Got a hobby that takes up the bulk of your free time? Why not make some money at it? Hobby hustles are not only attractive because they allow you to make money doing things you love, they’re also beneficial at tax time. How so? Money spent on hobbies are personal expenses and never tax deductible. But if you do the same thing with the intention of making a profit, you can deduct all of your costs as business expenses. Consider Katie, who loves to paint and spends thousands of dollars on canvases, brushes and paints each year. If she uses her paintings to adorn her walls, she’ll have a beautiful apartment. But if she lists her paintings for sale, she’s launched a profit-making enterprise. Now she can fill out a Schedule C — profit or loss from a business — and deduct those expenses on her federal tax return. Assuming she pays 25% of her income in federal tax, she saves $250 in taxes for every $1,000 she spends on art supplies. And, presumably, now that she’s selling her paintings, she’s making more income, too. Hobby hustles Better yet, popular freelance marketplaces make it easy to turn your hobby into a for-profit business without the hassle of getting a business license, creating a website, or doing a lot of marketing. We took a look at Statistica’s ranking of most popular hobbies in the U.S. and matched them with highly-ranked side hustle platforms that can make it easy to turn your hobby into a side hustle. Cooking and baking The most popular hobby in the U.S. is cooking and baking, with 38% of respondents listing this as their favorite leisure activity. And there are dozens of online platforms that can help you turn this hobby into a hustle. Some of the best: A site called EatWith can help you host paid dinner parties in your own home. You set the menu, schedule, price and number of people you can accommodate. The site advertises your meals, books reservations, and collects payment. You pay nothing for this service. The site adds a 20% commission to the client’s bill. Meanwhile, Tastemade — a media site for foodies — helps professional and amateur chefs hosts in-person and online cooking classes. Like EatWith, Tastemade invites chefs to design, price and schedule their own classes. The site simply advertises your offerings and takes a commission when they sell. If you’d prefer to cook for take-out, you can sign up with Shef or DishDivvy. Both sites invite home cooks to offer meals for pick-up or delivery. Like the other cooking sites, these expect you to design the meal; set the price; decide when you’re cooking; and package everything for pickup or delivery. Reading Reading is the nation’s second-favorite hobby with 36% of respondents saying that’s how they prefer to spend their free time. There are a couple of ways for avid readers to make money. One is to review books. U.S. Review of Books pays between $25 […]
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