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Are artists who create "fine art" (not commercial art) required to collect sales tax if selling directly to customer through website, ebay, local art shows, booth at art show?

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If it's a tangle thing (e.g. physical), then you have to pay sales tax on it once sold. The only exception if what you are selling is for resale and the person you sell it to has a resellers license.

Of course, the government needs to know that you actually sold something in order to collect the taxes. This is usually done via a business license or holding a resellers permit. If you don't have those things, then it will be a challenge for them to collect sales tax from you.

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Keep in mind that the sales tax rules change by state (it's not a federal tax), so what is taxable and not taxable can change by state. Also changing by state: What to do about good sold to someone in another state. Some states have "use tax" which means you have to collect sales tax even if the buyer is out of state. It gets complicated quickly. The starting point for this investigation should be the seller's own state. – Gabriel Magana Jan 17 '10 at 19:47
Correction: "Use tax," at least the way California defines it, means an out of state seller selling to a Californian must collect and pay sales tax to California, even through the seller has no physical presence in California. These kinds of issues turn taxation into a huge mess, so start by looking into your own state's rules. – Gabriel Magana Jan 17 '10 at 19:50
Good point. It's a mess and you should really ask a tax professional about your states rules. – Jarie Bolander Jan 17 '10 at 23:04
Thank you all - this gives me a good starting point, and may be worth the money to consult with a tax prof! – user2278 Jan 18 '10 at 16:51
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Here's a short article describing the difference between sales and use tax in the context of online art sales: Does an Etsy vendor owe sales tax?

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Thanks for the link - very helpful. (I'm not allowed to vote up until I have a reputation of 15) – user2278 Jan 21 '10 at 1:01

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