North Carolina Sales Tax for Photographers

by Tiffany BastianDec 31, 2020Sales Tax

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To begin you have to ask yourself 3 questions…

DEFINITIONS

let’s first take a look at what each of these sale tax terms means so that you can understand how it pertains to Photographers in North Carolina.
These definitions are laid out below.

👉NEXUS

So, what’s nexus? The term “nexus” is used in tax law to describe a situation in which a business has a tax presence in a particular state. A nexus is basically a connection between the taxing authority and a business that must collect or pay the tax. It’s possible to have nexus in more than one state especially if you travel to another state to shoot. So you want to be sure you understand the laws of each state you work in.

👉SOURCE

The source indicates where the sales are taxed.

Origin-sourced sales are taxed where the seller is located, so this is based on your zip code.
Destination-sourced sales are taxed at the location where the buyer takes possession of the item sold.

Also, keep in mind if the client picks up tangible goods from your location or studio, this is the point where the transaction happens. If you mail or ship to the client, it will be by their zip, not yours.

👉PHYSICAL GOODS

Any physical products sold to a client, items you can touch and hold like prints, albums, frames, etc…

👉DIGITAL GOODS

These are digital items delivered electronically via telephone lines, over the internet, by email, or by another alternative form of non-physical transmission.
Beware of digital prints delivered on a physical device such as a thumb drive or CD as these are no longer digital and are now considered physical because you can touch them.
Services are anything needed to produce the end product, such as shooting, editing, culling, touchup, etc…

👉SERVICES

Services are anything needed to produce the end product, such as shooting, editing, culling, touchup, etc…

👉SHIPPING

This is any shipping charged by you to your client. Third parties such as album companies who dropship or online
galleries where clients can order prints will take care of their own shipping. But if you charge your client shipping,
this is where the shipping rules in this guide apply to you.

North Carolina Sales Tax for Photographers

Below are the sales tax requirements for Photographers in North Carolina broken out. You will find supporting links and resources at the bottom of this post.

✅North Carolina Nexus

Physical presence; providing service in person, having a physical location, a warehouse, inventory, traveling salespeople or representatives, attending trade shows, or taking orders or deposits in person.

✅North Carolina Source

North Carolina uses destination-based sales tax; this means the tax rate is based on the zip code of the buyer’s address or where the buyer took possession of the final goods.

✅North Carolina Physical Goods

North Carolina imposes sales tax on physical/tangible goods.

✅North Carolina Digital goods

North Carolina categorizes digital photos as taxable digital property so you must also collect sales tax on digital items.

✅North Carolina Services

Gross receipts from sales of photographs, including all charges for developing or printing by commercial or portrait photographers or others, are subject to sales tax, including sitting fees.