Can a theater owner write off the use of his theater for a benefit screening?

Question

Additionally, tickets will indeed be sold for this event. The studio takes something like 80% of ticket sales during the movie's first week of release. So, whatever documentation he submits to the studio along with their cut for that night, should he also request a receipt (if he doesn't get one already)... or something that can be submitted along with his taxes. All we want to recoup is the ticket sales for one showing... that way the entire ticket price can go to the non-profit organization. Thanks for all of your help... organizing this exact type of event is something new for the both of us.

Perhaps, as a couple of you mentioned, this will only work if the theater owner pays out of the theater's own pocket when it comes time to share profits with the studio. This gets complicated. Grrr. I don't want him to have to pay anything out... but I don't want the charity to miss out either (by having to take a cut from the ticket price). And as great of a relationship I have with the studio, they can't budge on charging him for that night... so far.

Answer 1

The owner can only deduct the out of pocket expenses he incurs in using the theater for the benefit screening.

Answer 2

Not as a charitable contribution. However it is indirectly written off as a business expense. The benefit produces no gross receipts from ticket sales but all of the operating expenses for the show are being reported, in effect showing a loss for that event.

Answer 3

No, BS is correct. The reason is that the building is being depreciated and that is already being taken into account. This will include the cost of employees for the benefit screening.

Answer 4

Lost Revenue is never a deduction.

As stated above, only actually out of pocket expenses would be deductible as normal.