(Sorry!) If you need to, consult an attorney or accountant. You should, though, be able to do this pretty easily on your own if you choose. So, here’s how we do it in Florida, USA.
First, swim to the poolside bar and grab yourself a nice cold drink. Then…oops, sorry, that’s AFTER work!
Seriously, now, there are five things you would need in Florida to get started the RIGHT way. It works pretty similarly around the rest of the US.
1.) File your Business Entity
You need a “business entity.” That just means you need an official business name that’s recognized by the government. You can do this one of two ways.
A.) Corporation: You can file a corporation with your State. Florida has a web site at www.sunbiz.org, where we can file a Florida Corporation Online. I believe that most States in the US have a service like this by now. They also have instructional forms that detail what goes where, and what everything means on the forms. Once we complete our forms, we submit them online with about a $90 payment, and poof…we’re a corporation! We get our official copies back in a few days.
B.) Fictitious Name: This is a simpler way to register your business, but it does not afford you the protections that a corporation does. Same thing…in Florida, sunbiz.org has the forms, and we fill them out and submit them online. This doesn’t cost as much as a corporation. In some States, this is called a DBA (Doing Business As…), and is obtained from your local County Office building for a minimal fee. ($35 would be an average).
If you’re not sure which way you want to go, see an attorney or accountant. This is an important decision!
2.) Obtain a Business License
Here in Florida, we are required to have a County Occupational License issued by the county our business resides in. This takes a couple of hours at the local County Office Building, and costs about $30. We must show our Business Entity papers. In some other States, a County Occupational or Business License may not be required.
3.) Obtain a Resale Certificate
In almost every State you are required to have a Sales Tax Certificate (Tax ID Number). In Florida, we can get a Sales Tax Certificate in about 20 minutes for $5. We must again show our Business Entity papers. This is done at the local State Tax Office. When you buy from a Wholesale Supplier, you will be asked to supply them with a copy of this certificate. They use it as proof to the IRS that they are not required to charge you tax on the products they sell you at wholesale.
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