I have a question about taxes, as I am very new to the business side of photography.
I assisted someone on an event. We agreed on my rate before the event. This person received payment in the mail. He is going to cut me a personal check for my rate now that he's been paid.
Now come the taxes part of it. I will be taking 30% of my check and putting it to taxes like I always do, but I'm trying to help him figure out how to divide his portion, as he's new to this as well. Should he take 30% of the total amount of the check to put toward his taxes, or 30% of the total check MINUS my portion, so he's taking 30% of his actual income on this check?
Hopefully that made sense, I really need to go talk to a CPA to get a handle on everything I don't understand, but for now, I appreciate any help from the FM community!
If you're partners then think of it like cash - you each split the cash as income and each partner pays their own 30% income to the gov.
If if you're his employee he pays you first then he takes the rest as income but he may need to pay an extra tax over his personal 30% income tax to the gov as an employee tax - meanwhile the gov still wants to take 30% of your personal too.
If you take a look at the link you might find that you will only have to pay 15%, not 30%. As you mentioned, a CPA is important as he will set you straight from the start without you guessing what you will owe.
The "someone" you assisted should really pay you upon completion of the job, not when he gets paid. His client is not your client. Waiting 30+ days or whenever he gets paid is not the way it's usually done. He should have some operating money to pay you immediately. Assistant fees are not bank breakers. Without a "pay on completion" arrangement you could end up asking the same question over and over, "Did you get paid yet?" ....especially when you need the money. Also, it is not your concern as to what his taxes will be, that's his problem. If this is a "significant other" situation, not explained in your post, do what you think is best.
