What tour travel records should a self-employed musician keep?
Published · Updated · Clef
Keep your gig agreement, itinerary, carrier invoice, final hotel bill and payment evidence together for each trip. If a promoter covers part of the cost or you add personal travel, record what changed and who paid. The records should let your accountant trace each charge to a business purpose and see which amounts still need review.
Which travel costs does the CRA discuss for a music business?
The CRA’s T4002 guide discusses travel costs incurred to earn business or professional income, including public transportation fares and hotel accommodation. For a Canadian sole proprietor, the connection to the work matters. Save the booking agreement or confirmation alongside the receipts so the date and destination tie back to a paid performance, session or other business activity.
This guide focuses on lodging and passenger fares. Your personal vehicle log and meal records answer different questions. Keep them with the trip when they apply, but set them out separately for review using the related driving and meal guides.
What should go in the trip folder?
Start with a dated itinerary listing each city, show and travel leg. Record the traveller, the purpose of the trip and the agreement reference. When you make a change, save the updated itinerary and any fare adjustment or refund notice. The original booking can help explain a charge that no longer matches the final route.
Save the carrier invoice with its route and fare details. For lodging, ask for the final itemized hotel bill at checkout. A booking confirmation shows what you reserved. The final bill can show charges that changed during the stay, including an extra night or items that need to be split out. Keep the payment evidence with each supplier document so the reviewer can match both sides.
How do you document a two-show trip with shared costs?
Constructed example in CAD: a musician takes the train for two booked shows and pays $126 for the fare. The final hotel bill totals $360, with two show nights at $120 each and a third $120 night added for a personal visit. The promoter’s settlement shows a separate $100 contribution toward lodging.
Keep the full bill and mark which nights relate to the shows. Save the settlement beside it and identify the payment or deposit the contribution belongs to. If the promoter included it in a larger payment, note the settlement line rather than assuming the deposit amount tells the whole story. Hand the original amounts and their links to your accountant. The example illustrates the evidence trail and does not calculate a deduction or decide how to account for the contribution.
| Record | What it explains |
|---|---|
| Carrier invoice and payment | $126 fare, traveller and route between gig dates |
| Hotel bill and itinerary | Two $120 show nights and one $120 personal night |
| Promoter settlement | Separate $100 lodging contribution and its payment reference |
How can you leave a review trail in Clef?
For a trip cost already recorded in Clef, use the optional Receipt / Reference # field to identify the supplier bill. Use Internal Notes to point to the itinerary and record any change, personal portion or organiser contribution that needs review. The expense editor includes both fields in the submitted expense record. Keep the original documents with your supporting records.
Before the handoff, compare your trip list with the records you already entered. If the same charge appears on an imported statement and in an expense you created, flag it for review before making another entry. List unresolved items with the name of the supplier or promoter and the evidence you are waiting for.
What else should I know?
What if the hotel only sent a booking confirmation?
Ask for the final itemized bill and keep the booking confirmation and proof of payment. Note which parts are still unsupported until the bill arrives.
What if the promoter booked and paid for the room?
Save the agreement or settlement showing who covered lodging. Check your own records before treating any room charge as an amount you paid.
How should I record a cancelled or changed ticket?
Retain the original invoice, change confirmation and refund or credit notice. Note the amounts and dates so the reviewer can tie them to the relevant transactions.
What if personal plans changed the return fare?
Save the revised itinerary and supplier records. Explain the personal change and flag the fare for review instead of applying an unsupported percentage.