Re: Commercial Games - Tax Implications?

[AudioGames . net Forum — Developers room : Joseph Westhouse via Audiogames-reflector]

  


Re: Commercial Games - Tax Implications?

@EricY: In short, it really depends on how one chooses to file. Most people doing small business choose to et up their business as a pass-through corporation, where the income passes directly through to the owner(s), in which case it is taxed at the individual rate, and acts like any other income where income-based benefits are concerned. There is also the opportunity of setting up a business entity such as a Chapter C corporation, which pays its own taxes on its own income, meaning that the developers aren't directly impacted by the game proceeds, because the proceeds don't technically belong to them. The disadvantage to this option is that the corporate tax rate is significantly higher than the individual tax rate (assuming the developer isn't inordinately wealthy)—though with the new tax bill that just passed, it looks like the corporate tax rate will be going down considerably. Getting personal income out of a separate taxable entity is also not as straightforward as getting income from a pass-through. So, while I'm certainly not in a position to offer official advice, basically what I discovered was that for someone who is not concerned about their personal income going up unpredictably, setting up some sort of pass-through is the most sensible option; on the other hand, for someone who wants to be able to control how the company's profits impact their own individual income, setting up a Chapter C corporation seems more like the way to go. Other things that can complicate the decision are the number of people involved, the expected income and nature of income versus expenses, and so on. All of these are things we had to consider when deciding how to set up Out of Sight Games.

URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=343241#p343241





___
Audiogames-reflector mailing list
Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com
https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector

Re: AbleGamers Sponsoring three people for next Train Jam

[AudioGames . net Forum — Developers room : Joseph Westhouse via Audiogames-reflector]

  


Re: AbleGamers Sponsoring three people for next Train Jam

The all-access pass to GDC would be invaluable to literally anyone who is interested or actively involved in game development. And the more those of us with an interest in accessible gaming can network with people in the game industry, the better. Kudos to AbleGamers for doing this.

URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=338418#p338418





___
Audiogames-reflector mailing list
Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com
https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector

Re: tips for audio game development

[AudioGames . net Forum — Developers room : Joseph Westhouse via Audiogames-reflector]

  


Re: tips for audio game development

Aprone makes a good point. One thing we've suffered through in the development process is "mission creep"—things just kept getting bigger and bigger, and we kept putting more and more on our plates. Ian has had to remind me on several occasions that we have to keep our limitations in mind and start small. And even with those reminders, we've now been working on this game for something like four years. So in addition to Aprone's point, all I can say is, stay dedicated, keep your focus on the end goal, and always remember that everything is going to take longer and be harder than you expect.Also, take advantage of the resources available to you on this forum. Lots of wonderful, intelligent, generous people. It's really an amazing community.

URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=319000#p319000





___
Audiogames-reflector mailing list
Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com
https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector

Re: Identifying possible console audible indicators

[AudioGames . net Forum — Developers room : Joseph Westhouse via Audiogames-reflector]

  


Re: Identifying possible console audible indicators

The truth is, I'm a musician, and I still wonder how well the option of using a different pitch for each button would work. It's one thing if I know that when I hear some pitch, I need to hit some button. But to be able to hear a pitch, or even multiple pitches, in a vacuum and be able to identify which pitches they are? I don't know if it's reasonable to expect people to have that good of a sense of relative pitch. Maybe it would work better than I'm assuming—and to be fair, I don't have a better option. I just know if I know D4 is the square button and G 4 is the triangle button and you play me a D4, I might know what button to press if I have a starting reference point, but if you play me the note without any lead-up, I don't know if I'd be able to know which one it is. Does that make sense?

URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=303561#p303561





___
Audiogames-reflector mailing list
Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com
https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector

Re: Looking for motivated, hard working and ambitious Developers.

[AudioGames . net Forum — Developers room : Joseph Westhouse via Audiogames-reflector]

  


Re: Looking for motivated, hard working and ambitious Developers.

For sure. Why don't you email me through the forum, and we'll figure something out. We're still figuring this all out, ourselves, but I'm happy to be a resource if possible.

URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=300695#p300695





___
Audiogames-reflector mailing list
Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com
https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector

Re: Looking for motivated, hard working and ambitious Developers.

[AudioGames . net Forum — Developers room : Joseph Westhouse via Audiogames-reflector]

  


Re: Looking for motivated, hard working and ambitious Developers.

Hey Harison,I just want to wish you well with this. I know first-hand how challenging (and rewarding) it can be to be part of a team like this, and how much more work and time it will require than anyone on the team will expect. Be prepared for the unexpected, because I guarantee that's what you'll get. Also, I completely affirm your desire to make something blind and sighted gamers can enjoy together; that's something that's very central to what we're about at Out of Sight Games—I think it is so important for us to get away from the "either or" paradigm. So while I can't offer to help as part of the team, I just want to say that I wish you well, and that if there's any way I can be of assistance in terms of offering my perspective, or sharing my experience, or anything like that, please feel free to reach out.

URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=300689#p300689





___
Audiogames-reflector mailing list
Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com
https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector

Re: Commercial Games - Tax Implications?

[AudioGames . net Forum — Developers room : Joseph Westhouse via Audiogames-reflector]

  


Re: Commercial Games - Tax Implications?

No prob man - I wasn't expecting anyone to answer all the questions. I just thought it'd be good to have a place where we can talk about those things we wonder, pass along horror stories, and share what we've learned. This seems to be one of the sides of the audiogames business that doesn't get discussed much - perhaps because so many audiogames aren't commercially released. Obviously Ian and I are going to be meeting with our own tax pros and getting more detailed information. We'll be happy to report back. Hopefully we won't have any horror stories of our own.

URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=260063#p260063





___
Audiogames-reflector mailing list
Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com
https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector

Re: Commercial Games - Tax Implications?

[AudioGames . net Forum — Developers room : Joseph Westhouse via Audiogames-reflector]

  


Re: Commercial Games - Tax Implications?

Aprone: Right - it's not a matter of getting that money back or anything, it's just a matter of not having to pay taxes on that portion of your income. Still a plus, though, as that means a greater portion of your company's profits actually stay in the bank...So, one of the things I'm going to need to discuss with a tax guy is how personal income is figured when you're dealing with multiple developers involved in something like an LLC. Does all of the company's income count as income for one of the people involved? Or does everyone involved have a designated wage they make out of the profits, and that's all that counts as their income? If that's the case, then what happens to the rest of the profits for the game? Do they get taxed on the small-business tax, but not the personal income tax? These are the sorts of things that definitely impact groups of multiple developers working together - which is what the audio games market really n
 eeds if it's going to continue to grow in scope and quality. I'll definitely let you all know what I learn as time goes on.

URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=260047#p260047





___
Audiogames-reflector mailing list
Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com
https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector

Re: Commercial Games - Tax Implications?

[AudioGames . net Forum — Developers room : Joseph Westhouse via Audiogames-reflector]

  


Re: Commercial Games - Tax Implications?

Aprone,I'm so sorry to hear about that tax mess. My wife and I got into a similar mess, albeit much smaller, this year with the IRS - some incorrect assumptions, and some things that weren't communicated well, and next thing you know, you owe a pretty penny. Sigh.That's so strange that you could deduct materials needed for the work you did to make the gear, but not the parts that actually went into it. I wonder why that is? I guess the former are "work-related expenses" whereas the latter are just considered part of the product?I'm trying to think of any situations like that from a development side of things. Like, suppose you hire a sound designer, buy some sound packs, and buy some software to edit those sounds and put them in your game. Is the sound designer's pay deductible? The sound packs? The software? This is why tax professionals make the big bucks, I guess.

URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=259243#p259243





___
Audiogames-reflector mailing list
Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com
https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector

Re: Commercial Games - Tax Implications?

[AudioGames . net Forum — Developers room : Joseph Westhouse via Audiogames-reflector]

  


Re: Commercial Games - Tax Implications?

Thanks for sharing your experience, Aprone. It's things like the way that profits changing from year to year can mess with you which people really have to be on the lookout for.If I'm correct, once you're set up as an LLC, you should be able to deduct your expenses, is that correct? I wonder what sorts of things are or aren't counted as business expenses when it comes to developing and marketing games? Obviously that's a conversation to have with a tax professional...

URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=259184#p259184





___
Audiogames-reflector mailing list
Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com
https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector

Commercial Games - Tax Implications?

[AudioGames . net Forum — Developers room : Joseph Westhouse via Audiogames-reflector]

  


Commercial Games - Tax Implications?

Hey everyone,Obviously I'm not looking for official financial advice here. Now, with that qualification out of the way, I'm interested to hear from those of you who have released commercial games, especially in the US. What have your experiences been like, navigating the murky waters of income taxes, in regards to your games' profits? Have any of you had to deal with game profits posing a problem with any income derived through SSI/SSDI? Any experience filing as a business or LLC versus just a hobbyist? I'm just curious, as this is something we don't discuss much, but is certainly something all commercial developers must have run into. Looking forward to hearing your horror stories!

URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=259081#p259081





___
Audiogames-reflector mailing list
Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com
https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector