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View Full Version : finances, taxes and laws oh my!
MrsHK
01-02-2006, 01:07 PM
Ok so I'm making progress quick on this lovely long weekend. I've picked the business I want to work for, I'll be an independent contractor distributing products via online and parties. My idea is to start with this one and possible add more down the road. So I'd like to set up a company name etc, with a general website I could add other products to later.
My question is how do you organize everything for taxes as an IC?
What forms do I need to fill out?
I'd like to set a company name, how do I go about registering that and ensuring that it is a recognized business by the state/fed whatever.
I guess I am really not sure of where to start right now to set up this kind of thing.
Any books or websites you could recommend would be appreciated too!
My question is how do you organize everything for taxes as an IC?
What forms do I need to fill out?
I'd like to set a company name, how do I go about registering that and ensuring that it is a recognized business by the state/fed whatever.
I guess I am really not sure of where to start right now to set up this kind of thing.
Any books or websites you could recommend would be appreciated too!
ewedeb
01-02-2006, 01:30 PM
You need to probably file as an LLC and get a federal tax id number. I'd work with an accountant to find out!
Deb
Deb
BrendaLP
01-02-2006, 01:30 PM
Hi there. For me, I started with apply for a small business license. I don't know what the cost is for you, but it wasn't too much here in CA.
Make sure you keep in mind that your business will be changing. If you are doing toys now and move into lotions later, you don't want to be stuck with a name like Mrs.HK's Toy Chest. Keep it open. I learned this one the hard way. LOL
When you are considering your name, I might also suggest checking to see if you'll be able to transfer that name to a domain name. For instance, if you are considering Mrs. HK's Store, you'll want to see if you can have www.MrsHKstore.com (http://www.MrsHKstore.com) as a website address. Remember, even if you are currently with one company and only still getting off the ground, it's good to consider that at some point you might like to have one site where your customers can be directed to the type of product they are looking for.
As far as keeping tax information seperate, I really have no advice I can give from my own experiences. I would imagine you would need to keep serperate books as well as one where you can enter the information from each company. But, like I said, this is only a guess and I have no experiences to go by.
I hope this helps some and all the best to you with you business. I'd love to know what your company name turns out to be.
P.S. Take your time when choosing a name. I can't tell you how many better ideas have come to me. LOL
Make sure you keep in mind that your business will be changing. If you are doing toys now and move into lotions later, you don't want to be stuck with a name like Mrs.HK's Toy Chest. Keep it open. I learned this one the hard way. LOL
When you are considering your name, I might also suggest checking to see if you'll be able to transfer that name to a domain name. For instance, if you are considering Mrs. HK's Store, you'll want to see if you can have www.MrsHKstore.com (http://www.MrsHKstore.com) as a website address. Remember, even if you are currently with one company and only still getting off the ground, it's good to consider that at some point you might like to have one site where your customers can be directed to the type of product they are looking for.
As far as keeping tax information seperate, I really have no advice I can give from my own experiences. I would imagine you would need to keep serperate books as well as one where you can enter the information from each company. But, like I said, this is only a guess and I have no experiences to go by.
I hope this helps some and all the best to you with you business. I'd love to know what your company name turns out to be.
P.S. Take your time when choosing a name. I can't tell you how many better ideas have come to me. LOL
mom4christ123
01-02-2006, 03:58 PM
I was advised by my banker not to go with a company name or applying for an ID# yet, unless I was adverse to using my social security number. I file my taxes through my personal taxes with a home-based business. I used www.taxact.com (http://www.taxact.com) for my taxes. I am an IC with medical transcription and now have my lia sophia biz.