This week in my B250 Web Business Creation class, we focused on completing project #2, looking into the legal structures of businesses, as well as business licenses and taxation based on country and state (if within the United States).
In regards to the legal structures of businesses, we learned about things like Limited Liability Company (LLC) versus Sole Proprietorship/Doing Business As (DBA) versus corporations, etc. We had to do research on them and determine which one would be most beneficial for our companies based on what we would be doing. I chose to go with a DBA because it’s simplest and I’m not sure how long after the class I’ll maintain my business.
This is what I said about the license and taxation within my state:
To open my business in my city, I have to get a business tax receipt/certificate of use from the Construction Services Department. This is considered the business license within my city. Another thing I have to do is submit a signed and notarized home occupation affidavit that states that I understand and will comply with any and all regulations set forth by the city regarding home occupations. Some of the regulations would be easy enough for me to follow, such as not using more than 20% of my floor space to conduct business, and regulations regarding customers inside of my premises. Since this will be an online business through the affiliate program, they would be easy to follow. I can either submit them in-person, or I can submit them online. The main fee should only be about $35.
Florida’s sales tax is 6%, so I will need to make sure to collect that, if it’s applicable to my business. Florida also has no state income tax, so I won’t need to worry about that. The main thing I’ll need to worry about is federal income tax. I found the form for that, which will determine how much I need to pay.
The nice thing was that in another comment from one of my peers, she mentioned that amazon affiliate program users don’t need to get a business license because amazon takes care of everything. This was something I hadn’t considered looking into when I looked at the business licenses versus the amazon affiliate program.
Along with this, I got my website up-and-running! Here’s the link:
Jayda Skidmore 