Car Expenses

• You may not have a regular place of employment if you work as a professional actor. You may have to drive to various places for auditions, rehearsals and performances. You can deduct expenses for business use of your car when you drive to and from these venues. You may elect to deduct your actual expenses or you can use the standard mileage rate. The standard mileage rate is updated periodically to reflect current expenses for operating a car. The standard mileage rate for the second six months of the 2011 tax year was 55.5 cents per business mile.
  
  

Travel

• You may have to travel long distances for a performance, and in some cases you may have to spend the night. You may deduct expenses for lodging and meals when you have to stay overnight for your business. You can include such expenses as tips, dry cleaning, telephone service, Internet connection fees and other business-related expenses while traveling. You typically can only deduct 50 percent of the cost of your meals. The cost of your lodging and meals cannot be lavish or extravagant, based on the circumstances.
  
  

Performance Items

• You can deduct items that are essential to your ability to perform as an actor. This may include your stage makeup, performance and audition wardrobe, and accompaniment tracks. You may deduct costs for research, which may include the cost of tickets to see stage or film performances to enhance your craft. The items you deduct must be relevant to your career as an actor. Clothes that you purchase to wear every day and that you use for auditions will not be deductible. Performances you go to see solely for your own enjoyment are also not deductible.
  
  

Home Office

• You may not have a permanent place of business outside your home if you work as a professional actor. You can take a tax deduction for a home office, provided you use a space in your home exclusively for business. This space may include rehearsal space; storage space for your costumes or scripts; or a business area where you maintain your records, make business phone calls and market yourself.