You manage 40 vendors on a Saturday in May. You should not be managing your tax return in April with nothing left in the bank. We map seasonal cashflow, capture every site visit and destination trip, and get the inventory off Schedule C the right way.
Event planning is a busy six months, a quiet six months, and a tax return that does not match either. Most planners misclassify vendors, lose track of mileage between venues, never set up a section 530 safe harbor for assistants, and pay quarterly estimates as if revenue were level when it isn't.
Site visits, tastings, mock-ups, the wedding itself. Travel away from your tax home for ordinary business purposes is fully deductible. Lodging actual cost, M&IE per diem at GSA rates, mileage at the standard rate. We separate the personal-extension days so a 4-day Cabo trip with a 2-day wedding doesn't get the whole trip disallowed.
IRC §162(a)(2), §274(d); Rev. Proc. 2019-48Centerpieces, linens, signage, arches, draping, lighting effects, dance floors. Items used more than one year are depreciable assets eligible for §179 or bonus depreciation. Linens and signage that are short-lived are supplies. Rental inventory used for multiple events follows a different rule. We classify each bucket so nothing gets capitalized that shouldn't be.
IRC §179, §168(k), §263A (rental property)Florists, DJs, photographers, calligraphers, day-of assistants paid $600+ each get a 1099-NEC. Venues do not (real estate). Corporations do not. We collect W-9s up front, issue forms by January 31, and clean up the prior-year files that got marked corporation by guess. Penalties run $310 per form when they catch it.
IRC §6041; §6721; Form 1099-NEC instructionsA Florida planner shooting a wedding in Asheville, Vegas, or Tulum may owe nonresident income tax in the host state, sales tax on tangible decor delivered, and registration on payroll if assistants travel with you. We map your annual event calendar to state nexus rules so you only file where you actually owe.
P.L. 86-272 (limits); state nexus statutesDeposits land in Q1 and Q4, events cluster in Q2 and Q3, expenses pile up alongside. We use the annualized income installment method on Form 2210 Schedule AI so you don't overpay Q1 estimates and starve cash during slow months, and don't underpay later and trigger penalties.
IRC §6654(d)(2); Form 2210, Schedule AIOnce you clear about $130K of net profit, the S-Corp election typically pays for itself. We benchmark reasonable comp against BLS 13-1121 (meeting and convention planners) for your state and book of business, then route the rest as distribution free of self-employment tax.
IRC §1362; §1402(a); Watson v. USFull-service wedding planner, $180K revenue, $135K net 2024, 22 weddings, 4 of them destinations. We elected S-Corp for 2024, moved to GSA per diem for destination travel, ran §179 on rebuilt decor inventory, and corrected three years of misclassified vendor 1099s.
$13,000 savedSE tax savings from the S-Corp split plus federal savings on additional travel and §179 deductions at marginal rate. State savings on top. Penalty exposure on the corrected 1099s avoided.