The shoot, the edits and the usage license on separate lines, so the client knows what they paid for and what they can do with it. Download the PDF in a minute. No sign-up, and nothing leaves your device.
VAT, CIS and the reverse charge worked out to HMRC’s own rules and examples. Sales tax worked out to the cent, on US Letter paper. Your currency and your tax rate, on A4 paper.
In the US, you do, unless the work is “made for hire”. A commissioned photo is made for hire only if it falls into one of nine categories, such as a contribution to a collective work or part of an audiovisual work, and both sides sign a written agreement saying so.
Any transfer of copyright has to be in writing and signed by the owner. So an invoice grants a license to use the photos; unless it is a signed written transfer, it does not hand over the copyright.
Give the usage license its own line: the media (web, social, print), the term (for example 2 years) and whether it is exclusive. Add “license effective on payment in full” to the notes, so use before payment is not covered.
With the shoot, the edits and the license on separate lines, a later extension, say another year of web use, is a clean new invoice.
California does not tax photos delivered only electronically. Hand over any tangible item, such as prints or a flash drive, even one the client supplied, and tax generally applies to your entire charge, the sitting fee included.
Other states have their own rules. Enter your rate under the job, then untick any line it does not apply to.
Source: CDTFA Tax Guide for Photography
A business that pays you $2,000 or more in a calendar year, for payments made after December 31, 2025, files Form 1099-NEC and will ask for your Form W-9 first. Send the W-9 with your first invoice.
Freelance laws in New York State (work of $800 or more), California (over $250) and Illinois ($500 or more) require the client to give you a written contract and to pay by the agreed date, or within 30 days of finishing if no date was set. More in the freelance invoice template.
Sources: IRS: Form 1099-NEC, IRS: Form W-9, New York Attorney General, California Governor's office, Illinois Department of Labor
As the author, you own the copyright, unless you took the photos as an employee in the course of your job.
A client who commissions photos for private and domestic purposes, such as a wedding or a family portrait, can stop copies being issued, exhibited or communicated to the public. Ask before those photos go in a public portfolio. Charge VAT only once you are VAT registered.
Sources: Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 s.11, s.85, VAT Notice 700, 19.5.1
Rules checked against the official sources linked above on October 19, 2026. Example prices are illustrative. This is general guidance, not legal or tax advice.
The photographer, in both the US and the UK, unless there is a signed written agreement saying otherwise. The invoice grants a license to use the photos; it does not transfer copyright.
It depends on the state. In California, not on photos delivered only by download; once any print or storage device is handed over, tax generally applies to the whole charge, sitting fee included.
Ask first. Someone who commissions photos for private and domestic purposes can stop them being issued, exhibited or communicated to the public.
Yes. Make as many invoices as you like. The PDF is built in your browser and never sent to us.