Losing Money

How long can you lose money being a photographer before calling it quit?

Most photographers do not charge enough to cover their expenses. The expenses range from cameras, lighting equipment to computers, transportation... In Canada, CRA aka the income tax police has made the decision for you:

You can only operate a business for 3 years, if you are losing money! After 3 years, the business must start to turn a profit or break-even. If the business does not at least break even, it's not a "real business". CRA will reclassify your photo business as a hobby. Converting your business to a hobby means that CRA will disallow all of your expenses and reassess retroactively your taxes, penalties...

  1. I can only speak about Canada, since I live in Vancouver, Canada and this is the tax law that I follow.
  2. Check either with an accountant or with the taxation agency for it's own rulings.