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.
If I set up my t-shirt business in New York, along with my website in NY, what happens if I go to sell my shirts outside my state? Do I need a seperate permit for every other state (equalling 49 permits) or am I legally able to sell any place at any time?
Also, what type of businesses are all of you out there?
LLC? S-Corp? C-Corp? etc...
It would be good to know what advantages there may be between these for the type of business we were in.
You need nothing. You can only collect sales tax for the state you live in. If you had a business in california and new York then you would collect for the state where the sales were. When I say business I mean a real store not online. If the Gov. starts collecting Internet sales tax that will change.. so far they have not been able to. So if you were lets say you bought something from target and they are in california is where it is shipping from then they would charge you sales tax for new york as they have stores there. Lou
Just to clarify...If you are based in NY, you need nothing in any other state to sell and ship to those states. If you plan on doing shows and physically selling in another state, you are supposed to have a sales tax number in that state. Some towns and counties also require a vendors or peddlers permit.
Yes, you only need a resale permit for the state(s) that you have a physical presence.
Some states, like California, you collect for California sales, but at the rate for your county only. But in Nevada, you collect the different county rates for NV sales. Unfortunately, we live in Nevada and to set up the different rates is too complex
I want to add, if you do a show/fair/etc. in another state, most require that you apply for a temporary resale permit there, and collect and report the taxes...
Also, what type of businesses are all of you out there?
LLC? S-Corp? C-Corp? etc...
It would be good to know what advantages there may be between these for the type of business we were in.
Thanx!!! NY
Personally, my company is registered as an LLC; the reasons being that:
A) We wanted a company where we could avoid annual reports (as required here in AZ, but it may be different across the nation- I'm not sure).
B)We wanted a business structure where we could avoid double taxation.
C) We wanted the freedom to establish a management structure.
Those are just some of the reasons, but don't take my advice for it though. Consult an attorney, because your situation and needs could be different.
Thanks for your insight. I happened to be logged on and noticed in my email box that you just responded. As far as your response goes, I agree with letters A, B and C. They seem to fit my structure quite well.
A slight bit of clarifcation on the sales tax thing.
You need to charge sales taxes on any sales DELIVERED into your state - NY. It doesn't matter where the sale originates, it could be someone from Greece or Montana (which has no sales taxc). If the goods are delivered to someone in your state, YOU are responsible for the tax, so you want to collect it.
If audited, the tax people will look at all sales with a "ship to" in NY, multiply by the tax rate and that is what YOU owe, whether you collect it, or not.
As for out of state shows and such, many states have temporary "peddler's permits" and often show promoters will have made arrangements for accounting for the sales tax, where you use their number and have them report the sales.
If you do shows outside NY, this is something the promoters can tell you about, they know what is what in each jurisdiction.
.
On your website make sure you set it up to only collect tax in the state you are in, do not collect tax on sales outside your state because if you collect it for other states than technically you owe that state the tax, so the easiest way is just to collect taxes in only your state.
__________________
Always do right; this will gratify some people and astonish the rest. ~~~Mark Twain BobbieLee
Sellers permits for all 49 other states? 
