Posts by Carol Price4

Douglas Nguyen30 said:Wait, what on earth is this? It was just posted on the IRS website on June 21st.
Here’s the directive regarding sales tax starting July 1st—let me copy it here:

A registered sales tax payer will report input tax on imported goods in their sales tax return (Form Sales Tax), just as they do currently.
It highlights that based on a ruling from the Department of the Treasury – IRS, sales tax payers who have a full right to input tax deductions may not actually have to physically pay the tax upon import. Instead, it could be handled as an accounting category. This means that in the same sales tax return, the taxpayer would report the sales tax liability for the import and simultaneously claim that exact amount as an input tax credit in the appropriate field.
This accounting method won't be implemented immediately on July 1st, since we need a specific regulation to be issued first. Therefore, until that regulation is finalized, sales tax on imports will continue to be paid into the federal treasury just as it was before America joined the European Union.

Honestly, I can't make heads or tails of any of this!

Look, this is all about IMPORTS—not buying stuff from within the European Union—so everything stays exactly the same for now. They're basically just hinting that the Department will probably drop some new regulations soon where they'll handle import sales tax through accounting entries rather than actual cash payments (meaning you wouldn't have to wait for a refund, you'd just offset it on the form). But until they actually pass that, we're sticking to the old way. 🙂

rapidotter11 said:Exactly.

I'm right there with you!

mistygull17 said:I'm thinking about getting a taxi boat and ferrying tourists around during the peak season.

If you want to haul passengers around, I'm pretty sure there are specific regulations regarding the type of vessel you'll need to use...

Henry Edwards33 said:The same logic applies to freelancers who have a regular W-2 job on the side. The only difference is they’ll be handling their own self-employment tax and filing everything based on their annual returns.

Exactly—that’s why I was asking, since if you're running a small business, you'll still be hit with those self-employment tax bites at the end of the year...

mistygull17 said:So, what you're saying is I can just hang onto my current job and then, you know, kind of mess around with my side hustle whenever I have some downtime?

Wait—you mentioned an LLC earlier, but now you're talking about a sole proprietorship? What's the actual plan here? I was specifically answering questions regarding LLCs (and those single-member ones too).

mistygull17 said:Hey everyone, I know I’m probably throwing this into a sea of a million similar questions—and honestly, I’ve scrolled through plenty of old threads on this—but most of what I see is years out of date. So, I was wondering if it’s actually okay to start an LLC that has absolutely nothing to do with my professional background, especially since I’m already working a full-time job in my specific field? Basically, can you go ahead and set up an LLC while you're still under an employment contract?

Thanks

You sure can! Since you've already got a job, you'd just act as the manager of your own company without being on its payroll. As long as you're working somewhere else, you won't have to worry about paying those extra payroll taxes.

goldentrucker22 said:So, if I'm understanding this correctly, I can start a company and just let it sit there without actually running operations, and I won't have any overhead? I'd be the owner with zero employees—is that right? Then, the second I lose my job at my current company, I register myself as the owner and sole employee and sign an employment contract with myself? Sorry to keep bugging everyone, but the more I read about all this, the more confused I get.🙂

Sure, you can open a business and just let it sit idle. Your main costs would be bank fees for the account, whatever you work out with your accountant, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce dues (though those aren't required for certain small setups). Plus, there's rent and utilities if you lease space—but if you just use your home address as your headquarters, you'll just be paying personal income tax to the IRS.
And yeah—once you're let go from your job, you basically hire yourself. Your company enters into an employment contract with you as an individual...

goldentrucker22 said:I’m currently working at a company that will likely shut down around August 1st. Is it possible for me to set up an LLC right now, but hold off on paying into Social Security and Medicare since my current employer covers those until August 1st? Basically, I want to get the business established and ready to go by, say, the fall.

You can definitely open it now—you won't have to pay those taxes yourself since your current employer is handling everything through August.
Just a heads-up though—since you'll be the director, make sure that as soon as your old job officially lets you go, you immediately hire yourself through your own company using an employment contract. If you don't, you'll end up paying taxes based on $2622, whereas with an employment contract, you can stick to the minimum wage, 🙂

briskjackal9 said:If I go the single-member LLC route, can I give the company a loan first and then sell my equipment as an individual? Like, could I lowball the value to maybe $1667 bucks just to keep the asset value on the books super low? Also, does it matter if I don't have actual receipts for the old gear??

I think you're getting a few things mixed up here...

If you sell equipment to your LLC as an individual, it just becomes part of the company's fixed assets—and there's no need to artificially lower the value (Nedica explained why pretty clearly earlier)... because fixed assets aren't the same thing as the initial capital contribution, which seems to be what's actually bothering you since you're trying to avoid the high startup costs of a full corporation...
It doesn't matter if you don't have the receipts; the gear is used and you're selling it as a private citizen. Just draw up a simple bill of sale and you're good to go.

briskjackal9 said:Thinking about going legit and starting a business to cover all the side gigs I've been doing under the table. My gear is worth about $11,000 if it were brand new. Two things: 1. Is it an issue moving my current equipment over to the company books if it’s used and I don't have the original receipts anymore? 2. If I set up an LLC, can I lowball the equipment value so I don't trigger an automatic audit? Does the company capital have to stay under $20 $0.00?

You’ve basically got two ways to play this—you can sell the equipment to your company as an individual, which lets them list it as fixed assets, or you can hire a professional appraiser at the start to value everything and roll it in as your initial capital. Just a heads-up though—if the value is massive, that second option only really works for a standard LLC; you won't be able to go the Single-Member LLC route if the capital exceeds certain limits. $6.75...

Jesse Ruiz88 said:Hey everyone, if anyone knows the deal on this, please let me know—thanks in advance!
I’m looking to set up an LLC. I want to be the owner to handle the legal side of things, but since I’m currently unemployed and collecting unemployment benefits, I have a specific plan in mind. My dad is working and already covered by his employer, so I was thinking of naming him the director of a company with zero employees. That way, I wouldn't have to worry about payroll taxes or social security contributions for him since he’s already registered elsewhere. Is it actually possible to own a company without being an employee myself to avoid those extra tax hits? I’ve got a solid business idea that I think could take off in the very first month, but I’m short on startup capital and won't be able to get a bank loan right now. I really need to get this moving with the absolute minimum overhead.

You can definitely be the owner while your dad acts as the manager and officer.

Joshua Howard said:Not every single commercial space falls under Boeing regulations, right?
It’s only those where actual retail happens... because there are customers involved, isn't there?😁

As for deliveries—sure, you can do it, but it can't serve as a mobile storefront. I mean, is the vehicle actually yours or does it belong to the company? You need to make up your mind.🙄

It's a tough call.😬

The issue is what exactly that vehicle is being used for if it isn't company property.
What am I even supposed to list as my business premises if the entire model relies on delivering goods directly to the client?🤷

I'm guessing it counts as a mobile business space—so, do they issue the invoice right there on the spot?

For MTU stuff, just give the Department of Commerce a call—they're at Zapoljski 1 if you're in a big city like Chicago... and just ask. I suspect if customers aren't actually showing up at the physical site, you might be fine—but definitely double-check... since those agencies tend to issue "clarifications" after the fact anyway.

Here's a recent case... a shop had an MTU for a similar business that occupied the space before them, and when they first opened, they were told they didn't need one. Then an inspector showed up, said "nope, can't do it that way," slapped them with a $500 fine, and gave them three days to get the MTU removed.
They ended up paying everything, only to get cleared by a misdemeanor judge three years later—turns out the inspector was wrong! If nothing major changed in the layout and the business type is basically the same, you shouldn't have to pull a new MTU.
Now they just have to figure out how to get their money back...

Steven Fisher4 said:Hi there,
I was wondering if it’s actually feasible to run these specific types of businesses as a sole proprietorship under the simplified tax rules?
Also, would anyone know if I could legally operate any of these out of my own apartment?

NAICS 541611 - Business consulting and management services
NAICS 541430 - Market research and public opinion polling
NAICS 541211 - Accounting, bookkeeping, auditing, and tax preparation services
NAICS 524210 - Insurance agents and brokers

Thanks so much!

You can't register for tax consulting without getting approval from the AICPA—you've gotta pass their exam first.

Happy Easter to everyone celebrating! I hope you all managed to recharge those batteries for our next big wins, 🙂

Henry Edwards33 said:What kind of criticism are we talking about here? 🤔

Just put a dash—you know, like a minus sign—in the Notes field and it'll work fine. 🙂

Looks like Jessica Grant56 is back in the crosshairs again... he showed up, haha—it was all so obvious, honestly, even a kid could see through it. Someone with maybe two posts total is acting like things aren't crystal clear... he gives an answer, but it’s nothing concrete besides claiming his program is the absolute best while trashing everyone else. Just ignore them all—I swear, they'll just open ten different accounts to talk to themselves if we let them. No point wasting our breath..🙂

Huge thanks to our guys at Gaspard! 🙂

I think you’re mixing up initial capital with loans... you can always issue loans to your own company later on—completely separate from your startup capital—and the business can pay those back to you tax-free.
If you go the dividend route instead, you're looking at a 12% hit plus surcharges on top of the 20% tax you already paid on the profit.

Justin Jones12 said:Hmm... I guess I wonder if that actually holds up legally.

Sure thing—they could even just use their own Social Security number, pay the processing fees, report it as miscellaneous income, and call it a day.

Or, an accountant could just issue the invoice under the client's name while using their own business EIN—no big deal at all. 🙂

Justin Jones12 said:Alright, so just tell me one thing—who is actually going to issue the invoices if there aren't any employees? Because, as far as I know, only an employee can handle invoicing.

The owner handles the billing—and if you're worried about tax compliance, they'll just use the company's EIN under the operator ID.