# Haunted Houses Legal issues IRS etc..



## Crazy2ScareU (Aug 12, 2006)

I have a question about legal issues and the IRS!!! This is our third year, we are hoping to have a profit this year..How do all of you do your books and what do you do with income on the books. we have not paid the actors the past two years all volunteer and all profit went right back into the haunt..But this year may be a profit and we may be able to even pay our actors a bit..Not sure how we go about doing this? we dont want to get into trouble with the IRS and want everything legit on paper any help would be appreciated..This is a for profit haunt we dont give anything to any charities as of yet because we have not made a profit yet maybe in the future we may give a portion of our profits to a charity of choice..


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Start with a basic question - is the haunt incorporated as a business or do you have a job and do the haunted house as a side thing?


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## hedg12 (Jul 6, 2008)

If you plan to run your haunt as a business (for profit or not), you'd probably be wise to find an accountant and a lawyer. If nothing else, at least talk to them - the few hundred you spend for a consultation could save you big in the long run. Better to do things by the book from the beginning than get stuck with a bunch of fines & back taxes a few years in.


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## imthegoddess (Feb 3, 2012)

As an Accountant (not tax) I say, get an Accountant (tax) consultation for clarification. It does not matter if you are incorporated, LLC, etc.. Bottom line, any earned income is taxable.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Talk to a lawyer and an accountant, but I'd also keep your labor as "volunteers", even if you give them honorariums (gift payments). As a volunteer group, you can't be held to minimum wage laws, but as soon as it becomes a paid position, you may n into problems from that end of things. But having all your ducks in a row so that when you do (hopefully) make a profit is a wise move, talk to the lawyer, preferably one who deals with labor law, and see what you may nee to do to keep you, your haunt, and your slave labor safe and happy from the law and from the IRS. The accountant should be able to clear up any remaining questions and also give you a heads up on what you will need to record, how things should be classified/filed, and what you may need to change or add to your working plan for your haunt business.


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## Crazy2ScareU (Aug 12, 2006)

thanks everyone, we will get in touch with and accountant and maybe an attorney...anything else we missed?


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## Crazy2ScareU (Aug 12, 2006)

I have a full time job this is a side thing, first year we had a loss second year we basically broke even and this year I look to net profit, its not a huge haunt but I do get sponsors that donate and in exchange we put them on our fliers and tshirts etc to advertise them....they are pretty much donating, not receipts etc..


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## Frighteners Entertainment (Jan 24, 2006)

good advice above.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Consider getting an accounting program (for example, Quicken, Quickbooks, Peachtree) for tracking income and expenses associated with the haunt. You can do that on a home computer and it helps keep your information organized (which your accountant will love you for).

If you get to paying your actors, they can be treated as 1099 employees, aka independent contractors. There is a good discussion and some IRS guidelines here:

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=99921,00.html


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