David Hendley on wed 31 mar 99
I'm finally getting around to filling out my tax forms.
Those not interested in American tax forms can delete now.
As an avowed generalist and do-it-yourselfer, I sure do hate
picking out one thing that I do, giving it a number and putting on
a tax form.
Let's see, I make pottery, so my number must be
327100, "Clay product & refractory mfg.".
I guess that would put me in the same catagory as AP Green,
or whoever bought them out, and Dal-tile.
But wait, I also sell what I make, so I must be a reatiler, maybe
number 453920, "Art Dealers". That would put me in there with
the New York art dealers and Southeby's.
Maybe, it's a stretch to call my humble pottery "art", so I must be
a number 453220, "Gift, novelity, & souvenir stores". I wonder
how my return will compare to the gift shop at the statue of
liberty store?
Hold on, I also wholesale a good bit of what I make. That will
send me over to "Wholesale trade". I can't find anything there
relating to pottery or ceramics, so I guess I would fit in under
"other miscellaneous". Oh oh, should it be 421990, "Other
miscellaneous durable goods", or 422990, "Other miscellaneous
non durable goods"? Well, pottery's pretty durable, some of it's
been around for thousands of years. But I've also dropped some
pieces while unloading the kiln. Not too durable.
Maybe I'm giving too much importance to manufacturing and
selling. I do have an art degree, after all. Let's look in "Arts,
Entertainment,
& Recreation". There it is, right below "Gambling industries", number
711510, "Independent artists, writers, & performers". Great, I also
write. I guess now I'll be in the same catagory as Jerry Seinfeld.
I wonder how my tax return will compare to his?
Let's see, what else. I did spend several months last year building
a new kiln and kiln shed. That would put me in "Construction". I also
spent some time digging and collecting clay and glaze materials. Maybe
number 212300, "Nonmetallic mineral mining"? I also did some
teaching and workshops, how about "Educational Services"?
Then there's always number 999999, "Unclassified establishments
(unable to classify)". Sound good to me.
Seriously, a while ago Bonnie mentioned the new codes and suggested
that the code number you put on your schedule C is important, as
it puts you in a class where your return is compared to others in the
same class.
Does anyone have any thoughts about this?
Bonnie, If you have a few minutes this time of year, what do you
recommend for potters?
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
hendley@tyler.net
http://www.farmpots.com
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