Years ago I got a piece of advice which has served me well: If you have a hobby, turn it into a business and take advantage of the tax benefits. I've been sewing my own clothes since I was a teenager.
I started making costumes because my daughter was into skating, dancing and gymnastics. The outfits are expensive, and on top of ice time, skates, and coaches, sewing was the one thing I could do to keep costs down. Besides which you spend 10 hours a week at the rink, and if you don't find your own thing to do, you can go crazy sitting on the bench with the other mothers with nothing to do. Think Dance Moms, for real.
When other parents saw my daughter's outfits, they started asking me to make outfits for their kids. I wanted to buy a serger and they're expensive so I walked into the rink and said "OK. You got me. I'll sew for your kids, and walked out of the rink with 5 orders.
This enabled me to write off my daughter's figure skating expenses and competition costs because she was the lead model on the website. I didn't start attending live events until her coach told me to start taking her to big events so she could see what it was like. After she was injured and quit skating, I continued to make costumes and started a website, thinking it would be a good source of income when I retired. I started posting online to promote the website.
So my tickets to Skate Canada are tax deductible - I'll be networking with skaters and coaches who are running kids programs at their rinks. Ditto meals and transportation. 1/3 of my rent and utilities are tax deductible on account of my sewing studio. The income from the website, and the tax deductions for expenses, increase my income by 25%. I don't do a lot of dancewear but I am adding a line of ballet leotards, giving me a potential tax deduction for attending the ballet. I try to to push the "extras" too much, but I do deduct for fabric for things other than website clothing. As a seamstress, the clothes I sew for myself are promotional.
