I only have a glib answer, which is that EVERYTHING in NY state is taxable. Lived in Rochester for two years. Yeech.

All kidding aside, personal service income from any source is taxable. If NY state, or NYC has a surcharge that covers personal services (like hair salons, etc.), then you might very well be subject to that as well.

Someone who knows for sure will have to comment further.

Could you be a bit more descriptive?

Example - if you are a video business in Ny state than of course what you do is subject to taxes. You can buy any materials that you will resell tax free but you must charge the clients the Tax. Also you report your income and pay taxes as any other business. So say that you shoot for someone and they pay you....your income is taxable. Now if you make DVD's, you must charge them tax on the DVD's at whatever the local tax rate is.

If you are hired to come to NY as a sefl employed person, than your service is not taxable to NY however your income would be reported if it was over 500.00, I believe, to the IRS. You would have to pay taxes yourself as self employed in thew state where you live. Relative to NY taxes your employer would be responsible and as long as you were self employed they would not have to pay your taxes - again, it would fall on you.

Beyond that maybe the NY State tax web site might be of help. If you do a search for video, for example, you will come up with a lot of NY cases about taxes. Here is a good one: ADVISORY OPINION, PETITION NO. S950627A (PDF) which, in part, is about this:

Whether Petitioner's charge for the recommendation to its client for

Collecting sales tax in New York State is only permitted by those who are registered with the state and have a Certificate of Authority to do so. If you don't do "regular" business in New York State or solicit your business through a representative in New York State whose busniess is New York based then you don't have to collect the tax. The state terms it "sufficient connection" with New York State.
It is the CUSTOMERS who are responsible for the tax on their purchases unless you decide on your own that you want to register as a New York State vendor and collect it for them. Then it would have to be at least 20 days before you decided to do business. Most people in your shoes leave it to the customers to supposedly pay it voluntarily.
The tax amount would be based upon the tax in the exact location where you did the business. Note that there is a reciprocal tax agreement between the states of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut in which they can reciprocally collect tax and share tax collection information.

John

I found it if you want to bore yorself to death. It is called Publication 750.

John

yeah, I've looked in to this. You can't collect sales tax in NY unless oyu're registered. You still technically have to report your income (even at a loss, note it's income, not profit) & have that taxed too.

FYI... it's NY. EVERYTHING is taxed. Even if you go to, say, Deleware where there's no sales tax, buy a pare of shoes you must (legally) pay NY sales tax on those shoes. :)

To clarify. I realize income is taxed in NY but I was talking more about sales tax.

The New York State sales tax web site declares that "selected" services are taxable. However, nowhere does it list specifically what services are selected as taxable.

In Some states, audio recording and video editing are not taxable if no physical product is delivered. If you, for example, record a commercial and email it to the broadcaster then no physical product was delivered and the service is not taxed.

Your safest bet is to call your city/county's business/tax office. In three states I've worked in, production services are subject to sales tax - only copies above and beyond the original service rendering are. In other words, you produce a video, deliver on a single DVD and nothing you charge is subject to sales tax. However, if you sell the client copies of the DVD, those copies (above the original) are subject to sales tax, for which you need to be registered to collect and file. If you sell more than one copy per project, you are required to register as would any retail business, even if you are .

I have no idea if any of the above varies in New York. Better to keep calling until you get the right office to know for sure.

To clarify. I realize income is taxed in NY but I was talking more about sales tax.

The New York State sales tax web site declares that "selected" services are taxable. However, nowhere does it list specifically what services are selected as taxable.

In Some states, audio recording and video editing are not taxable if no physical product is delivered. If you, for example, record a commercial and email it to the broadcaster then no physical product was delivered and the service is not taxed.
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I explained it to you above. Let the customer be responsible for paying the sales tax on it to the state.

John

I live in PA and was wondering the same thing (about videography being taxable in PA). I talked to someone in a local IRS office and they said that basically every cent that I made is sales taxable. I have my own company but I do work for another videography company and for the last two years I have been paying sales tax on the money that I've been making from them...to me this does not make sense because I'm not selling anything, I simply shoot and edit for the other company. I found a site called score.org
They help out small businesses and I'm going to give them an e-mail. I think they have represenatives in every state to answer questions like these.

What would the IRS know about state sales tax? Zippo.

The problem is that even the state sales tax agencies often give out false information, and, with very few exceptions, they are not responsible for the information they give out, right or wrong.

California is generally thought to be the worst in the nation when it comes to this. They are directly misleading vendors about what is taxable, in an attempt to get more money.

I wouldn't count on SCORE to know this either, they are just nice retired executives who are highly unlikely to know anything about the video production business.

Your best bet in any state is to talk to a professional organization of videographers, etc., they will have a real, carefully researched, and long applied answer.

I an taking a wild guess but you did not read my post which answered your question. The one where I asked you to be more specifi but gave some answers anway, including sales tax. And the ironic thing is you give an example of what you are looking for and I had even given a direct link to the NY State tax site with an example that would propbably answer your example question.

Sheesh.

It is late, I am cranky so I am sorry if the post seems harsh but come on people. I amswer and than a whole list of people answer varations on what I already said and than Bob replys to those posts and asks what I already posted a direct answer to as well.

And FWIW -
>>>it's NY. EVERYTHING is taxed. Even if you go to, say, Deleware where there's no sales tax, buy a pare of shoes you must (legally) pay NY sales tax on those shoes<<<

This is on the FEDRAL form and has been for years. it is not just NY State.

again (incase it was missed): www.tax.state.ny.us/

re:filmy
you're talking about delcaring items you didn't pay ax on when purchased, right? I was just refering to NY because that's what would be collected in NY. It's on the NY form too.

So bob.... you can't collect ANY sales tax unless you're registered with the state. You must fill out forms to do that. However, people are also responsible to pay sales tax for anything they didn't initiatly pay tax on. IE your vid's you sell. They report it on their tax forms.

I find if kind of annoying.. legally that means in my trip to texas last august I needed to pay Texas sales tax down there & NY sales tax up here. This isn't canada, taxes's are susposed to be 15% :D

Some of us are a bit hostile and or indirect on this question - are we not? Many answers lacked the precision I was hoping for but I seem to have provoked the ire of a few who want to believe their answer should have been adequate for my purposes. I beg of you a bit more patience.

Anyhow, here is the conclusion I have reached concerning sales tax in New York State for audio and video services.

Recording and video services which involve no transfer of tangible personal property are not subject to New York State sales tax unless specifically enumerated in the sales tax codes (for example: delivery of a recording over the telephone for purposes of entertainment is not only taxable but subject to an additional 5% sales tax). A full list of such enumerated services does not actually exist in any authoritative manner. A knowledge of each specific law is actually required. Furthermore, New York City specifically taxes some services not taxed by the State.

When non-taxable services are "INCLUDED" in the sale of tangible personal property they are thereby also subject to sales and use tax. Nonetheless, the sales tax laws recognizes a difference between "INCLUDED" and ITEMIZED" services. New York State considers digital video or audio recordings to be tangible personal property. When it is delivered or sold it is subject to sales and use tax but only insofar as it is "TANGIBLE" or "INCLUDED."

This means there are some video or audio services which may or may not be taxable depending on how they are included or itemized and paid for.

Example 1. You are doing sound for a corporate event. In preparation you record a special message from the top executive to be played back at the event at a specific moment in time. At the event you play back that recording at a specified time. However at no time is any tangible property transferred to the corporate client. If your billing for the event itemizes your time and effort in preparing that specific recording, that item is not taxable. Once the audio was played, the value of the recording has expired and at no time did the recording become the tangible personal property of your corporate client. You provided an experience - not a product. The service of preparing and playing back an audio event is not a taxable service when at no time does a copy of the recording transfer in a tangible way.

Example 2: However, if in example 1 you turn over a CD with the recording on it - then your billable efforts are taxable itemized or not because your client now possesses tangible personal property.

Example 3: You shoot a wedding and reception using four cameras, you mix it down in Vegas, create a DVD and deliver the DVD to the client for a package price of $3,500.00. You must charge sales tax on the entire amount. By charging sales tax on the entire amount you are legal (sales tax wise - lets not discuss copyright).

Example 4: You charge for the actual footage you acquire and itemize separately the footage you keep from the footage you scrap. Then you agree to shoot a wedding and a reception using four cameras. You then edit it down and create a DVD and charge the client on an itemized bill $1,500.00 for capturing screening and considering the FOOTAGE from a four camera shoot that ended up not being used and $2,000 for the footage that was used and included in the editing and delivery of a DVD. The FOOTAGE not used but specifically itemized is billable but not taxable. It represents wear and tear on materials and time "wasted" but not used.

Example 5: A client comes to your studio and plays their guitar and sings creating several tracks and takes until by themselves they have recorded enough material that should you decide to do so you could mix down the sound of a full band playing that song. However you mix nothing down. They only had enough money to pay you for the tracking. The project is backed up and stored away remaining your property. Your client hopes that on a later date they can raise some more cash to pay you to mix down and master that recording. You hold on to the project and deliver nothing to the client, but yet you bill them for studio time. There is no sales tax due. No tangible property has been delivered and all property created remains the property of your studio. The client has paid for little more than the privilege to stand in your studio and perform in an environment that allows them to do so in synchronization with themselves. But when they leave they leave with absolutely nothing of tangible value.

Example 6: If your business is open exclusively for sub contracting and all your clients use what you deliver for tax exempt purposes - that is they either resell it, use it to further create a resalable product, or are a tax exempt organization then you will never ever collect a penny of sales tax. If you are a sub contractor in such a scenario, then you are not required to obtain a certificate of authority and not required to involve yourself in sales tax. However if you need to purchase supplies and want to use a resale certificate on the supplies you purchase then you must obtain a certificate of authority and file a quarterly return or an annual return if permitted for the zero sales tax you collect.

So you see, in New York State, as best as I can tell, video and audio are considered tangible personal property and are taxable but only when delivered or included in what is delivered, but are not taxable when neither delivered nor included with what is delivered.

I include this post for your information. This is my personal opinion and not authoritative in any way. You are, of course, responsible for the accuracy of your own business decisions.