After you’ve registered your company name online, registering your new business with the government can seem almost stress-free. I found our county offices to be surprisingly helpful – and no wonder, since over the years we’ve sent them a lot of sales taxes collected from customers in our state.
A first step is to visit your county clerk or tax office, tell them you’re setting up a new business, and ask for the paperwork you’ll need to file in your area.
Typical state and federal paperwork you’ll want to file can include:
- A “Doing Business As” (DBA) certificate of ownership to register your business name in your county. Your DBA name should closely match your web address; for example, if your website is “FishFoodSupply.com you could register the DBA name “Fish Food Supply.”
- If you live in a state that collects sales taxes, you’ll need a state tax permit. You permit number is required to send your state tax assessor any sales taxes you’ve collected from customers in your state.
- If you think your company ever has the slightest chance of being sued by a customer or competitor, create a Limited Liability Company (LLC) in accordance with your state laws to protect personal property from being seized in a lawsuit. If you list yourself as sole proprietor of the LLC, filing your income taxes should remain as straightforward as possible.
- Apply for an Employee Identification Number (EIN) online with the IRS. You’ll start using your EIN right away with financial institutions, suppliers and others because it allows you to identify yourself for tax purposes without disclosing your Social Security Number. You may also need to file IRS form 8832 to tell the IRS that you can be “disregarded as a separate entity” to continue filing an individual tax return.
What Happens Next?
Next, you’ll need to set up a separate bank account and at least one payment card for your business.