I know I've got to be doing this all wrong... But help me out here...

I've read all the related posts about OTHER states, but I need to know from you guys who are here with me.

When you charge for a wedding PACKAGE,.. and you split that up into, let's say, three or four payments,:
A) do you charge tax on top of the entire package to begin with, and then split it up into payments by dividing it by 3 or 4? or do you add tax on to each individual payment?

* the reason i ask is, i know you report those sales/taxes every reporting period AS you get them, not as an accrued amount(i.e., when the entire package is paid off)... TEHREFORE, how do you justify the tax PER payment?????

B) do you tax JUST goods, or goods & services, and when you report your monthly/quarterly sales & pay those taxes, how do you do it? (I've been reporting for a while now, but I think I subconsciously make myself paranoid every month worrying if i'm filling it out right).

And yes, I know i need to talk to an accountant, but they are so rude around here, if you're not their client, they won't speak to you... and i can't get a straightforward answer out of anyone...

please help:)

I would call the tax office directly and ask if a CPA isnt of help. In FL I only tax what is tangable (meaning if a product chnages hands) but I do not have to charge tax on a service, such as shooting a session only. If you have a package things may be different hopefully someone here can chim in ,

Hey Amy! Gotta love that South Carolina tax office!! Don't ever try to get a straight answer out of those folks! There is no black and white, just "gray" areas. The best place ever to find a really good cpa is here It's Dave Ramsey's ELP source site. (Endorsed Local Provider) That's who I use here in Charleston and he is great! They are trained to be a teacher and not someone who just uses big words to try and impress you.
Now back to your tax questions.......... Charge tax on your entire wedding package! I know, I wish that you didn't have to, but that's how it's done. Believe me, I have tried to convince myself (and others) that "we" as photographers are providing a "service" and therefore shouldn't have to charge "tax" on that, but it's not happening........ The only people worse than the SC tax office would be the KGB, oh wait, I mean the IRS. That's a whole other story..... Anyways, I do album packages and when they take final delivery of everything, that's when they get an invoice showing how much everything is including tax. It's to confusing to try and charge tax on each payment like you were talking about. Just do it on the total package price. Hopefully that helped you out some......I know, it's crazy!!