A freelance photographer or videographer pays tax on profit: what clients paid, minus gear, software, travel and other business costs. It goes on Schedule C, with 15.3% self-employment tax on top of income tax, paid through the year in quarterly estimates. Photo and video work adds four things to watch: expensive gear, sales tax on physical products, licensed music and footage, and deposits taken months before a shoot.

Cameras, lenses, drones and computers

Camera bodies, lenses, drones, gimbals, lights, audio gear and an editing computer all last more than a year, so they’re normally depreciated. Two rules let most shooters deduct them at once:

  • The de minimis safe harbor: items up to $2,500 each (per invoice line) can be expensed if you elect it on your return.
  • Section 179 or bonus depreciation for bigger items, like a $4,000 camera body.

Only the business share counts. If the camera also shoots family holidays, deduct the business percentage. Renting gear for a single job is simply an expense in the year you pay for it.

A videographer in a sage-green jacket, seen from behind on a grassy hilltop at golden hour, flying a drone with a handheld controller over rolling hills and a winding road, an open hard case for the gear at her feet.
A drone bought for paid aerial work is equipment, like a camera body. Most of it can come off this year’s profit.

Other write-offs

  • Editing software and cloud storage subscriptions.
  • Driving to shoots at 72.5¢ a mile to June 30 and 76¢ from July 1, 2026: keep a mileage log.
  • Props, backdrops, studio rent, insurance and memory cards.
  • Travel for destination shoots, and 50% of meals on those trips.
  • A home office or editing room used only for the business.

Video: drones, music and editing

  • Drones used for paid aerial work are equipment, deducted like a camera. The FAA remote pilot certificate (Part 107) test, its study course and drone registration are business costs too.
  • Licensed music, sound effects and stock footage: the subscription or per-track licence is deductible in the year you pay for it.
  • Editing: editing and color-grading software, plug-ins, fast external drives and cloud backup for client footage.
  • Crew: a sound recordist, second camera operator or editor you hire for a job is a contractor cost, with the same 1099 rule as a second shooter (below).
A video editor with curly hair and a rust sweater, seen from behind in a bright white studio, wearing headphones and grading footage on two monitors with a color-grading control panel, a cinema camera and an external drive on the desk.
The editing desk counts too: the computer, monitors, grading panel, software and drives for client footage.

Sales tax on prints and albums

Many states tax physical products such as prints, albums, framed work and USB or disc deliveries, and some tax the photography or video service itself. Digital files and streamed or downloaded video are treated differently state by state. Check your state’s revenue department before you set your packages, and keep sales tax out of your income: it’s collected for the state.

Deposits and retainers

Most photographers and videographers use the cash method, so a deposit is income in the year it’s paid. A retainer taken in December for a June wedding belongs to this year’s return. Set the tax share aside the day it arrives.

Paying second shooters, editors and crew

If you pay a second shooter, editor or crew member $2,000 or more in 2026 as a contractor, you send them a 1099-NEC by January 31. Get a W-9 before the first payment. This covers payments by cash, check or bank transfer. Anything you paid by card or through a payment app’s business payments is reported by the processor on a 1099-K, so it doesn’t go on your 1099-NEC.

Questions, answered

Can photographers write off a camera?

Yes, the business share of it. Items up to $2,500 each can be expensed under the de minimis safe harbor, and larger gear can usually be deducted in full the year you buy it with Section 179 or bonus depreciation.

Can videographers deduct a drone?

Yes, the business share of it. A drone used for paid shoots is equipment like a camera, usually deductible in full the year you buy it, and the FAA Part 107 certificate test and registration are business costs too.

Is licensed music for client videos deductible?

Yes. Music, sound effects and stock footage licensed for client work are business expenses, deducted in the year you pay for the subscription or the licence.

Do photographers charge sales tax?

Often on physical products such as prints and albums, and in some states on the service too. Rules for digital files vary by state, so check your state's revenue department.

Is a wedding deposit taxable when I receive it?

Yes, under the cash method most photographers use. A deposit paid in December is income for that year, even if the wedding is the next summer.

Do I send a 1099 to my second shooter?

If you paid them $2,000 or more as a contractor during 2026 by cash, check or bank transfer, yes: a 1099-NEC by January 31, 2027. Card and payment-app payments are reported by the processor instead.

Sources

  1. Tangible property regulations (de minimis safe harbor) — IRS. The $2,500 per-item election.
  2. Publication 946, How to Depreciate Property — IRS. Section 179 and bonus depreciation.
  3. About Form 1099-NEC — IRS. Reporting payments to contractors.
  4. Standard mileage rates — IRS. The 2026 business rate.
  5. Certified remote pilots, including commercial operators — FAA. The Part 107 certificate for paid drone work.