Getting Paid

SmugMug will email you every time you make a sale. You can check your sales report in real-time and see every detail of every pro sale you've made.

Just choose View Sales History from the tools menu you see at the top
of your SmugMug pages when you're logged in.

Alternatively, you can find the Pros tab of your Control Panel to see a summary, and click view sales history to see each order.

Show me the money, baby!

New to SmugMug? You can start pricing and selling your prints immediately. However, before we can pay out accumulated profits, you will need to pay for your account and fill out a very important form.

To get paid:

1. Fill out our online Tax & Payment form. Find it in your SmugMug Control Panel, in the Pros tab. Click the edit link next to "Tax & payment info."

2. Click "Profit Payment Schedule" and choose when you want to get paid. You have three options: Get paid next month (if you have at least $5 in profits, or $10 in profits for international Pros), get paid when you earn $500 or more, or have us hold your payments until further notice.

How much do I keep?

Your profit is calculated as 85% of the difference between the price you set and SmugMug's default print prices. The 15% SmugMug retains includes credit card payment fees, customer service, and the costs of administering the program.

Example: You sell a 5x7 for $10.79 and the SmugMug default price for it is $0.79. The markup is $10.00. You keep $8.50 as profit (85% of $10).

A few important facts: 

• All pro profit is now paid via secure, fast and green electronic means. Exactly how will depend on where you are located.

   

  • U.S. Pros: ACH direct deposit to your bank account in US Dollars.

  • International Pros: PayPal funds transfer in your choice of currencies: Australian Dollar (AUD $), Canadian Dollar (CAD $), Euro (EUR €), Mexican Peso (MXN $), Pound Sterling (GBP £) or US Dollars (USD $). All accounting within SmugMug remains in USD. Your funds will be converted to your specified currency when paid out, using PayPal's highly competitive currency exchange rates. 

    After submitting your PayPal account information, please watch for a validation email from us. You'll need to reply to it before you can get paid.

• Profit payments are processed on the first business day after the 7th of the month. Your payment will include all profits through the end of the previous month.

• If your Tax and Payment form has been submitted and you have accumulated over $500 in profits by the last day of the month, you will automatically receive payment next month.

• If you have filled out your online tax and payment form but do not have over $500 in profits at the end of the month, you may request payment through our online form here. You must have at least $5 of profits first ($10 for international Pros). After that payment, we'll resume the normal monthly schedule.

  Similarly, choose Do not pay me to make sure that we don't pay out your profits until you're ready.

• All forms and requests must be submitted by the end of the month to guarantee payment in next month's processing. If your request is not received before the first, your payment may not be processed until the following month.

  Example: January 31st is the last day to request payment in the February 8th distribution. Requests received on or after February 1st may not be processed until March 8th.

Note: For accounting purposes, we cannot apply pro profits towards renewal costs or our Gift of SmugMug feature.

Do you report my earnings to the IRS? What about 1099s?

As per the IRS requirements, by January 31st we issue a 1099 to all U.S. pro photographers who meet all of the following criteria:

1. You have received profit payments from SmugMug totaling $600 or more in the previous calendar year. Profits for your 1099 are calculated based on the date the payments to you were processed, not the date your orders were placed.

2. You are NOT a corporation, LLC-C or non-profit.

If you do not qualify to receive a 1099 or if you are unsure if you should expect one, you can determine your profits from the previous year through the your Sales History where you can download a spreadsheet containing all of your sales information. Just remember to sort by Date Paid, then sum the profit column for those records paid that year.

You can download your current 1099 from the Pros tab in your Control Panel, under Electronic 1099 Access. The form is secure, so you'll need your Taxpayer Identification Number to unlock and read it. This is your SSN or EIN, whichever you gave us on your W-9. Enter the numbers only, no dashes. Example: 123456789

Other Reporting FAQ:

Q: Why didn't I get paid?
A: Please check your Control Panel and look under the Pros tab. If you haven't submitted tax and payment info, do that now. Check to be sure that you have also requested payments from the "Profit Payment Schedule" area.

Q: I haven't paid for my account yet, but I do see sales in my report. Can I get a profit payment?
A: Sorry, you must pay for a SmugMug Pro account before we can issue a profit payment.

Q: Is there a minimum before I can get a profit payment?
A: If you have at least $5 ready for payment ($10 if you're international), we can honor a request for payment. Exceptions are made for closed or downgraded accounts.

Q: What are the fees for profit payment?
A: SmugMug covers the fees associated with both domestic ACH and international PayPal electronic delivery. Because SmugMug is based in the USA and there is an extra fee for currency exchange from US dollars, PayPal collects this fee in the form of a slightly lower exchange rate.

Q: What information about my customer do you report?
A: You'll see your customer's email address as well as the name, phone number, and address (both billing and shipping.) You won't see any credit card information. If the order was placed at cost, you will see less information to protect the customer's privacy.

Q: Can you help me understand the sales history spreadsheets?
A: The downloadable CSV contains tons of useful info to help you understand and manage your sales. Find it in the Pros tab of your Control Panel, under Sales History. This detailed page will help explain the data included in that spreadsheet.

Q: I'm a US citizen living abroad. What about me?
A: First, read this IRS page Then, email us so we can make some special changes to your account. This will let us pay you through PayPal if you do not want to use a US bank for your profits.

Q: I live in Europe and have a VAT Exemption number. Where do I enter that?
A: Log in to your Control Panel and look for the billing info line in the Settings tab. You'll see a field at the bottom to type that in.