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Photographers who take portraits and sell the photos to their customers are generally required to collect sales tax from the customer on all charges, including sitting fees, travel reimbursements, touch up fees, and any other cost passed on to the customer. This is true whether the portraits are delivered as finished prints, are made available for download from a server, or are delivered to the customer on a CD or other tangible medium.
Business and Occupation Tax: Portrait photographers report their gross income under the Retailing B&O tax classification when selling photographs to the end user.
Retail Sales Tax: The photographer must collect and remit sales tax on all charges to the customer.
Sitting Fees: Sitting fees charged by a portrait photographer are subject to sales tax and the Retailing B&O tax. See the “Sitting Fees” discussion in this guide for more information.
Sourcing Your Portrait Sales: Sales of prints are sourced to the location where the customer receives the prints. See “Collecting Sales Tax – Local Tax Rates” in this guide for more information.
