Taxes for Wedding photographers? Can you recommed a book

Hello can anyone please recommend a book for business taxes. I am not sure what

deductions I can and cant take. Thank you

Forget the book, contact an accountant. This is both the safest and smartest way, even if it costs you a few extra dollars.

If you insist on a book, go to Amazon.com, type in accounting and read people's reviews...or better, go to an accountant.

Depends on where you are located, answers vary and no one book will likely give you the answers. There are local (city, state - sometimes county(usually in the form of a permit)), Federal, potential taxes when shooting in a different state, Sales taxes, etc. Visit your local SBA (Small Business Administration), they can be very helpful, and talk to an accountant.

 

http://www.sba.gov/

Hi Candie,

 

Taxes for business are specific to your location. You may want to google your area, check

to see if seminars are offered by your government on taxes to help you. Find an

accountant who knows small business taxes, as well as areas such as state, county and city

sales tax.

 

My wife is a CPA well versed in Gifts, Estates and taxes pertaining to those and not as

familiar with other tax areas.

 

Hope this helps you.

If you want the definitive answers, bookmark <a href="http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html">http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html</a>, the IRS forms and instructions page. There's also a 'Businesses' button on the menu that takes you to a wonderfully strange world full of deductions and amortizations.<p>Also, work through the tutorial about <a href="http://www.irs.gov/publications/p535/ch01.html">Deducting Business Expenses</a>. That's where your CPA is going to be getting her answers.<p>

RAND THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU =)

Here is an old thread. I also recall that some time in the past Anne Almasy gave a link to a site similar to this. Can't find it now.

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00JYqP

Thank you Nadine great link :-)

Candie; if a real business about all is deductable. If a hobby the IRS gets excited if the goals are deductions for the hobby business; when there are nil profits for years. Some books and the internet and IRS forms and an accountant can help :). An accountant is a good thing to have. Having a deep understanding of how taxes work and what are expenses is a good thing too. Just because something is deductable doesnt mean its going to help your business grow or turn a profit. Maybe lens caps are on sale and you buy a 1000 year supply. you might be able to deduct these; but not use them to pay the light bill or gasoline; memory cards or cameras. An audit by the tax auditors is as fun as a cavity search. The stuffy accountants might not known beans about making money; inkjet printer clogging; shooting a wedding. They can be good about record keeping; what is deductable; required tax deposits; required employee withholdings. If you learn a few things by a single book the money is well spent. Dont forget the books. Running a successful business requires some street sense; watching the ball; constant feedback; making mistakes and learning from them; plus a hussle factor.

Kelly Flanigan's answer is a good one: if your biz is legit, most of your legitimate business expenses are deductible on your schedule C. (I'm assuming that a photographer would be a sole proprietor or LLC that would use schedule C to report business profit and loss.) I would not dare say "do not use an accountant." But I will say that I have seldom used one in any of the small businesses that I have been involved in. What you DO need (at least until a majority in Congress gets the courage to reform the tax code) is HELP. But that help can come in the form of tax books, and nowadays, the tax software available is so good that I don't bother with the books any more.

 

A few key recommendations:

 

1. Make sure your photography business uses a separate bank account. Everything you get paid for photography goes INTO that account, and ONLY what you get paid for photography goes into that account. All your photography expenses (new lenses, etc) are pd by that account and that account is used ONLY for these business expenses (no groceries, for example, unless you're buying doughnuts for the crew on the shoot).

 

2. Make sure you have receipts for everything business related. Throw 'em in a shoe box if that's the best you can do but keep 'em.

 

3. Use a computer program to track all your business money, in and out, and stay on top of things. If you've got it in a good database (say, Quicken or something similar) it's easy to get it out for quarterly reports and doing your annual taxes.

 

4. Pay your quarterly tax on time and keep the IRS happy (and save yourself money on late payment penalties).

 

5. If you hire help, even part time, be absolutely scrupulous about handling payroll tax payments. This is even more important than doing your own tax accounting properly. If you're managing tax deposits for an employee, you have a special responsibility not to screw up and the IRS pays special attention to this.

candie - try this: best business practices for photoragphers by harrington. if you don't have it, you should get it anyway.

 

I don't know a book specifically about business taxes. the IRS has a lot of hlepful guides. basically, the standard as I understand it is if the expense is something like 'necessary' and 'reasonable' in the industry, it is deductible - but not always by the same amount (eg. entertaining clients is not fully deductible, but the mileage traveling to a client meeting is).

Plus, for record keeping, find a small notebook and keep it in your vehicle. Every time you go to the lab, go to the post office, go to a wedding .... write down the mileage. At the end of the year, you will have *something* to help with your income taxes (and yes, you need to keep a mileage log if the IRS ever decides to go over your tax return.)

 

 

 

You could try a Google search: there should be a few books for self-doing your income taxes.

Candie, to answer your specific question, no there is not a single book dealing with

business taxes as others have noted. The advice re the IRS web site is a good one as is

some of the other advice. However, do not assume that as long as an expense is legitimate

that it is deductible. That is not always true. For example, country club dues are not

deductible as a business expense. Driving expenses are not always deductible. For

example, say you had a studio 3 miles from your home. Your commuting expenses to and

from the studio (including parking fees, if any) would not be deductible. Deductions for

business use of a home is another potential minefield.

 

So, you are on the right track wanting to research business taxes. Also, keep in mind you

will need to look into state taxes as well as local taxes. In the beginning, your taxes can be

pretty simple. However, at some point (earlier the better) you will benefit from the advice

of a qualified CPA. I would avoid a storefront tax accounting service. What Kelly was

describing above applies more to the storefront accountant than a professional CPA.

 

While you are on the IRS site, you can apply for a tax id (EIN) number for your business.

Unless you are going to register with the state as a single member LLC, you wold apply for

a sole proprietor number. As a sole proprietor, you technically do not need an EIN, but it is

good to have in case a supplier needs a tax id number. IF you don't have it, you'll have to

provide your social security number.

 

Good luck and have fun.

A few publications from www.nolo.com have helped me understand business structures, taxes, and tax exemptions more clearly. They have various sections, some applicable, others not.