QUESTION
I''m thinking converting my wedding/portrait photography business into volunteer work; I''d no longer accept any payments whatsoever.
Asked on Jan 15th, 2012 on Business Law - Oregon
More details to this question:
Instead, I''d have my customers contribute directly to an agreed-upon charity (Salvation Army, St. Vincent De Paul, etc). If I do this, can I legally cancel my business license? Can I no longer file business tax returns? Are there laws that protect a volunteer from lawsuits? I am seeking to avoid the burdensome and time-consuming work of dealing with the government, and just want to do photography for fun. I would still have wedding customers sign a contract, but they would not pay me anything. I would still keep my insurance policies, but would not attempt to deduct any photography business expenses from my income at my other job.
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As a general matter, if you do not accept any remuneration for your services, you are not in business and do not have to file business tax returns. However, if, as a condition of rendering your services, you require your customer to make a payment to a third party (even if that is a charity), you are technically "in business" and must file tax returns. If a business license is required, you will likely be required to retain that. You can likely avoid this by being a pure volunteer and not requiring any payments to anybody.
Answered on Jan 15th, 2012 at 7:19 PM