Ok, first things first! My current CPA sucks! It takes days for me to hear back from him, and he just seems to rush over things. I need a hand holder.

So, does anyone have a reccomendation for a CPA in NYC? Preferably Long Island?

Secondly, I recently filed for s-corp status. Still trying to learn all I need to about what that entails still. Again, a new BETTER CPA would be very helpful in this situation!

Anyway, I am getting a significant refund this year, and I decided to use the money to invest in new gear! YAY!

So, with that said, since I am now officially incorporated, and have my tax ID number, do I still pay sales tax on purchases FOR the business? Like a new camera, lenses, etc?

no one? oh man!

i believe you will have to pay sales tax, or sometimes its called USE tax, when you purchase equipment and you weren't charged sales tax when you bought it. Every state has different rules, you should check out your state's sales tax laws on their website or call someone who works there.

You pay tax on everything that is not for resale.

Thanks guys!!

But, of course, whatever tax you pay gets deducted when you deduct the purchase price of your gear at tax time. So you do get a bit of a break that way.

And as Mark said, if you intend to RESELL an item, you should be able to buy it tax-free. I suppose things like frames, albums, and even prints would fall into that category, but you should definitely check with a CPA on that.

Not to threadjack, but is there any reason you went for an S-Corp as opposed to an LLC? There is SO much more maintenance and reliance on your accountant with S-Corps (quarterly filings, paying yourself, etc.).

I have found a single-member LLC to be much simpler because it gets folded into your personal tax return.

I have been VERY happy with Leonard Eisner, on Atlantic Ave in Freeport.
I am in Baldwin. Feel free to call me for more info or any questions.
Best,
Jeff
516 236 9277
J. Mitchel Photography
www.jmitchelphotography.com

I just read something on the NY tax website that says something about not having to pay tax on equipment used to produce a photographic print for sale. You might want to search a bit about it.

Look for form ST-121 and a PDF named a81_41s

Ditto.

I just went through this problem myself (in fact, am still going through it) and went with the single-member LLC for the liability sheild, but the simplicity of a Sole-prop. That having been said, if I was a larger outfit with multiple photographers, etc... I might have gone differently. I'm partly of the persuation that whatever keeps you out of jail is good.

I missed this the first go around! Sorry Matt! Well, after talking about it with my accountant, it was what he reccomended. There were a couple reasons, including if I make more money than "fair market value" (wishfull thinking?) with an LLC you have to pay employment tax...with an S-corp anything over "fair market" is profit and is subject to income tax only. But the thing that really sold me was more of an immediate need. I don't know if this is the case everywhere, but in NY, as an LLC I would have to spend about $1,000 in advertising as part of my application process...I would rather spend that money for my accountant to maintain my S-corp than throwing it into some lame advert.

Here in Ohio, we do not have to pay sales tax on anything that is used to make our final product; i.e., almost all of our equipment: cameras, computers, memory cards, studio equipment, etc. If it's not used to produce the final product (like filing cabinets or cars), we must pay sales tax.

Jamie alluded to something similar in New York, so you may want to check that out.

Come shop in DE Home of tax-free shopping!

And if you purchase from Ritz Camera online, you won't pay sales tax, no matter what US state you live in.

Adam, what document do you show the pimply-faced kid at Best Buy to avoid being taxed?

Here comes a long post*

They should have the document for you to fill in with your State Tax ID number and name, etc. In practice, they don't know anything about that. They should be able to ring it up as tax exempt as long as they have your ID number. In practice ... well, you get the idea.

Usually a manager will know how to ring it up. But it's a real pain (in their mind) so you sometimes get someone who plays dumb -- especially if the store's really busy. Your best bet is to talk to a manager first and make them do their job. There is some paperwork to fill out. If it's not a big purchase I sometimes just pay the tax so I don't have to deal with it.

At the Apple store (here in Columbus), once it's filled out, your business name goes into a binder that they can look up each time. At Jo Ann's Fabrics, they give you a little card so they can just punch in a number and have your info come up. Michael's and Hobby Lobby are the same way. At Dick Blick, they just need your number to punch into the register. Staples, on the other hand, doesn't do it how they're supposed to, and makes it so much of a pain that we either just pay the tax or buy that stuff elsewhere. At Staples (for us) it's only for CDs or DVDs that we resell. Most of what we get there we do pay sales tax on (like office paper or toner or copies).

Most other places I purchase stuff from is used to dealing with resellers so it's not an issue. At Midwest Photo, I just tell them the name of our company and it's taken care of. It seems they have a different cashier every time I go in there.

With us, if we're selling to a tax-exempt entity like a school or a church (or a large company that pays their own tax -- don't ask, it's complicated), we just take their number down and there's a place to put it in our accounting software.

*Now, this is all for Ohio -- I can't say anything about other states because I have no idea.