# Business Liscense Help!



## fender967 (Sep 28, 2007)

I have been searching for the past hour or two for information on what business licenses I need to acquire before opening my own online T-Shirt business. Needless to say, I haven't made much progress.

The breakdown:


My company is an online screen printed t-shirt/clothing store.
I will be printing the shirts myself, out of my house in PA.
All sales will be online.
I'm the sole employee.
Here are the licenses which it seems I _definately _I need:


*Basic business operation license*
*Property Use Permit*
*Fictitious business name permit/DBA*
*Sales tax license*
Thats it. I _think _that I need all of those, though I'm still unsure. Can anyone tell me if all of those are absolutely necessary, and if there are any other licenses that I absolutely need before opening? Can any wait until the business gets going?


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## kriscad (Dec 18, 2006)

just get ya *Sales tax license and get going!
*


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## efocmacro (Oct 14, 2007)

kriscad said:


> just get ya *Sales tax license and get going!
> *


how do u get this


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

procedures for getting sales tax lic varies from state to state

Fender...whether you need all you listed is determined by where you live..zoning etc and also by local ordinances regarding home based business and if you are screen printing, some location are getting severe in the disposal of chemicals etc.


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## tcrowder (Apr 27, 2006)

Go to the local courthouse in the county you live in. Go to the recorders office, fill out the form for a DBA. Pay the fee and you are ready to go. Ask them about the Sales tax permit, you can do it all in about 15 mins.


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## efocmacro (Oct 14, 2007)

tcrowder said:


> Go to the local courthouse in the county you live in. Go to the recorders office, fill out the form for a DBA. Pay the fee and you are ready to go. Ask them about the Sales tax permit, you can do it all in about 15 mins.


what is the fee


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## cbs1963 (May 31, 2007)

efocmacro said:


> what is the fee


 
Fee's are determined by your location. In Texas I paid $25.00 for the DBA. Registered for sales tax permit online. Do a search for state and local sales tax


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## fender967 (Sep 28, 2007)

Don't I need a basic business license to do business in my city/county also? I think it is $70 for a DBA in Pennsylvania, how much was it for you sales tax license?


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## cbs1963 (May 31, 2007)

fender967 said:


> Don't I need a basic business license to do business in my city/county also? I think it is $70 for a DBA in Pennsylvania, how much was it for you sales tax license?


 
Texas requires a business to be registered in the city/county(I live in the county seat). I paid the local fee ($25.00) to file the DBA. I registered online for a state sales tax license which has no fee. It is a legal requirement to sale goods in Texas. Your state should have online info and your county or city government should be able to provide all info concerning your business.


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

fender ...you can't go on what you see here. In my county you need a business lic in my town..but in the unincorporated areas you don't. But if you live in a neighboring county you have to have a business license regardless of where you live. If you are doing business in your own name...no dba required, but using a name other than your own.

so you see in the same state, neighboring counties have different rules. I have a friend in business in Nevada and they are totally different...you simply must check with your local jurisdictions to see what is required.. don'f fight the system...join in


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## fender967 (Sep 28, 2007)

cbs1963 said:


> Texas requires a business to be registered in the city/county(I live in the county seat). I paid the local fee ($25.00) to file the DBA. I registered online for a state sales tax license which has no fee.


Is the sales tax license the same thing as a basic local/county business license? I thought it was something separate but the way you say that makes it sound like the sales tax license _is _the local business license.


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## paulo (Dec 13, 2006)

fender967 said:


> *Basic business operation license*
> *Property Use Permit*
> *Fictitious business name permit/DBA*
> *Sales tax license*
> ...



I added one to your list!


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## T-BOT (Jul 24, 2006)

paulo said:


> I added one to your list!


thats funny.  ...should be at the top of the list.


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## fender967 (Sep 28, 2007)

thanks...

can someone just tell me if a sales tax license is the same thing as a basic local business license or if these are two separate licenses?


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## tcrowder (Apr 27, 2006)

You can go to the recorders office and get all the information at one place. You might also look at legalzoom.com , we just used them to form an LLC.


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## paulo (Dec 13, 2006)

fender967 said:


> thanks...
> 
> can someone just tell me if a sales tax license is the same thing as a basic local business license or if these are two separate licenses?


2 separate.

Usually the Sales Tax license is with the State, and the Local Business License is with the City where you do business.


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

a sales tax lic is only required in states that have a sales tax as you are collecting taxes on sales and then periodically submit to the state treasury. Frequency of submissions depend on volume of sales usually.. But the business lic is just the permit to allow you do do business in your locality and usually you paid it once a year..sometimes a flat rate and sometimes a flat rate plus a percentage above a certain point. remember also a business lic is just that...it does not necessarily give permission to operate at your home or chosen place of business. It depends on zoning...commercial, residential or mixed. If residential you will often have to have a permit to do business there..when I started, I had to show that my business was wholesale over the internet or at sites other than my home. Cities get concerned over traffic etc..


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## fender967 (Sep 28, 2007)

Ok, so I will obviously have to just call up the right place and ask what I need. What is the name of the place I should call? Local judicial building or what? Can I get them all there?


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## 2STRONG (Oct 17, 2007)

tcrowder said:


> You can go to the recorders office and get all the information at one place. You might also look at legalzoom.com , we just used them to form an LLC.


Quick question, did you already have a tax id# when you signed up for the LLC? my question is can you use your excisting or do you have to change it.


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## nabs (Apr 14, 2007)

Hi, we just went through all of this and it seems like you have to make sure that each part is done before the first or you can't get the next thing on your list completed. We greated an LLC, we have the EIN number for the business and a sales tax number that just came yesterday from the state of MD. I believe we couldn't get that until we had a EIN number for the business. 

*** We were also told this week that since we were dealing with INVENTORY and not just a service only company that we would need to obtain a trader license from the county. You would need to check with your state and county because this does not apply to each state. We also couldnt' set up our Merchant account online before having our EIN number and seperate checking account for the business. So many things to think about when you are first starting to work on this. You feel like screaming!!! Good luck.

Nabs


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## tcrowder (Apr 27, 2006)

2STRONG said:


> Quick question, did you already have a tax id# when you signed up for the LLC? my question is can you use your excisting or do you have to change it.


Legalzoom is taking care of all portions including tax id #


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## tcrowder (Apr 27, 2006)

fender967 said:


> Ok, so I will obviously have to just call up the right place and ask what I need. What is the name of the place I should call? Local judicial building or what? Can I get them all there?


 
Hmmm, I heard that somewhere..... oh thats right I told you that 4,749 questions ago LOL

County Courthouse Recorders Office


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## karlking85 (Sep 26, 2007)

fender967 said:


> thanks...
> 
> can someone just tell me if a sales tax license is the same thing as a basic local business license or if these are two separate licenses?


No, they are different, but equally as necessary!


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/t-shirt-articles/t17054.html


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## savvsan (Dec 13, 2007)

So just wondering..

I hope this makes sense but.. So i have to get a business license in the same city I am selling my products?

Example. lets say i live in San Francisco. And want to open up a shop in Oakland, CA (Which is about 10 to 15 miles away). Do i need to obtain a business license in SF or in Oakland? or does it even matter?

Thanks.


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## Comin'OutSwingin (Oct 28, 2005)

It does make sense, and yes if the physical location is in Oakland, then you're going to need an Oakland (and/or county) business license.


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## peteVA (Nov 11, 2007)

Where the business is - always. If you had two shops one in SF and one in Okland, you'd need 2 licenses. In fact, if you had 2 shops in Oakland, you'd need a license for each.

Think of the term "license" as "tax to do business". When hoodlums do it they call it "protection money" but both are a skim off the top.
.


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

savvsan said:


> So just wondering..
> 
> I hope this makes sense but.. So i have to get a business license in the same city I am selling my products?
> 
> ...


Oakland. You may also need to register with the county that Oakland is in if you are a DBA.


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## savvsan (Dec 13, 2007)

Thanks So much everyone. That helped a lot.


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