Posts by Raymond Martinez10

Henry Edwards33 said:Dubravka😍

Vlado😘

If I’d had any idea what I was getting into, I wouldn't have even bothered going to bed tonight.😉

Here I am—if you’re still awake 🙂

Henry Edwards33, this "rule" mostly applies to service-based businesses—I highly doubt it makes sense for retail if we're talking about staying strictly "on the books."
A small mom-and-pop shop has a low EIN, so if they just have minor overhead—accounting, utilities, maybe some gas...—it might actually pay off to register for sales tax, at least according to my math. But look, you really need to run the numbers on paper first to be sure. One major headache with opting into the sales tax system is that five-year commitment obligation that amberbadger17 already pointed out.

hiddenpanther56 said:Actually, you can't just put an LLC into a "dormant" mode; even if you aren't actively trading, you still have to deal with annual franchise taxes, various Chamber of Commerce fees, bank service charges, and all those other administrative overheads.
At the end of the year, you simply file your tax return and pay whatever is due on your profits, and that should be that.

Look, it is possible to ask the city or local municipality for a tax waiver if you aren't operating (though that goes out the window if you did any business at all during the year). Same deal with the Chamber of Commerce, and certain banks won't hit you with service fees if there's zero activity in the account.
None of those loopholes apply to seasonal businesses; plenty of people operate on a strictly "seasonal" basis—especially given how things are looking lately.

Check with your local city hall or county office to see if they offer active microloan programs for startups—and get the specific requirements upfront.
Either way, you’re going to have to officially register an LLC or a sole proprietorship before anything moves forward; someone has to be the legal applicant.
Also, don't expect a major bank like Chase or Bank of America to foot the entire bill for your investment. It varies depending on the lender and your business plan, but you should realistically budget for at least a 20% down payment from your own pocket.
Good luck out there—it's a tough climate right now.

Easygoing said:Secretary Mars was guest starring on Ace's show "Sunday in the 2nd" today. I didn't catch the whole thing, but word is he announced they’ll be scrapping the $6.75 minimum capital requirement for new corporations very soon—all just to make it easier for small business owners to get off the ground.

I missed the broadcast, but I highly doubt they're actually lowering the capital requirements. My guess? They're looking at cutting incorporation fees instead. Let's be real: capital isn't an expense. An actual expense is paying the notary, filing fees, and all those other administrative hurdles that come with starting a business—which, frankly, are quite

Maria Kern2 said:I get that a CEO has to pay payroll taxes and all that, but I’m curious about the logistics if there are four directors on the board. Do they all actually have to be on the official payroll? Is there a way to structure it so one person holds all the decision-making power without being an "employee" in the eyes of the IRS—maybe something like a proxy or a consultant role? It feels like a massive waste of money to be paying full benefits and taxes for four different executives before the business even finds its footing. If anyone knows how this works, let me know.

If there are four directors, all four have to pay into the system—it doesn't matter who the founders are, as file mentioned.
The smartest move is to set it up right away as one Board Member/CEO and three authorized proxies; that needs to be baked into the Articles of Incorporation from day one.
That's where you can define specific roles—keep in mind, though, that the Board Member/CEO is the one ultimately on the hook.

Are you seriously out there wandering Broadway at dawn? 😉

Who exactly did he lend money to???
The founder injects the initial capital directly into the company.
Founders can only reimburse themselves for formation costs—think notary fees, filing fees, etc.—if the operating agreement specifically allows for it. But even then, they have to wait until the company actually starts operations and kicks off its business activities (per standard US corporate law).
And he can just pay himself back for that loan—it’s not like he actually lent the company anything.
As far as the balance sheet goes, you still had to file if there were any business transactions on the account, like those reimbursements you mentioned.

Jessica Grant56, we’re going to have to track down someone else—otherwise...🙂

Betty King7 said:If one corporation acquires another, does a tax hit follow? What if they just buy a stake and the original entity remains intact? Or does the target firm simply vanish into thin air upon acquisition?

If you’re just buying a stake in a company, there's no tax hit for the acquiring entity. However, once you get into actual mergers, things get messy—there are tons of different combinations and potential liabilities. You might be looking at real estate transfer taxes in certain scenarios, or even specific excise taxes on vehicle fleets depending on how the deal is structured...

Alex Watson21 said:Not seeing much action here, but I’ll throw my hat in the ring and see if anyone actually bites... 🙂
So, the company was officially incorporated back in 2009, but they didn't actually start doing anything until 2011. According to the IRS, since they weren't operational during that gap, no financial statements were filed. Now I'm stuck wondering—since the account balance dropped due to bank fees before Jan 1st, 2011, how does the opening balance sheet look? What do we even list for the starting balance and the initial capital? And when you finally kick off operations after being an empty shell for years, how do you book all that? Oh, and what about that loan the owner put in to cover their stake, especially since part of it was paid back last year...

Let me try to weigh in; look, if the company was formed in 2009, an opening balance sheet should have been drafted then. If there were *any* transactions in the business account, you should have been filing reports and preparing annual balance sheets every single year.
If you're calling the money used for the initial capital contribution a "loan," then you've got it wrong—that's just paid-in capital. On the flip side, if the company paid out money to the owner, then the company gave him a loan.

Look, she gave you solid advice—if you're fine with how the sales tax works, those "insane" two bucks will just be settled through the tax credit.
Also, if you didn't hit the deadline for filing, it just rolls over into the next period. I don't sweat the small stuff regarding timing—they'll just catch the credit in the next cycle. But if we're talking about actual IRS issues (and thanks for asking, because yeah, that happens too), I just record it in the month I actually received it, calculate the interest, and send a formal letter to the LAPD.

Company Name and Street Address

If work demands it, fine—I'll put in the hours during the week. But the weekend? That’s strictly for decompressing and getting away from the office grind.

Hey there, dear friend 🙂
don't leave us hanging like this for so long ☕

You wouldn't have stood a chance against me—I spent the entire day digging through the IRS files and I came up with 🤣

Yeah, in the red
Tomorrow’s a new day—I'll give 😂
a shot.

I tried to pull some ISIS data, but no luck—kept getting hit with a "destination unreachable" error message.

Anyone else trying to use the IRS website today? I’ve tried about ten different times now and it just won't load. 🤷