I've booked my first wedding (woohoo!). Since it's my first solo wedding (I haven't done any weddings yet, but I'll have assisted in at least 2 by the time the date rolls around in September) I offered to shoot for free and give them a CD of images. Anyway, they've asked me to cover the rehearsal dinner and wedding, and offered to pay for a hotel since it's a couple hours away from me. Actually, they offered to pay more than that, but I'm not comfortable yet accepting it.

So now that I've rambled on (as I post more you'll notice I tend to do that), my question is on sales tax and travel fees. I've noticed on a couple of sample contracts that travel fees are listed in charges BEFORE sales tax, and therefore I assume are taxed. I know it varies from state to state, but can anyone explain this to me, and tell me in general if I need to charge sales tax for travel expenses? It seems like if all I charge are actual travel costs, and then charge the client sales tax, the government would somehow be getting twice the money - the tax I pay on gas/hotel/whatever, plus the sales tax from the client. Does that make sense, or am I totally wrong? I think taxation of any sort could probably slide on this one (since I"m not charging really for my services/end product, and don't exactly have my sales tax ID yet), but I definitely want to get stuff right in the future. Don't worry, I plan on seeing an accountant before I get too far into things!

The answer varies based on where you are. In California, you have to pay tax on any goods, and services that contribute (even remotely) to the creation of a good. You also get to subtract any sales tax you pay on supplies used to create the good. So, in California, if the sales tax was already paid on the gas, hotel, etc., and you're only accepting the actual amount as reimbursement with zero markup, then there shouldn't be anything extra to pay. You definitely need to check with someone in your area, though.

In Florida, I'm pretty sure (but not SURE) that service are not taxed. For instance, legal fees do not incur a tax. I think the standard is whether or not the "package" includes goods. If so, you must charge sales tax on the entire package.

With the travel fee, simply list that as a seperate line item in your contract (we have a section dedicated to it), and exclude it from the taxable portion.

So if your package was $10 (for example), and the travel fee was $2, it would look like this:

Package = $10.00
Sales Tax = $0.75 (based on 7.5%)
Travel Fee = $2.00 (non-taxable)
-------------------------
$12.75 due

Good luck!
~ Charles

Photographic services are taxed. You can see it here at the Florida Department of Revenue site.

Thanks for your input guys! I think you all pretty much confirmed what I thought. In KY you have to pay tax on services that contribute to a tangible good, but no mention was made specifically on travel fees. Sounds like a trip to the accountant for me!