I really hate dealing with money matters except when I’m receiving a check or spending it at B&H. But being in photography business, I realized that you can’t separate the lines between wedding photography as a business and a service.
So in line with being a registered business owner (pat back, pat pat), I decided it was a good idea to get educated about my responsibilities regarding paying taxes. The Board of Equalization had just sponsored a FREE one-day workshop at California State University Hayward for Small Businesses and I decided to attend. The day consisted of various workshops catered to two different tracks: 1 for those considering going into business and 2 for those already in business. It was a great resource of information. But being sponsored by the Board of Equalization, you could expect a lot of emphasis on proper payment of taxes: income tax, sales tax and use tax. But what I did enjoy about the seminars were all the little secret deductions they also shared with us. Of course, they also stressed proper record keeping and documentation to justify these deductions. It was a day well spent, me thinks.
The classes I attended included:
Marketing
Sales and Use Tax: Avoiding Common Pitfalls
Succeeding in a Home Based Business
If you are interested in attending a future workshop sponsored by the California Board of Equalization, I highly recommend it! Visit their website at http://www.boe.ca.gov/sutax/tpsched.htm
for updates.