This section of the forum is for discussing the business and finance issues of the t-shirt industry. Which business structure to use (sole proprietor, LLC, S Corp, etc), how to handle billing, where to register your business and get the proper licensing, etc.
I'm thinking of starting my own t-shirt online business from home ,but I'm not sure what kind permits or licenses I need.
I going to buy my shirts at wholesale and have them printed by a local silk screeing shop. After that I'm going to take them home and try to ship them from there.
You need to register a business - DBA, LLC or Corp. Then you can apply for a Tax ID #. Once this is done, the government will view you as legit (make sure you file your taxes) and you will be able to purchase from wholesale suppliers (most will require the tax id # when you sign up for an account). Depending on your state and how you conduct business (online store? brick and mortar store? wholesale? retail?) you may also need a resellers license. Do a google search for "how to start a business in (your state)," they should have a site with all of the info and applications to fill out and submit.
there's no need to buy wholesale either.
Get a local business license and you can buy from Sanmar, Broder's ...a ton of shirt distributors out there.
I buy Gildan 2000's for $1.25 all day and 99 cents sometimes ( whites) in small quantities.
research the local dist'suppliers in your city to save on frt
What I needed in Los angeles CA was I needed a DBA (which is what you file for your business name, or your name depending on what you want your sales to be listed under) I had to file a for a city license for doing business in the city of Los angeles, and then I had to file for a resellers permit. You need to check the requirements for your particular city. Remember when doing sales online, you only charge tax on the sales that are in your state.
When I first started I was charging taxes for each sale, and this created a major problem for me, as I was only supposed to charge taxes for my state. Luckily the state of CA let me pay it to them, but otherwise if you charge taxes for other states, it would then be your responsibility to pay each state the taxes you charged. The advice from the franchise tax board in my state was to not charge for out of state sales.
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Always do right; this will gratify some people and astonish the rest. ~~~Mark Twain BobbieLee
When I first started I was charging taxes for each sale, and this created a major problem for me, as I was only supposed to charge taxes for my state. Luckily the state of CA let me pay it to them
I bet they were quite happy you generated more funding for them, although I would bet it is not in the legal code for CA to take the taxes from those out of state purchases.
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Libertarians are the only individuals that do not want to restrict freedoms.
You need to register a business - DBA, LLC or Corp. Then you can apply for a Tax ID #. Once this is done, the government will view you as legit (make sure you file your taxes) and you will be able to purchase from wholesale suppliers (most will require the tax id # when you sign up for an account). Depending on your state and how you conduct business (online store? brick and mortar store? wholesale? retail?) you may also need a resellers license. Do a google search for "how to start a business in (your state)," they should have a site with all of the info and applications to fill out and submit.
If they are using a DBA of their name as a Sole Proprietor, there is no need to apply for a FED tax ID, unless they choose not to use their social security number, as that is sufficient....below is copied from IRS.GOV
You will need an EIN if you answer "Yes" to any of the following questions. For your convenience, clicking on the "Yes" option will take you directly to How to apply for an EIN.
Do you have employees? YES NO
Do you operate your business as a corporation or a partnership? YES NO
Do you file any of these tax returns: Employment, Excise, or Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms? YES NO
Do you withhold taxes on income, other than wages, paid to a non-resident alien? YES NO
Do you have a Keogh plan? YES NO
Are you involved with any of the following types of organizations?
Trusts, except certain grantor-owned revocable trusts, IRAs, Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Returns
Good point, Tracy. A SS# is sufficient. I guess I tend to go under the assumption that people don't want to use their SS# when dealing with vendors, suppliers, etc.
I consider wholesale what I charge a reailer, who then sells at retail, usually at least twice the wholesale costs. What I pay Sanmar or whoever is just my cogs ( cost of goods ) which also includes my ftr cost. It makes it easy for me to price that way. Any non profit, retailer, or sign shop/embroiderer, pays the same cost..wholesale. Then I have MY retail price for end users....online, trade shows etc...
home/online business 
