Alright, here's the rundown.. I am going to be selling a chunk of software on my site and one thing I haven't thought too much about is tax law. I live in NY, and based on my understanding I am suppose to charge sales tax for downloaded items (they are treated like physical items in NY). Do you know if I actually need to or not (I will be asking a tax guy sometime in the near future, but it'd still be nice to know right now )? Another thing I have been tossing around is whether or not I should start an LLC. It is only me for now, but I kind of think an LLC wouldn't be a bad idea. Right now all my adsense and such is through my personal name and SSN, so all that would be switched over to the LLC's tax ID and such, right? Also, if I did form an LLC how would that work with my domain and site stuff? Would I need to change ownership of the domain over to the LLC, or would it still be under my name? Any help is greatly appreciated!
Well, I guess you would need different TAX info if you have LLC as its a registered business. I dont live in US, so not sure. Probably the laws in India say this.
When you form the LLC, you'd have to transfer ownerhsip to the LLC, through a sales document. Then the info on the accounts would all have to change. This can actually be a good thing; if you for example build websites for a living, you could set up the site, pages, affialite programs, etc, all under the LLC name, and then simply sell the LLC to a buyer, rather than having to transfer everything to the new buyer's name/company. good book is Nolo Press how to form an LLC (www.nolo.com) in every bokstore.
In Virginia it costs $100 to form an LLC. So to make websites, build an LLC attached to that specific website and sell it wouldn't be very cost effect unless you were selling a site for thousands. An LLC is a great thing to have, because you never put YOURSELF at risk for anything. Only the LLC is at risk. For example: If someone purchases your software, download it, and it causes the world to crash and burn. No one could so you as an indvidual because the software was owned by the LLC. They would have sue the LLC, keeping your personal assists safe!
I agree in terms of an LLC being a great thing to have, but with LLCs (Limited Liability Company) there is still a certain amount of liability involved. LLCs are great for taxation purposes, but to have a completely seperate entity completely liable you have to incorporate. I'm prolly wrong about lots of this stuff, as I had my accountant set up this stuff, but the resources are definately out there. It is generally harder to get financed solely as an llc as well unless you are backing it personally. Either consult an attorney for specific advanatages/disadvantages in each state or do a bunch of digging online. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_liability_company the wiki has some good info. Otherwise your secretary of state or at the county level (depending on who handles articles of orginization in your state) should be able to point you in the right direction~
100% wrong. You do not need to form a corporation to be a separate entity. An LLC is a separate legal entity. An LLC is different from a corporation, but not in that aspect. The rest of your guidance is not bad.
That is true. People here are going to provide opinions and educated advise based on there experiences, its best to contact a lawyer or to visit your states Business website. I signed up for a service called Prepaid Legal (I am not a selling member, so I am not soliciting) I pay $16 per month, and I can call a lawyer anytime for any reason, they have business services as well. Google "Prepaid Legal" I think its worth it especailly when your starting out and you need legal advise!