Idaho Administrative Code
Title IDAPA 35 - Tax Commission, State
Rule 35.01.02 - IDAHO SALES AND USE TAX ADMINISTRATIVE RULES
Section 35.01.02.056 - PHOTOGRAPHERS AND PHOTOFINISHERS

a. Printed photographs are tangible personal property. Sales of printed photographs are taxable.

b. Digital photographs are tangible personal property when sold and delivered to the buyer on storage media. Sales of digital photographs are taxable when sold and delivered to the buyer on storage media.

c. Digital photographs are not tangible personal property when delivered electronically. Sales of digital photographs are not taxable when sold and delivered to the buyer electronically.

a. When photographers or photofinishers sell films, frames, cameras, printed photographs, digital photographs delivered on storage media, photostats, blueprints, etc., they are making a sale of a completed article of tangible personal property and they are required to collect the tax on the total sales price unless an exemption applies.

b. When photographers or photofinishers render service, such as retouching, tinting, or coloring of print photographs belonging to others, they are performing taxable processing services and are to collect the tax from their customers unless an exemption applies. When similar services are performed on a digital photograph, the service is only taxable if the final product is delivered on storage media.

c. Photographers may charge a sitting fee which may be separately stated from any charges for the photographs. When charged along with a sale of printed photographs or digital photographs delivered on storage media, sitting fees are charges for producing or fabricating tangible personal property and are taxable. See Rule 029 of these rules.

a. Photographers and photofinishers may qualify for the production exemption if they are primarily in the business of selling print photographs or digital photographs delivered on storage media. Photographers and photofinishers primarily in the business of selling digital photographs that are delivered electronically cannot qualify for the production exemption.

b. The production process begins when the image is captured. Therefore, photographers pay sales or use tax on purchases of props, backdrops and other items used prior to the start of production of the photograph. Equipment and supplies including cameras, lights, lenses, film, paper, fix, developer, and enlargers used to produce photographs are used during the production process and are exempt if the photographer otherwise qualifies for the production exemption in Section 63-3622D, Idaho Code.

c. Photofinishers may purchase equipment and supplies exempt from sales or use tax as long as the equipment and supplies are directly used to produce photographs which they will sell and they otherwise qualify for the production exemption provided by Section 63-3622D, Idaho Code.

a. Storage media. Storage media include, but are not limited to, optical media discs such as CDs or DVDs, hard drives, diskettes, magnetic tape data storage, solid state drives, flash drives, and other semiconductor memory chips used for nonvolatile storage of information readable by a computer.