...I mean, you're a perfect example of that."

I remember it well. A few anxiety attacks later, I got it done. I may have used up the entire paper clip supply for the province of Ontario, but I was determined to not be that client who arrives with a shoebox full of receipts and pen-scribbled notes on my forearm.

"Do you have any Cinderella stories where an artist transforms from financially illiterate to perfectly savvy?" I ask Deb.

"Oh yes, of course," she says. "[Artbooks owner] Amanda Mills actually plucks a lot of her staff from her clients. So people have gone from needing the services of Artbooks to becoming preparers and they're really great at it. It's like anything: if it interests you and you have the willingness to learn, it's not that difficult."

And it wasn't. Seven years later, I like to consider myself one of Artbooks' most cooperative and organized clients. My financial literacy is still at the level of an Archie comic book, but at least I understand how the words and the pictures go together. When I arrive at Deb's office this year, as I do every year, I aim to be her favourite, with my profit and loss document having the same detail and precision of an Escher painting. And when she offers me that Hershey's Kiss, I will take it because I deserve it.