The importance of being in business and being a business owner, while in the photography industry. If you don't know your numbers you don't know your business, accounting, bookkeeping and tax planning are importance aspects to your business and growth. Tax tips to consider: ownership structure, hobby or business, taxes to pay, income expenses, cost of goods, etc.

1. Tax Tips for
Photography & Videography

2. Who Am I
Hello, I’m LaQuitta Jones, a tax accountant
with Terrell Tax & Planning, LLC, Atlanta’s
premier small business tax accounting firm,
where I specialized in maximizing profit and
minimizing tax.
Thank you for your time, I wanted to share
with you some tax tips for the photography /
videography industry.
Numbers are my passion, however, I do
understand that most in any creative
environment or business owners as a whole,
do not share in this passion, and did not
become a business owner to rumble with
numbers but to share their gifts (services)
and creations (products).

3. The Photography industry which includes videography,
has experienced change after change as digital
cameras and postproduction technologies continue to
increase.
The
Business of
Photography
To survive the tidal wave of technology, photographers
have to increase their efficiency and availability, as well
as focus on niche markets, such as commercial,
weddings, events, fashion, sports, etc. Despite
technology, the photography industry is a $10B industry,
and is expected to improve slightly in the next five years.

4. Here’s Some Things To Consider…

5. Your business requires you to “focus” on pictures
not accounting, taxes or numbers…
HOBBY vs. BUSINESS
These days everyone has a camera and video
recorder, whether via smartphone or personal
digital camera. However, owning a camera and
snapping shots is very different than creating
professional pictures and running a business.
When one goes the professional route, they are no
longer fulfilling the desires of their hobby. This is an
extremely important fact to consider: Hobby or
Business? The IRS states the difference is a
“profit motive”, once profit (income – expense), is
earned, you are a business.

6. Hobby or Business, is not something that
is forced on you by Uncle Sam, you are
allowed to decide, so ask yourself:
1. Do I earn money by providing services?
2. Do I spend money to provide services?
3. How much time do I spend on my
work?
4. Do I possess the knowledge to operate
a business?
5. Do I seek ways to earn a profit with my
services?

7. Once you decide to make a profit and do
business, whether a freelancer or
business / studio owner, you must
conduct yourself differently.
Earning a profit is important to a business,
however, it should not be the only concern.
When you began to make financial
transactions, such as
purchasing equipment, creating invoices,
traveling to photo-shoots, etc., as a
freelance photographer, videographer or
business owner, you must maintain an
accurate account of the details
surrounding each transaction, such as
receipts, invoices, bills, etc., this is the
process of bookkeeping.

8. Accounting for me is fun, I love it, dealing with
paperwork, tons of numbers and analyzing reports,
is my passion. However, for you it doesn’t have to
be a love but neither does it have to be stressful or
exhausting. Accounting and taxes will be a huge
function of your business, so getting familiar and
comfortable with them will make your business life,
well less taxing.
While you will come to love the freedom
that comes along with being in business
for yourself, the process required to
maintain the business or better yet grow
it, takes precision, strategic decision
making, knowledge of what you are doing
in business as well as how you’re doing it.

9. Here’s what you need to know about accounting
to run your photography business.
1.Choose your ownership structure, the next most
important step after deciding whether you have a
hobby or business. Your choices are:
• Sole Proprietor – Most common for freelancers
• Partnership – If you’re operating with another
person
• Corporation – to eliminate personal liability
There are pros and cons to each, one of the biggest
mistakes a business owner can make initially is
choosing a structure that isn’t advantageous to
business growth. Please consult a professional,
prior to deciding your ownership structure.

10. Quick note: Once you begin earning a profit of more
than $50,000, consider converting to a "S"
corporation in order to eliminate your self
employment tax, this structure put the responsibility
of your retirement, social security and medicare, in
your hands. There are pros and cons, of course,
more paperwork involved, but the tax savings are
enormous and worth the increased complexity.
Please consult a professional prior.

11. 2. Next, your financial records provide an accurate
picture of your income and expenses, maintain them
in an organized folder filing system, while
consistently, inputting them into a properly setup
accounting system, ideally once a week, for 2-3
hours.

12. Knowing where your business stands financially is
the key to small business success, if you don’t know
your numbers, you don’t know your business. The
goal is to know exactly how much you make and
spend each month in your business.
Many photographers underestimate how much
money realistically is required to operate a business,
understanding the cost and benefit (how much you
could earn) from basics such as, equipment, lighting,
studio space, travels, marketing, printing, utilities,
etc. are often overlooked but are just as essential to
your business as your camera.

13. Quick Note:
One bit of bookkeeping that trip many in this
industry, is recording deposits or retainers. If a
deposit or retainer is non-refundable, it needs to be
tallied as income for the year in which you receive it.
So for all those summer weddings booked in the
winter, make sure
you have your
years correctly
marked.

14. In addition to income, your expenses and other spending must
constantly be on your mind.
3. Here are typical expenses for photographers and videographers:
• Book, magazines, reference material
• Legal and professional fees
• Business meals and entertainment
• Cabs, subways, buses
• Memberships (professional organizations)
• Film developing/processing
• Messengers, private mail carriers, postage
• Gas and electric
• Internet/web site
• Stylists/makeup
• Tax preparation
• Telephone
• Business Insurance
• Equipment
• Film Supplies
• Mortgage interest/taxes
• Office supplies
• Promotion
• Props
• Software
• Staff fees
• Studio rent
• Studio supplies
• Travel
The business portion of these will be deductible, lowering your
overall tax payment in the end.

15. DEDUCTING TRAVEL EXPENSES
Traveling will be a big part of your engagements, expenses
incurred, can be written off against the income you earn
and will lower your tax obligations. Such as, gas, flights
and lodging expenses. Items you pay for but are
reimbursed by your client are not allowed to be written
off.

16. As far as your vehicle, there are two
ways to record expenses, first, track
your miles and multiply them by the
IRS standard mileage rate. Then,
track various automobile expenses,
including insurance, repairs and
maintenance and multiply the total
amount by the percentage of
business usage. (i.e. you drive your
car 80% of the time for personal
usage and 20% for business, you
would total your vehicle insurance
and multiply by 20%). These rules
and laws change annually, seek the
advice of a professional prior to preparing your own taxes.

17. DEDUCTING YOUR OFFICE OR STUDIO SPACE
As a photographer / videographer the world is your
playground, from
nature, reception halls, to
rented studios, your craft is
used everywhere. But when
you use an indoor space,
such as a studio or office it
can be expensed at the end
of the year, along with
telephone and utilities you
pay. Yes, even if it is your
home, you are allowed to deduct a portion of your
mortgage, rent and utility payments.

18. Meals and Entertainment
One misconception about this expense,
is that most business owners think they
can deduct all of their meals, any time they have one
during business hours.
This is not true, there has to be a direct relation-to and
necessary purpose for the meal, such as a business
meeting with a client or potential client, traveling away
from home, and things of this nature. Also, Uncle Sam
does not give full write-off for food, it’s treated
differently than other expense, you can get 80% or 50%
of the cost as an expense. Please consult a professional
to decipher this for you.

19. 4. Taxes for photographers and videographers can be a
confusing / tricky situation, where an error can not only be
costly but illegal and for that reason, I will not go into the
ins and outs, the do’s and don’ts simply because the goal of
this presentation is to remove as much confusion
concerning your operations as possible.
Some taxes you should pay close
attention to are:
Income – (Federal and State)
Sales and Use – (In some instances and states)
Payroll – If you have employees
Self Employment – When you earn $400 or more in profit
Business License – Require to operate as a business

20. Finally, your main goal is to stay focus and
create amazing images…
MAINTAINING THE FOCUS
As a business owner, there are many
things to consider, without having to
factor in accounting and taxes.
Indeed, as a wedding photographer you want to spend
most of your time focusing on what you do best:
meeting and coordinating with clients and, of course,
capturing beautiful pictures. That sure beats constantly
having to look over your shoulder for Uncle Sam.

21. The above is just the tip of the iceberg whether you are
in business as an owner and or freelancer; however,
they serve the purpose of providing you direction on
being successful in the industry you love.
Small business success, is another passion of mine,
you’re success is my success; my company goal is to
be of value to you and help entrepreneurs and small
businesses do big business.
Thank you again for being proactive with your business
and finances, good luck and best wishes with all your
future endeavors, now go grow that business…

22. Call To Action:
So if you agree accounting is and should be an important
aspect of your business, your next steps should be:
1. Get a “Free Consultation” from an accountant
call (404) 720-4232 or email: laquitta@terrelltaxandplanning.com
2. Keep accurate, timely records of each transaction
you make in your business.
3. Select an efficient financial record keeping system
(software), that you understand and will keep updated
regularly.
“Numbers Don’t Lie, People Do”, You Should Know Where Your Business Stands Financially…
Terrell Tax & Planning, LLC
www.terrelltaxandplanning.com
(404) 720-4232