Traveling OUT of Alabama: If your business is located in Alabama, but you are traveling to shoot in another state, please review the sales tax requirements of that state.
Traveling INTO Alabama: If you are from another state and are traveling into Alabama to shoot, please follow the questions below to find out if you need to charge sales tax in Alabama.
When it comes to sales tax, you need to ask yourself three questions. We will walk you through those questions below:
If your business is located in Alabama and you are shooting in Alabama, you have nexus in Alabama.
If you are traveling from out of state to shoot in Alabama, and your client receives photos from you in Alabama, you have nexus in Alabama. (see Traveling to Shoot in Alabama? section below for when you need to register for sales tax)
The following items address tax where everything is happening in Alabama. If you have an out-of-state client, see the orange section below that talks about out-of-state clients.
This specifically refers to digital photos transferred digitally over the internet. Please note any digital images transferred via physical devices like USB drives, CDs, etc., are taxed as physical goods, and all physical goods are taxable.
In it’s photography guide, Alabama states the sales of photographs are taxable regardless of if they are delivered in printed or digital form. Digital photos are considered tangible personal property and are subject to sales tax in Alabama.
This covers anything physical you can touch, such as physical prints, albums, etc.