Speaking of sales tax...

[Nill Toulme]

I have been under the vague impression (which has not been of real importance to me but will soon become so) that sales of photographs by the photographer are essentially sales of services, the "stuff" of which is incidental, and therefore not subject to sales tax. Right, wrong, or depends on the state?

Nill
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www.toulme.net

[Scott B. Hughes]

Hi Nil,

In my state, a photograph is a tangible item subject to our general excise tax.

The "service" aspect of our business is also taxed at the same rate as a candy bar, a shovel at Home Depot, etc.

Most of our sales are shipped out of state, so we do not have to collect and pass along the tax to the state.

When we work for a "wholesaler" of our work, we collect a much smaller rate (0.5%) rate.

I would suggest consulting a CPA for the ins and outs of your state and local laws. -Scott

[Nill Toulme]

Thanks Scott. That's exactly what I'll do.

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net

[Sean DeMerchant]

I have been under the vague impression (which has not been of real importance to me but will soon become so) that sales of photographs by the photographer are essentially sales of services, the "stuff" of which is incidental, and therefore not subject to sales tax. Right, wrong, or depends on the state?

This stuff varies from state to state so what is true here may be untrue there. Oregon has no sales tax (but has income tax) while Washington has no income tax but has sales tax (not charged on orders bought out of State IIRC). While Illinois has both income tax and high sales taxes.

I would suggest consulting a local lawyer who knows the code where you are at.

IIRC, here in Washington you need a business license and the resulting tax ID number. This lets you sell products and collect tax. It also allows you to purchase goods wholesale if you will be reselling them and charging/collecting taxes.

When I checked your website a while ago I got the impression you were just giving away photos as a gift for donations to athletic organizations so you may be (I would hope) tax exempt on that. But I am not a lawyer and do not know.

enjoy,

Sean

[Nill Toulme]

All good advice and a perspicacious observation as to my website. As of January 1 though I will be going semi-pro (meaning I will no longer be giving all of it away), so I figured I'd better start paying attention to this sort of thing.

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net

[Kathy Rappaport]

In California we have to charge sales tax on the photograph if we sell it. If we do a wedding or an event, and the charge includes say an album and photos, there is sales tax on the whole thing. If we charge just for shooting and transmit the images over the internet and no tangible property passes (no disk) there is no sales tax.