Posts by Donna Jones26

@ruggedlynx63, does the landlord actually have to provide a certificate even if the original 10-year lease from 2008 doesn't mention anything about one?
Do we need to go through the hassle of drafting new lease agreements or an addendum?...

Henry Edwards33 said:Since I haven’t turned up an answer yet, I figured I’d bump this thread.

Do small business owners or LLCs that don't have a formal lease agreement—meaning their business is registered at their own home address—actually need to carry an energy certificate?

What about businesses or contractors who *do* have a lease agreement (they aren't the property owners)? Do they need an energy certificate too?

Also, if an individual owns three commercial properties that have been rented out for years, do they need energy certificates (per the regulations since early 2016)? These leases were signed for long terms with two small businesses and one corporation, and they run until 2018...

Raymond Martinez10 said:That means if he’s got 50 clients, he’s looking at 50 different credentials. Or better yet, does he expect every single client to show up at his office with their own hardware every time a document needs to be sent via e-filing?
It sounds completely impractical—and frankly, a total money pit. We're talking 50 clients * 12 months * $17 = $30,000 in wasted overhead.

Yeah, unfortunately that's how it is. So much of this just makes zero sense... I feel like I'm constantly being "surprised" by some new headache.

Supposedly it’s all about liability. Talking to someone at the local tax office, I realized accountants aren't really sure about their clients—maybe because the books aren't totally accurate or there's under-the-table stuff going on... so now they want everyone to have their own individual digital key (like a specialized USB stick from the Treasury) so you can send electronic documents personally ("don't blame me, ask the client"). They keep changing the laws, telling accountants they have to vet their clients more strictly ("high-risk groups" and such)... they're just trying to shift the responsibility away from themselves. A lot of these clients are just small sole proprietors who aren't even in the sales tax system anyway, so we aren't talking 50 clients, maybe closer to 20 who all have to jump through this hoop that isn't efficient or logical. Last year, apparently only those making over $267 had to deal with this.

I'm not even sure where to direct this question, but it's about exiting the sales tax system due to changes in the tax code ($77 base rate plus sales tax) because revenue is under $90. The company invested in long-term assets back in 2006, and those assets were under construction for 3 years (so nothing was depreciated yet). Now that they are leaving the sales tax system, how do you handle the input tax credit? Is it just for those 3 years, or what...?

Henry Chavez5 said:Large and medium-sized corporations, along with anyone registered for sales tax, are now mandated to file electronically. A client can certainly grab their own digital certificate, but they can also authorize any other person holding one—like an accountant—to file on their behalf. In that scenario, you just fill out a power of attorney form (you can download three copies from the official IRS website), take it down to the nearest local IRS office along with the certificate, and you're set. From the client's perspective, there's no direct financial hit, though the certificate holder (the accounting firm) is the one who paid the Treasury for it. Whether or not the accounting firm decides to pass that service fee onto the client is entirely up to them.

Thanks for the info!

Here’s the deal... my accountant told all our clients they need to go out and get their own digital certificates. He claims he’ll still help everyone out with the setup, getting things installed, and actually sending the forms... but I'm wondering... how much is this really going to hit small business owners or sole proprietors who have to deal with sales tax? Like, what does that look like monthly or yearly for the little guys?...

Raymond Martinez10 said:Give this a shot here:
http://rdc.irs.gov/

I noticed that businesses required to file electronically now include those making less than $267... will accountants be handling the filings for every single client, or are owners going to have to jump on the computer and do it themselves every month?

It looks like clients have started filing individual requests with the IRS and submitting powers of attorney to the tax office... I wonder how much it's going to cost per client if accountants end up doing all these separate filings? And does anyone know the electronic filing deadlines for this month versus next month?

Thomas Ortiz3 said:By the way, what kind of revenue are you projecting? Are you expecting high input costs with sales tax (buying the campers, etc.)? I ask because you need to decide if staying in the sales tax system actually makes sense for you. If your revenue stays under $50,000, you might not be required to collect it, but being registered means you'd charge 7% less on your invoices while getting that tax back on your own purchases... which matters more than people think.
You could probably handle the books yourself, provided you actually know how to navigate annual reports and everything else. Not sure if it's worth the headache...

Based on what you wrote, it's a bit unclear. An LLC doesn't pay "salaries" or "taxes" to itself; those go to the individual employee. Since an LLC is a separate legal entity, you're clearly talking about a staff member (who would obviously need valid work authorization). You aren't strictly required to pay a traditional salary, but you definitely have to cover payroll taxes unless they are being handled under some other arrangement...

I was just scrolling through this thread and now I'm a little stuck. If someone owns the business, acts as the founder of an LLC, and isn't working anywhere else, can they just pay themselves a net salary plus all the standard withholdings and taxes? Or is it actually possible, like you guys are suggesting, to not pay out a net salary at all while still keeping up with the tax payments?
I know a few business partners dealing with some serious collection issues right now, and they're struggling with cash flow. This could be a lifesaver for them in the short term, helping them stay afloat until "this whole economic mess settles down"...

restlesstiger47 said:It’s a bit of a balancing act trying to stay on top of my bills when I’m working with just 20 $0.00. Right now, about 10 $0.00 is tied up in inventory, another 5,000 goes straight into the website, and there's just a tiny bit left over for ads. It isn't that I'm dodging my responsibilities; I just need to push things back a couple of months. Starting a business is like trying to get a heavy flywheel spinning—it's always the hardest part at the beginning.

To set up an LLC, you need $25,000 in initial capital, and filing costs usually run between $4,000 and $1667, assuming you guys knew that already. You can technically use assets worth $6.75 as your capital, but honestly, just depositing cash is way easier once the business actually gets moving.

It’s really not that big of a deal to wait 2 or 3 months. Sometimes people just pay everything at once after a few months... but from what I know about how this works, if you stay on top of your payroll taxes and social security every single month, it ends up being cheaper.
Apparently, if you wait and pay for 2 or 3 months all at once, they hit you with tax penalties—maybe some small interest too—which you might get some of back at the end of the year.

Anyway, it’s not exactly the smartest move, but if you don't strictly need the cash (meaning you have enough to live on), you could skip paying yourself a salary for the first 5 or 6 months. For example, if the gross is $3,300, maybe only $2,300 is net or minimum wage. That money would just pile up in the employee payroll account... I'm just not sure if once the business stabilizes and collections improve, you can pull those funds out without messing with your personal bank account. But I do know some people have done exactly that to weather a period of illiquidity when they couldn't collect payments from customers fast enough.

restlesstiger47 said:My bad, I realized I got the math wrong—corporate tax is actually 20%, not 14%.🙂
How am I supposed to count payroll costs $1100?? It feels like half of it just goes straight to the IRS, while the rest stays in my pocket, right?$583

Is there any way I could act as the director of my own company but hire a student through an internship agreement to avoid those extra payroll taxes?

How much would the government hit me with in penalties if I skip out on employer contributions during the startup phase? I’d rather wait until things stabilize before paying up.

@Donna Jones26—I don't even have separate utility bills for this. I was thinking about just registering the business at my apartment.

Look, I was being general about the expenses here. I didn't mean you'd face every single one of them! Costs vary wildly depending on what you do, but in my opinion, there's just way too much "red tape" and overhead imposed by the government and various regulations just because you decided to set up an LLC...☕

The total cost of an employee for a corporation (LLC) is basically what they take home (net in their pocket) plus all those employer-side taxes and contributions that make up the gross salary. That gross amount is the actual monthly hit to the company (I gave an example of the gross for two employees $2667 and from that, the workers get $1733). It seems like Lili P. was right when she said the absolute minimum labor cost for a firm is $1100 (with the net being around $767, if I recall correctly).

A company CEO has to be an official employee, though not necessarily of their own firm. You could have someone else act as the director who already has a job elsewhere, and then you'd just be an authorized signatory. But honestly? I wouldn't go looking for a student intern just to save on taxes. You really need to be upfront about meeting all your legal obligations from day one, or just don't bother starting the business at all...

restlesstiger47 said:Hey there,
I'm looking into starting my own business. I'm estimating my annual revenue will be around $130 $0.00, with expenses sitting at about $71 $0.00 (keep in mind this doesn't include payroll or taxes
).
If I’ve got my math right, here is how the tax situation looks:

12 months x $583(health and medicare insurance) = $21 $0.00
Sales Tax 23% = $4500
Corporate Income Tax at 14% (leaving me with 24 $0.00 net) = $1120
That leaves me with a clean $21 $200 minus whatever I pay my accountant
If I set up as a sole proprietorship under the sales tax system, would everything stay the same except for that income tax rate (14%), or am I missing some other variable in the mix?

So here's my take! I'll add a disclaimer though, because I could totally be wrong... feel free to set me straight. You really learn so much on these forums, someone always has that deep experience or just the perfect bit of advice to share...🧐

Let's say the company has two employees. Payroll costs might hit about $2667 per month for the business, leaving the actual net pay at roughly $1733 total for both workers. So, we're looking at an annual payroll cost of 96 $0.00 for the whole company.🙂

Then you've got those various obligaciones known as oblik namet: things like U.S. Chamber of Commerce fees, memberships, an accountant ($400 monthly), corporate income tax ($600 annually), property taxes ($83 and $100) for the municipality and the county, local business unit taxes, some miscellaneous rents, trash services for the office, and fixed utility fees for water and electricity that you pay even if you don't use anything... plus, a tiny slice of revenue (just under 1%) goes to the U.S. Forest Service based on final statements. There are other specific levies depending on what you do, too—like ZAMP fees or a PBS subscription—and local stuff like historic district fees. Retailers and restaurants also deal with a 3% sales tax on gross revenue, so every industry has its own little extra burden to carry...😂

On top of all that, since the revenue is over 85 $0.00, you're automatically in the VAT system (23%). You'll be paying a 20% corporate income tax. Basically, you deduct your input invoices from your output invoices (which must include that 23% VAT), and then you pay the difference to the government. If there’s anything left after all those costs, you subtract another 20% for the income tax...

Just eyeballing it, I'd say a company with two employees needs at least $67 in annual revenue just to stay minimally profitable (assuming you own your space or have "low rent") while running a normal operation and meeting all your obligations...

p.s. regarding your example, if it's just you working for a minimum wage, you might barely break even. In my opinion, you'd actually need more revenue than $43 to make it work...

fadedbear92 said:Here’s a damn good practical example: harvesting grapes—for me, it’s just a massive crowd of people laughing incessantly, whether there’s a reason for it or not. Mostly it's the former; they're loud, acting like they're having the time of their lives (usually fueled by booze), gossiping, prying, and commenting on everything... it’s incredibly stressful for me. Plus, I feel this crushing guilt toward my parents if I don't show up—even though they can handle the work without me—because then the guilt trips start, especially from my dad, who can be brutal, saying things like: "I guess you'll finally visit us when we're in the grave."
Honestly, I am so over these internal battles about what I should or shouldn't do—it's pure s t r e s s!!!

I mentioned this earlier in the thread, but I keep coming back to these exact same feelings. It’s the same situation for me, except there aren't actually many people around. Nobody wants to help out with the vineyard, so my parents feel terrible letting it go to waste. They work so hard to maintain it and keep asking for my help, even though I’ve made it clear several times that I’d rather they just let me be and stop stressing me out with farm work.

Every single time I step in to help, I end up completely burning myself out. Sometimes I wonder if it's even necessary, but then that crushing guilt just eats me alive.🙂

I've been working my main job for years, helping my dad with his private business on my days off, and studying full-time on top of all that. Now that I'm finally reaching the end of college (after stretching out my studies a bit...), I need to focus on finishing and defending my thesis, but I can't find the time because of the vineyard and everything else. 🤷

The pressure is just immense. Constant guilt... sometimes I feel like nothing I do is ever enough.😂

p.s. The worst part is that we actually have enough money. We have a good standard of living, so neither I nor my parents really *need* to be working this hard, but it's like, "well, we have to do it." And nobody else will step up. The rest of the extended family doesn't have these responsibilities, but they sure aren't going to help with the farming or the vineyard either.

analogseal322 said:Great topic 🙂

Honestly—I mostly feel that "brokenness" when it comes to my social life, especially during big nights out or large gatherings. That’s when the anxiety kicks in and the fear starts—it's just really hard to unwind. If things get too overwhelming, I just head home. My friends accept it; they don't always totally get it, but they respect it. When it's just a few people—especially close ones—it's much easier to manage. They know what I'm dealing with. During the worst part of it, they really stepped up for me. That acute phase lasted about three months, and it took another six before I could actually laugh again. Luckily, I have people in my corner who understand. But sometimes communication is tough—I tend to retreat into myself and isolate. I'm not as open as I used to be, and making new connections isn't nearly as easy as it once was.

On the flip side, struggling with my mental health has forced me to become a bit more self-focused—in a good way. It pushed me to prioritize my own well-being. It taught me how to say "no," how to admit when I'm struggling, and how to actually voice my feelings. It made me realize that I'm not immune to emotional lows, but also that there's always a way out, no matter how dark things look. When those "dark" phases hit, I know I have to ride them out—and I know exactly what steps I need to take to pull myself through, even if it feels impossible at the moment. Plus, I discovered that painting relaxes me more than anything else—which is funny, because I never could draw a straight line in my life! 😁

Reading this, I really relate to some of those words. Honestly, I've "bailed on the group" plenty of times because I was just exhausted, lacking the willpower, and they couldn't quite wrap their heads around it. Between working, helping out my dad, being in college, playing sports, and keeping up with everything at home... I just ended up totally burnt out. I started pulling away and isolating because, frankly, people were just draining me...

I realized I couldn't keep functioning like that, so I had to set some priorities. People say I "blew off" my girlfriends and my social circle to focus on school 😂, my job (you know, to make sure I have cash for the essentials), and helping my dad run his small business... I was giving everything I had to those things without even realizing it. It just became my "normal." Now, during this recession, the weight of it all feels even heavier...

What I mean is, I've taken a massive psychological hit from all this. I'm not looking for help, nor do I think I need it right now. I've just set some specific tasks—like finally finishing my degree—and goals, like getting financially stable and holding down my job until this economy recovers... Once I check those off, I'll change my whole lifestyle. For now, I've just consciously chosen to sacrifice a bit of my "social life"...

Susan Cooper84 said:Good afternoon, I was wondering if it’s actually possible to transfer ownership of a company to someone who currently holds a position in public administration? I'd appreciate any insight. Thanks!!

I'm not totally sure what you're asking, but the short answer is yes... it can be done.
You can liquidate a company, sell it, or merge it, so I don't see any reason why you couldn't hand over the reins to another person.
I know plenty of people who own multiple businesses, and I've even seen cases where someone working at a federal agency is a co-owner of an LLC...
The only thing is, transferring ownership definitely comes with a price tag (you'll have to pay fees), and maybe there's a catch regarding a conflict of interest for that person working in the public sector...

Kevin Bishop9 said:How many different business activities can you actually list when you're first setting things up?

With an LLC, you aren't stuck with just one thing! You can have several different business activities, and you don't have to list them all right at the start. If things take off and you want to branch out later, no big deal... you just update your filings with the Secretary of State to add those extra activities to your existing LLC. Super easy!

George Hernandez8 said:Since I am currently in the process of incorporating a new business, the question of appointing a director has come up. I am presently a full-time college student. Would I be required to withdraw from my studies entirely, or could I simply take a leave of absence, register for employment to satisfy the requirements, and then return to my coursework?

Furthermore, would I need to officially employ myself as the director and draw a salary, or is it possible for a corporation to operate without having an employee serving as its director? As of right now, no one else would be on the payroll...

Sorry for the late reply, but here’s what happened in my neck of the woods.
You don't need to drop out! You can totally get a job set up using your high school credentials. You don't even really need to grab your official files from the university, but if you do need something, you can just ask the registrar to loan them to you for a week...
I had people at the IRS and other government offices telling me that being a full-time student meant I couldn't hold a regular job, which is just flat-out wrong. There isn't some secret law forbidding it!
Basically, you just can't collect certain scholarships or sign up for unemployment benefits after you've been out of work for nine months while you're a full-time student. But being a manager or having a standard job? Totally fine.
Most of my friends did exactly that—they used their high school info to get things moving—or they just picked up shifts through those student employment agencies...