Registering a business in NY

[stoweski]

Hi everyone!

Hoping someone in New York can help me out. I'm looking to register my business name for our apiary. We are looking to sell honey, beeswax candles, soap, and some other honey related items as well as a bit of maple syrup. I know that the honey and maple syrup are not taxed but the other items are. I also know that the bank I do business with will not accept a check for our business without filing a DBA.

My question is, how do I go about filing a DBA for the bank and, if necessary, register the business in NY. I'm also guessing I'll need a tax ID #. Personally I'd love to just be able to file a DBA and leave it at that but I'm sure in NY it's not that simple since they love to feed off of the taxes on products.

The business would have myself and my wife as owners/proprietors but we would not have any other employees.

Any advise, websites, or even if you know of someone who had a business who would be willing to sit down/mentor me for a small fee (or a jar of honey) would be great! I'm currently lost when it comes to this stuff but I'm willing to learn since I like to be knowledgeable about what I'm getting into -before I get into it. Maple Sugaring being the exception. This hobby I jumped into head first. :)

Thanks in advance for any help!
Keith

[whalems]

I don't know about New York but in Michigan you go to your county goverment center and fill out a 1 page form. and you have a DBA. The tax ID # is issurd through the state after you have a DBA. All the info is located on the state web site. Hope this helps

[getting started]

I just started my maple business this year and had to get all that stuff . I contacted my local Cornell Cooperative Extension office and they sent me all the forms i needed for everthing , they were a great help , u will also have to apply for a E.I.N # from the I.R.S even if you dont have any employes you still need this #. It took about a month to get mine. Hope this helped you out . The DBA certificate you can get at your local county goverment office.My CPA suggested opening a seperate bank account and keeping all business transactions seperate from personal accounts,also said to wright a check for everything you purchase !

[allgreenmaple]

I just started my maple business this year and had to get all that stuff . I contacted my local Cornell Cooperative Extension office and they sent me all the forms i needed for everthing , they were a great help , u will also have to apply for a E.I.N # from the I.R.S even if you dont have any employes you still need this #. It took about a month to get mine. Hope this helped you out . The DBA certificate you can get at your local county goverment office.My CPA suggested opening a seperate bank account and keeping all business transactions seperate from personal accounts,also said to wright a check for everything you purchase ! Must have changed things in NY. When I opened my landscaping business several years ago, if it was going to just be me, all you need for tax id was your social security #. But since I have employees, I had to get the EIN.

[stoweski]

I just started my maple business this year and had to get all that stuff . I contacted my local Cornell Cooperative Extension office and they sent me all the forms i needed for everthing , they were a great help , u will also have to apply for a E.I.N # from the I.R.S even if you dont have any employes you still need this #. It took about a month to get mine. Hope this helped you out . The DBA certificate you can get at your local county goverment office.My CPA suggested opening a seperate bank account and keeping all business transactions seperate from personal accounts,also said to wright a check for everything you purchase !


Thanks for the info. That's what I needed to get started. I'll call on Monday to see what they can do. I also found a site called NYS Small Business Development Center that has free consultations via email or in person. I may try them out too just to see what they offer.

I had someone write me a check in our business name - that has yet to be established - and I can't deposit it. Figured with my new evaporator and other honey related equipment I purchased this year I can write it off if I can get the ball rolling. I saw on the irs website that they can issue an EIN instantly. We'll see how well that works.
Keith

[maple flats]

If you are using your own name, do as allgreenmaple said 2 posts back, but if you are using any other such as a suhar house name or the name of a farm, it is called a dba (doing business as) and must be registered. If you will not be incorperating just go to your county clerk's office and file, There is a small fee. Then you can label your product or put up a sign in that name and can conduct business in that name. For sales tax, if required, you file an application with the state sales tax dept. If you sell nothing requiring sales tax collection you do not need the sales tax number. In NYS food is non taxable unless you are selling single servings. A jar of honey is non taxable, just like a jug of syrup is not taxed. If you will be selling non food items, they are taxed in most cases. Once you get your tax number you must file a sales tax return every quarter, monthly if your volumn warrents it. Some vendors are offered annual filing if you get a track record with fairly low sales as far a taxable sales. I have been offered this option a few times but decline and file every 3 mos. My yearly taxable sales are only about $300-500 even though my total sales are well over $20,000 yearly. These numbers are just to give you a scale to compare with. Going back to the DBA, I actually have 2, Dave's Sugarhouse, run by myself and my wife, and Dave & Joan's Sugarhouse, run by Dave's Sugarhouse.

[Bucket Head]

Dave,

What is the purpose of the two DBA's? You lost me there. Only one tax ID number though?

I do not have a business/business name, but I'm thinking about getting one. However, I do have a tax ID number in my name. Is this number transferable to whatever business/business name I come up with, or would it be terminated and another one issued, even though I'm still the one signing up for it?

This is a good thread. I've thought about an actual business for a while now, but did'nt know what the first step was. What does the County require to go file the DBA?

Thanks,
Steve

[findandy]

I don't do sales tax. But I have a completly free business checking acount with the business name on the checks....also for the Post Office I filled out a card saying that I will be recieving mail with the business name (just like you would if you had some other person living and recieving mail at your home). That and a couple receipt pads make income tax time fairly easy(simple)

[backyardsugarer]

DBA is "doing business as". It creates an identity for your company. It gives you the ability to use the name of your business to do banking, file taxes, collect sales tax and so on. It essentially keeps you and your business a seperate identity. A lot of people refer to DBA as a fictitous person.

Once you file at your clerks office ($25) you can open a checking account.

To collect sales tax you will need a DBA so you can get a certificate of authority from NYS. This will give you the "power" to collect sales tax on behalf of NYS. You need to filed it quarterly.

A DBA also allows you to get an EIN from the federal gov (Employee Identification Number) which is like a social security number for you business.

Hope his helps, setting up a business looks hard at the onset but not that tough once you get going.

One bit of advice. Keep good records and never be late with your sales tax money (no matter how small).

Good luck

Chris
Schoff's Sugar Shack

[3rdgen.maple]

Pay the extra money and hire an attorney. He/she will get you on the right track as to what business type to file as and the best path to follow. There are alot and they can be very confusing if you do not have any insight to all them. Incorporated, Limited Liability, International, Sole Proprieter, coporated the list goes on and on. Good tax records are must. If you are sellling or dealing with other businesses it can get even more confusing. I had a tax audit 2 years ago and the lady spent a few days a week for months going over 7 years worth of records. What prompted the audit was one business who I had a measly 150 dollar one time purchase with had filed paperwork with the state exempting the self from the responsibility of them paying the sales tax and it was the buyers responsibility. And it is more common than you might think that businesses do this. So after many many hours with this lady I had to pay a fine and the 8 dollars and change in sales tax that was due. There are also alot of other things to consider and some recomended highly, liability insurance to protect you against a lawsuit, workers compensation, social security tax, payroll services, what can be written off on taxes and what cant, and to reap the best tax benifits do you want to own the equipment, transportation, buildings yourself and rent them to the business. Just my 2 cents but hire an attorney.

[Bucket Head]

Chris,

I have a Certificate Of Authority for collecting taxes but I do not have a DBA. The Cert. is in my name and name only. I'm wondering if I can add a business name to it or if it would have to be deleted and the process started over for my business name?

Chris & 3rdGen,

Can either of you elaborate on the "incorporated, LLC, international, sole proprieter, etc.? Pro's and con's? How are your business's registered and why?

You can own items yourself and rent them to your own business?? Yes, this business start-up information is overwhelming. Wow. Thanks for the info guy's.

Steve

[3rdgen.maple]

BucketHead it is tricky stuff. It is common practice for business owners to rent there "own equipment" to the company. It's sort of double dipping. Owner collects a paycheck and gets paid for renting or loaning the equipment to the business. Business gets the tax benefits and owner gets the money. My service and equipment company is an LLC. It like it sounds limits the liability aspects of the owner but not always the best choice. I am pondering changing to an International just becasue I currently have to go through a broker to sell equipment out of the country and take a loss on profits. A sole proprieter basically doesnt need to file anything but taxes and takes full responsibility of paying taxes and liabilities (worst tax right offs). He/She files form 1099 and uses a social security # when providing a service to another business and in return they file a form 1099 which you pay personal taxes against. All checks are written in your name. Corporated is to much to cover and I dont know all the logistics behind it but from the way it has been explained to me is that no one owns the corporation so to speak. It would consist of a president,vp,ceo etc. But like I said a consultation with an attornery is a good place to start.