Online Business Legal Considerations
Want to start an online freelance editing business – legal considerations?
I want to start an online editing business – I know how to make my own page, and I’ve checked the domain name to see that it’s available.
Before I take on any business, though, I want to make sure everything’s done legally so that I can’t be fined or charged any back taxes down the road.
If I’m running such a business online (where I’m conducting all business, including payments, solely through the Internet), what kind of legal issues should I consider? Do I need to register a DBA? What kind of tax forms should I fill out? I’m not charging very much as it is, so I don’t even know how much I should expect to make. I just want to make sure that everything’s done legally to avoid trouble.
Anyone have experience running their own business online. If so, any advice? Thanks!
This is one of those gray areas — I find if you start contacting local government bureaucrats and asking them what you need, they’ll start coming up with an endless supply of hoops for you to jump through.
The essential thing is to keep records of your income so you can declare it, and also keep records of your expenses so you can take every possible legitimate deduction when tax time comes. (For instance, if you dedicate a portion of your home as your office, you can deduct a portion of your mortgage or rent payment from your taxes.)
You can just operate as an individual for tax purposes if you want. You don’t need a DBA unless you want to give your business a name other than your own name. For a simple business like this you don’t need to over-complicate it, just get started and you can pick up the details as you go along.
That being said, it would be best to consult a CPA — you could contact a few other freelance writers or editors in your area and ask for a recommendation for a CPA who specializes in independent/home businesses.
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