Many who study with me, or other teachers, might run their own business, be a professional/speaker consultant, are singers themselves (who may or may not gig as part of their profession)… and so it’s natural to ask “are singing lessons tax deductible?” or “is voice coaching tax deductible?”.
The first answer is an instruction: It depends. You should definitely go and speak to your accountant.
The second answer is a short discussion on reasons why singing lessons/voice coaching may be tax deductible in your specific case. Again, to confirm these you should speak to your accountant.
Firstly, do you sing or make/study music for at least a portion of your living?
If so, then it is likely you can claim some or all of your singing lessons as a tax deduction. If you are a gigging musician, singer-songwriter, music teacher yourself, etc, then ongoing music tuition is a form of CPD – continuing professional development – and therefore may fall under allowable tax deductions, e.g. an allowable business expense. Again, this needs to be discussed with your accountant to be certain.
Secondly, if you do NOT sing/make music for a living, then do you use your voice professionally?
E.g. are a professional speaker, educator, consultant, or the like? If so, there is still a case to be made for a more voice coach based approach to be at least partially tax deductible. This is less certain than if you answered yes to the first question, but if you feel that the coaching you are receiving is benefitting your voice in your business related endeavours, then there may be scope for arguing for allowable tax deductions here.
If you have not answered yes to either of the above questions, then it is unlikely your singing lessons fall under professional and “for profit” activities, and fall under the scope of “hobbies”. In any case, you should definitely speak to your accountant about whether singing lessons are tax deductible in your case, as every instance is unique.
DISCLAIMER: This has not been written by a certified accountant. As such, anything contained in this article is considered to be personal opinion, and does not constitute financial advice.