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Saturday, June 2, 2012

Taxes! Taxes!

What makes someone an official artist? You might hear many different answers if you asked this question to many different people. For me, I have been on quite a personal and emotional journey to the end of this question. I crossed over in to "artist status" in my own view just about a year ago. It was a result of much thinking and some successes in some art shows that led me to this decision. I say "decision" because that is what it was. I decided, one day, that I was now an artist, rather than a person-who-dabbles-in. Recently, however, I have come to the point where I must become official with the government. In other words, we must pay taxes on the income generated by our art sales, as well as pay sales tax on each item sold.

If you are curious if you should become an official artist in the government's eyes, and you happen to live in California, USA as I do, take a look at what I found out from the State of California Board of Equalization website http://www.boe.ca.gov/index.htm . If you don't live in CA, but you do live in the USA, look up your state's Board of Equalization website and find the section that talks about sales taxes. I learned that I must obtain a "seller's permit" in order to sell art in CA! I have sold my creations for a few years now through consigning them at a very cool store here in my hometown. Because the store takes care of dealing with the sales tax, I never had to get a seller's permit before. But this year, I want to take part in an open studios art tour, and we are required to collect our own sales tax. I copied and pasted the following directly from the CA BOE website, off the CA seller's permit application:


                  Who must have a permit?

             You are generally required to obtain a California seller’s permit if you sell or lease merchandise, vehicles, or other tangible personal property in California. A seller’s permit allows you to sell items at the wholesale or retail level. If your sales are ongoing, you should apply for a "Regular" permit. If your sales are of a temporary nature (90 days or less), apply for a "Temporary" permit. You cannot legally sell taxable items in California until you have been issued a seller’s permit.

I know that this information is specific for my state I live in, but this blog post may get you thinking about what you might need to do to make sure you are legally selling your art where you live! And if you are wondering what makes you an "official" artist, I say that you decide in your own heart. You don't need sales, or a permit or business cards to make you an artist. Being an artist is a frame of mind and a way of seeing life and expressing yourself. It is more than just "crafting" for fun because you literally see, think and taste art as an artist. It is who you are from the inside. It is how you see the world around you. And it is that drive and desire to create something and so you do! To me, those things are characteristics of a true artist.