Tax/Business question

[JCasper]

Not sure if any of you can help me answer this but it's worth a shot. I am just kind of thinking out loud here right now.





Our family takes quite a few trips each year and my wife is a picture taking fool. I was thinking of building a website and putting some of these pictures up on it to sell. Kinda like this one.

Buying Photographs, Landscape Pictures for Sale, Photographs for Sale, Images for Sale





I think it could possibly generate a little bit of extra income and would be easy to do since we are taking the pictures anyways.





If I were to do this can I write off part or all of my trips if we were taking pics for the site/business?

 

[BrianJ]

As the accountant in me...



You most likely will not be able to write off the entire trip, unless your wife becomes the next John Fielder (world famous nature photographer). However, you probably would get away with taking deductions for part of your trips, i. e. the mileage associated with any legs of the trip to get specific photographs. For example, you schedule a trip to Aspen, you most likely could deduct mileage/shuttle fare from town (Aspen) to the Maroon Bells to take photographs, but not the mileage from your home town or lodging.



Of course any equipment, web site, and printing expenses would be deductible.



As the amerature photographer in me...

Speaking of equipment, you didn't ask, but what type of equipment does your wife use? You are not going to get professional quality "enlargable" prints with the average consumer digital camera. You/she will need a minimum of 10mp to get decent poster size prints. I have done nature photography and a handful of weddings and portraits with a Canon Rebel XTi (10. 1mp) with various lenses (not the stock piece of junk lens), but while it does pretty good in outdoor photography, it just is not good enough overall. In the Canon line a minimum of a 40D is required for professional level prints.

 

[JCasper]

Yes I will be upgrading cameras. I have been thinking of a Nikon D300 or for something cheaper possibly a Canon 40D for now.



Currently for carrying around we have a Canon G9 12MP that is a very nice camera for carrying.

 

[BrianJ]

I have used a couple of the "G" series in years past and they are great cameras for general use.



Good choices on the DSLR's. Unless shooting a lot of indoor no-flash photography (i. e. high ISO 1600+), I actually like the 40D over the D300. Actually, overall I like results with the Canon line over the Nikon, but the Nikon DSLR's excel in high ISO (1600+) settings.

 

[JCasper]

I have used a couple of the "G" series in years past and they are great cameras for general use.



Good choices on the DSLR's. Unless shooting a lot of indoor no-flash photography (i. e. high ISO 1600+), I actually like the 40D over the D300. Actually, overall I like results with the Canon line over the Nikon, but the Nikon DSLR's excel in high ISO (1600+) settings.

Good info, thanks.

 

[JDiepstra]

Also keep in mind that if you set up a business and lets say you sell 10 pictures in the first year for $50 each, that's only $500 bucks. Maybe you will sell a lot more, or maybe not, hard to say. Anyway, my point is you can't can't write off more than you make without raising a few eyebrows.

 

[TboneMan]

And all this implies that you plan on actually claiming the income. :-laf

 

[JCasper]

And all this implies that you plan on actually claiming the income. :-laf

Good point :-laf