Resale Certificates for Photographers: What You Can and Can't Buy Tax-Free

There are roughly 260,000 photography businesses operating in the United States. From wedding photographers and portrait studios to commercial shooters and fine art print sellers, the industry spans a wide range of business models. And each model has different sales tax implications.

The resale certificate is a powerful tool for photographers, but only when used correctly. The line between what qualifies and what does not is sharper in photography than in most industries. Misuse it, and you are looking at back taxes, penalties, and interest in an audit. Use it properly, and you save real money on materials that become part of the products you deliver to clients.

The Core Rule: Products You Sell vs. Tools You Use

Every resale certificate question in photography comes down to one distinction: is this item something you sell to your client, or something you use to run your business?

Items you sell to clients (or that become part of products you sell): These qualify for the resale exemption. You can buy them tax-free with your resale certificate.

Items you use in your business but do not transfer to clients: These do not qualify. You pay sales tax on them like any other business purchase.

This distinction seems simple, but photography blurs the line more than most industries. A camera is essential to creating the product, but the camera stays with you. Photo paper becomes the print you hand to the client. The paper qualifies. The camera does not.

What You CAN Buy Tax-Free

These are the purchases where your resale certificate applies. Each of these items becomes part of a tangible product you deliver to your client.

Print Materials

• Photo paper (all sizes, all finishes)
• Canvas for canvas wraps and gallery prints
• Metal and acrylic sheets for metal prints
• Fine art paper for giclée prints

Album and Book Materials

• Album covers and inserts
• Binding materials
• Custom album boxes
• Proof books and folios

Framing Supplies

• Frames you sell with prints (not frames for your studio display)
• Matting materials
• Glass or acrylic glazing
• Mounting boards

Packaging That Transfers to the Client

• Presentation boxes
• USB drives and flash drives loaded with digital images
• DVD/CD cases (if you still deliver on disc)
• Tissue paper, ribbons, and gift wrap used to package client deliverables
• Shipping boxes and mailers used to send products to clients

Items for Resale

• Pre-made prints you purchase from a lab and resell
• Stock photography you license and then sublicense to clients (varies by state)
• Photo merchandise (mugs, calendars, phone cases) you order and sell

What You CANNOT Buy Tax-Free

This is where photographers often make mistakes. These items are tools of your trade. They help you create the product, but they are not the product itself.

Camera Equipment

• Camera bodies (DSLRs, mirrorless, medium format)
• Lenses (all types)
• Flashes and lighting equipment (strobes, continuous lights, modifiers)
• Tripods, monopods, gimbals
• Camera bags and cases
• Memory cards
• Batteries and chargers

Computing and Software

• Computers and monitors used for editing
• Hard drives and backup storage (for your archives, not client delivery)
• Software subscriptions (Adobe Creative Cloud, Capture One, Lightroom)
• Calibration tools (SpyderX, ColorChecker)

Studio Equipment

• Backdrops and backdrop stands
• Props (unless you sell them to the client, which is rare)
• Furniture used in your studio
• Lighting stands, booms, clamps

Business Operations

• Office supplies
• Insurance
• Marketing materials (business cards, brochures)
• Website hosting
• CRM and gallery software (ShootProof, Pixieset subscriptions)

The logic is consistent. Your camera does not become part of the print the client receives. Your Adobe subscription does not transfer to the client. These are business expenses you can deduct on your income taxes, but they do not qualify for the resale exemption.

The Digital vs. Physical Debate

This is one of the most state-dependent areas in photography taxation. When you deliver digital files to a client (through an online gallery download, for example), some states consider that a taxable sale of tangible personal property. Others treat digital delivery as a non-taxable service. And some states have carved out specific rules for digital photographs.

States That Generally Tax Digital Photo Delivery

States like New York, Texas, and Washington tend to tax digital goods, including digital photographs delivered electronically. In these states, the download of high-resolution images counts as a sale of tangible (or digital) personal property.

States That Generally Do Not Tax Digital Delivery

States like California, Florida, and Virginia have historically not taxed purely digital transactions. If the client downloads images and no physical product changes hands, there may be no sales tax owed.

The Trend

More states are moving toward taxing digital goods. The Streamlined Sales Tax (SST) initiative has pushed for broader taxation of digital products. Check your specific state's rules, because this area changes frequently.

What this means for your resale certificate: If your state taxes digital photo delivery, the USB drive or download platform you use to deliver images may qualify for the resale exemption. If your state does not tax digital delivery, the exemption may not apply since no taxable sale occurs.

Wedding and Event Photography Bundles

Wedding photographers often sell packages that combine services (shooting time, editing) with products (albums, prints, digital files). How you structure these packages affects your sales tax liability.

The Bundling Problem

In most states, if you sell a single package that combines taxable products and non-taxable services without separating them on the invoice, the entire package may be taxable. This is known as the "true object" test or bundled transaction rule.

Example of a problematic invoice:

In many states, the entire $5,000 is taxable because you did not separate the service component from the product component.

The Better Approach: Itemized Invoicing

By itemizing, you only collect sales tax on the tangible products ($1,100), not the full $5,000. Your client saves $273 in this example, and you are collecting the correct amount.

For the resale certificate side: You would use your certificate to buy the album, prints, USB drive, and presentation box tax-free, since all of those become part of the product you sell to the client.

State Variations on Bundling

Not every state handles bundling the same way. Some states require that services make up more than 50% of the total for the service portion to be exempt. Others look at the "true object" of the transaction. A few states tax photography services outright, regardless of whether products are included.

Consult your state's Department of Revenue guidelines or a tax professional to confirm the correct approach for your location.

Portrait and Studio Photography

Studio photographers selling prints, canvases, and wall art face simpler tax questions than wedding photographers, because the product component is more clearly defined.

What qualifies for tax-free purchase:

• The print material (paper, canvas, metal)
• The frame (if sold with the print)
• The matting and mounting
• Any packaging used to deliver the finished product

What does not qualify:

• Studio lighting
• Backdrop paper or muslin
• Props
• Editing software

When you order prints from a lab like WHCC, Miller's, or Bay Photo, you provide your resale certificate to the lab. They print and ship to you without charging sales tax. You then sell the finished product to your client and collect sales tax at that point.

How to Get Your Resale Certificate

If you do not already have one, the process is straightforward:

1. Register for a sales tax permit in your state. This is typically done online through your state's Department of Revenue or Secretary of State.
2. Receive your resale certificate (or use your permit number to fill out a certificate form).
3. Provide the certificate to your suppliers: print labs, album companies, frame suppliers, and packaging vendors.

Most states process applications within a few days to a couple of weeks.

Get Your Resale Certificate -->

Working with Print Labs and Suppliers

Once you have your certificate, provide it to every supplier from whom you buy products for resale.

Major Print Labs

Labs like WHCC, Miller's Professional Imaging, Bay Photo, and Nations Photo Lab all accept resale certificates. Set up your tax-exempt status when you create your account. Most labs have a dedicated form or upload portal for this.

Album Companies

Companies like Leather Craftsmen, Finao, Kiss Books, and Fundy Designer (for album design, which is software and does not qualify) all have processes for accepting resale certificates on product orders.

Framing Suppliers

If you frame your own prints, suppliers like Frame Destination, American Frame, or local framing wholesalers will accept your certificate for frame and matting purchases.

Record Keeping for Photographers

Photography businesses should maintain clear separation between resale purchases and business-use purchases.

For each resale purchase, document:

• Supplier name and invoice number
• Items purchased
• Confirmation that no sales tax was charged
• Which client or product line the items relate to

For sales to clients, document:

• Itemized invoice showing services vs. products
• Sales tax collected on product portions
• Client name and date

Audit tip: If you buy 200 sheets of photo paper tax-free, auditors will expect to see evidence of roughly 200 prints sold to clients. Significant discrepancies (buying far more materials than you sell as products) raise flags. Some waste is normal, but a pattern suggests personal use.

Common Mistakes Photographers Make

Using the certificate for camera gear. This is the most common error. Your camera, lenses, and lights are business tools, not items you resell. No resale exemption applies.

Not separating services from products on invoices. This can result in overtaxing your clients or, worse, undertaxing and owing the difference.

Forgetting to collect sales tax on prints and albums. You buy materials tax-free because you are supposed to collect tax from the end buyer. Failing to collect means you owe the tax yourself.

Ignoring digital product taxation in your state. If your state taxes digital photo delivery and you are not collecting on download sales, you are accumulating a liability.

Get Started

A resale certificate saves photographers real money on the physical products they deliver to clients. Prints, albums, frames, USB drives, and packaging all qualify. Get registered, provide your certificate to your suppliers, and make sure your invoices properly separate services from products.

Apply for Your Resale Certificate -->

Questions about photography business taxes? Contact us for help.

Related Articles

• What Can You Buy Tax-Free with a Resale Certificate? - Detailed breakdown of qualifying vs. non-qualifying purchases across all industries.
• Resale Certificate vs. Sales Tax Permit - Understand the difference between these two documents and why you need both.
• How to Renew Your Resale Certificate - Keep your certificate current to maintain tax-free purchasing from labs and suppliers.