Could a photographer deduct separately charged travel and meal expenses from the taxable sale price of a photograph?

Plain-English summary

A photographer requested Ruling 23 and clarification of travel expenses incurred in producing a photograph.

The letter said travel expenses and meal costs charged to the customer were part of the photograph's sale price. Tax therefore applied to the entire price without deductions for those amounts or other costs of doing business.

The annotation metadata describes a different transaction: a meal retailer including the cost of banquet pictures in the meal price. The complete supporting letter does not discuss that arrangement. This page follows the operative letter and leaves the annotation metadata's separate proposition unresolved.

Common questions

Could the photographer deduct travel charged to the customer?

No. The letter included it in the photograph's sale price.

Were meals incurred while producing the photograph different?

No. Customer-paid meal costs received the same treatment.

Did this letter decide how a banquet operator taxes photography included with meals?

No. That scenario appears only in the annotation metadata, not in the supporting letter.

Citations and references

• Sales and use tax Ruling 23 (enclosed and cited)

Source

• Annotated Legal Opinions collection: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/annotations-menu.htm
• Annotation page: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/lawguides/vol2/suta/550-0000-all.html
• Original supporting opinion: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/lawguides/annotations/550-0500.pdf

Original ruling text

550.0500

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION

January 24, 1952

Mr. C--- N. M--XXX --- Avenue
---, California

• • XXXXX

Dear Mr. C---r:
This is in answer to your letter of January 11 in which you request a copy of sales and use taxes ruling 23 and a clarification of the treatment of traveling expenses incurred in producing the photograph. We are enclosing a copy of ruling 23, as you requested. You will especially note the second sentence of the first paragraph thereof. Travel expenses and cost of meals, if charged to the customer, are part of the sale price of the photograph. Accordingly, the tax applies to the entire price of the photograph without deduction of expenses and cost of meals or other expenses of doing business. Very truly yours,

E. H. Stetson
Tax Counsel

NBH:ja
cc:

Mr. John J. Hayes