July Meetup: Blogger Legal Issues

We had the pleasure to have Attorney Jason Rosen and accountant Danny Diaz de la Rocha at our July Meetup sharing some of their best advices regarding basic accounting and copyright principles for creatives. A lot of our members were able to answer a lot of their questions and get more clear on what to look out on your blog-business finances.

Before we get into any more detail, we have to thank the beautiful people at Cibo Wine Bar on South Beach! They provided us with the best service, and the most delicious brunch, filled with everything from manchego cheese and chorizo, to Nutella waffles. Specially for the sparkly mimosa that paired perfectly with the Miami weather!

Now, back on track. Jason and Danny talked about a lot of things, and answered a lot of the questions, creating awareness on the importance of being on top of your blog’s finances and accounting. Also, how important it is to actually get professional help, since we do not want to make mistakes when filling our taxes with the IRS or encounter a uncomfortable situation of being sued for breach of contract.

These are some of the things we learned:

• You need to know whats deductible and not deductible for tax purposes. This depends on your line of business and what you are showcasing with the intent to sell.
• Anything that it ordinary, necessary, reasonable and with the intent to sell, is deductible (for tax filing purposes).
• Personal expenses are not deductible.
• If you run a blog as a hobby, no expense is deductible.
• If you have income 3 out of 5 years, your blog is not a hobby.
• The most important thing is that you keep records of everything, specially losses.  Your calendar can also support your record keeping.
• For the IRS, anything that you receive (even if it’s free) is an income.
• Any expense that is business incurred, can be deducted.
• If you want to earn money through your blog, you should consider making it official (open a business, corporation, LLC, depending on your needs).
• Get professional help. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

We definitely learned a lot from them last weekend, and we hope to them back soon.

See you next meetup!