Musician Friend bought 7K new instruments.

Musician friend bought $7000 worth of new instruments to replace his old ones in 2016.

He is semi retired in the 10% tax bracket and had some income from being a band member but thinks it is not worth the trouble to do anything.

I told him that 1. he was obligated to declare any music income on a schedule C.

1. Declare any cost associated with his music - even if he had NO income.

1. The IRS may insist on some kind of depreciation schedule - likely for more than one or two years. I have no clue what.

2. Are schedule C deductions limited to the income amount in any way - ever?

What is the simple way to handle this?

Thanks

mic