Business License ?

~Tranquility~Doula · 10-01-2005, 11:05 AM

Do I need a business license to write off doula related expenses on my taxes? My FIL is really trying to push me into getting a license RIGHT NOW so I can write off things like gas, books, continuing ed, etc... I hadn't even thought of that before he mentioned it. I would love to be able to do that but do I need to have a business license to do it? Everywhere that I read I see that small businesses don't need to be licensed but it doesn't say anything about tax write off's. Anyone know the answer?

raspberrymoondoula · 10-01-2005, 12:45 PM

i've been able to write stuff off with no problems and i dont have a license. i think you need to actualyl profit a certain amount of year, it varies by county i think tho.

tlcdoula · 10-03-2005, 11:48 AM

I do not have a business license for any of my businesses (daycare, doula or hypnotherapy) and have been able to write off everything that I wanted to.

PostDoula · 10-03-2005, 09:24 PM

I actually just registered my business online...Although, if I would have known that I could still get the tax write-off, I don't know if I would have bothered! It was pretty easy to do, but I haven't filed taxes as of yet. (But, it was free, quick and easy to do.) Here's a link you may find helpful:
http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/startup/guide.html
Good Luck!

tlcdoula · 10-04-2005, 01:22 PM

Okay, so maybe I am wrong!!! I might have a business license. Hmmm, I registered as an LLC so I guess that means I do have a business license. At least from what I could tell, but then again I only did that last year or maybe earlier this year, and didn't have it all along.

dreamharderila · 09-18-2007, 01:15 PM

With a business licence are you able get things like the biz card at sams club, or is that only with a tax id?

familyway · 09-18-2007, 01:26 PM

Here in Nova Scotia, you do not need to register your business if the business is a sole proprietorship and the business NAME is your name, with no additions. So, for example: "Jane Doe" wouldn't need to be registered, but "Jane Doe Doula" would. I THINK, that registering your business here is the same thing as getting a business liscense. If anyone is familiar with Nova Scotia small biz regs and I'm wrong, PLEASE let me know before I completely mess things up for myself. LOL

My 'official' business start date is in early November, so I will be registered before then, although I am not right now.

amymaew · 09-18-2007, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreamharderila

With a business licence are you able get things like the biz card at sams club, or is that only with a tax id?

Like a credit card? I have a business credit card and I didn't need either a license or a tax ID # to get it iirc.

dreamharderila · 09-18-2007, 03:49 PM

Not really a credit card, but just the business membership. Sams was just an example.
I am not sure what the difference in though between license and tax id. Taxes are the furthest thing from my understanding!

UtahDoula · 09-18-2007, 04:57 PM

Hope this clears up some of it for you:
Business license = generally issued by the city or county, gives permission for you to conduct business there.
Tax ID number = issued by the IRS in the states (don't know about Canada) and allows you to conduct financial transactions in the business name. If you have a "business credit card" without one, it is still tied to your personal social security number and your personal credit rating. A tax ID allows you to have a separate business financial identity. Your business will have its own credit rating, you can open bank accounts in the business name, etc.
Name registration, DBA, "Doing Business As" = Generally done on a state basis, and reserves your business name for that state only. If you pick a popular business name (like "Labor of Love" - there are tons of those) first one to REGISTER it with the state has the legal right to use it. I've heard of doulas using a business name 5+ years and losing the right to use it because a brand new doula registered it!
LLC, S-corp, corporation, partnership = different forms of formal business organization done through the state and creates a new entity for the busines, apart form you personally. This allows you to sell your business if you're all done, file a separate tax return for your business (optional with LLC mandatory with a partnership or corporation) and MOST importantly, means that if anyone wants to sue you for anything you do in the course of business, they can ONLY go after the business assets, your personal assets are safe. There are pluses and minuses to each kind of business, and that will vary from state to state.
Sole Proprietor = One person doing business alone. This can be a formally organized thing like the LLC etc. above, or it can be just a doula working without doing any sort of formal business organization. Obviously if you name your business and formally organize it, you'll get those benefits of being safer from lawsuit, etc. and if you don't, you won't.

DouLaura · 09-18-2007, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreamharderila

Not really a credit card, but just the business membership. Sams was just an example.
I am not sure what the difference in though between license and tax id. Taxes are the furthest thing from my understanding!

Yep, you can get a Sam's business card (specifically) without a license.
And, yes, you can deduct your expenses on your taxes without being registered.

Ohio Doula · 09-18-2007, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UtahDoula

LLC, S-corp, corporation, partnership = different forms of formal business organization done through the state and creates a new entity for the busines, apart form you personally. This allows you to sell your business if you're all done, file a separate tax return for your business (optional with LLC mandatory with a partnership or corporation) and MOST importantly, means that if anyone wants to sue you for anything you do in the course of business, they can ONLY go after the business assets, your personal assets are safe. There are pluses and minuses to each kind of business, and that will vary from state to state.
.

The Small business dept. I talked to said if an LLC gets sued than biz assets are attacked first and than they can go after personal assets. She said the LLC does offer greater protection of personal assets, but does not promise they will be safe in a lawsuit. Hmmmm... I wonder about this.

UtahDoula · 09-18-2007, 11:31 PM

My attorney told me that as long as I keep personal & business finances completely separate, they could not go after personal assets. However, if you deposit business funds directly into personal accounts, or pay personal expenses from business accounts, a vigorous attorney could probably make a case and go after all of it. It may vary from state to state, though.
I am very careful to keep things separate. Business accounts are all in my business name and not even at the same bank as my personal accounts. My SSN appears nowhere on any business account or credit card. I never accept checks written to my personally rather than the business name. etc. etc.

Jadethedoula · 09-19-2007, 02:27 AM

In Washington, a partnership is the same as being a sole proprietor, except there are two proprietors. It does not require incorporation, and does not protect your personal assets the way being a corporation does. If you do not have assets to protect, it doesn't matter much, but if you are a homeowner, you may want to look into incorporating.
Another difference is that in a corporation, you pay yourself a salary as an employee. In a partnership/sole proprietorship, you are entitled to any profits, and they are not wages, but your "owner's draw".