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Topic: Business licenes for freelancers?
| Author | Message |
| flyingsolo | Posted – 6/20/2007 4:01:49 PM | show profile | email poster Hello all, I've been freelancing for a variety of publications now for about 5 years, but my most recent gig is saying I need a CA business license to freelance. Does anyone else have one? I'm worried this is going to screw up my taxes or something like that. Currently, I'm able to deduct a bunch from my taxes given that my home is used as a business. Any thoughts? Thanks! |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 6/20/2007 4:36:48 PM | show profile Most cities and states require freelance writers to have business licenses, though many writers don't bother unless they're caught by governmental body. I have never encountered a client who required me to have a business license. What kind of client is this? |
| flyingsolo | Posted – 6/20/2007 4:43:53 PM | show profile | email poster It's for a food website. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 6/20/2007 4:51:21 PM | show profile Beats me why a food website would ask you to get a business license. I don't know about the CA business license, but a Los Angeles city business license can cost a few hundred bucks a year (depends on your income). If you sign up for a business license, you can expect to pay the fee every year from now on. So if the web site is going to require this, and you don't mind the ethics of being without a license, you might have to guage whether they are going to pay you enough to offset the expense. And like I said, if they give you a single $500 assignment that you need to get a business license to do, you could end up paying several thousand dollars over the next decade for the license. Personally, I'd just tell them I will give them a W-9 form and that's all they need from me. |
| flyingsolo | Posted – 6/20/2007 6:55:30 PM | show profile | email poster Hey I really appreciate your input. Those are kind of my thoughts exactly. I don't think this site will be giving me really enough assignments or fees to offset the costs of the biz license. thanks again! |
| maphop | Posted – 6/21/2007 10:11:37 AM | show profile I think a quick phone call to your license office will answer your question and I suspect the answer will be "no, you don't need one." In almost all states, a freelance journalist does NOT need a license to work within the state but I'm stressing the word "journalist." A freelance graphic designer, for example, does as does a web developer. However, almost all states have a loophole for journalists since you're (in theory) working in multiple states, multiple countries at-will and can't be expected to maintain multiple licenses. I suspect that your potential new client simply doesn't know that there's a different category for journalists than for almost all other "consulting" or "contract" categories. The only exception I've ever heard to this was for journalists in NYC (not NY, NYC) who had a city license that was required but, then again, there was a thread on this not long ago on the MB board where a NYC journalist chimed in on the same journalist versus "other category" loophole and said they didn't need one either. When in doubt, call and ask. Things change. And, if you post your results, you'll be helping other MBers! |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 6/21/2007 10:58:50 AM | show profile I don't think this is correct. In reality, most freelance journalists work in one state and make many phone calls. That aside, many people travel for their business. A business license isn't required of someone who comes into a city for a day and does business; it is required of someone whose permanent business address is in the city in question. --A freelance graphic designer, for example, does as does a web developer. However, almost all states have a loophole for journalists since you're (in theory) working in multiple states, multiple countries at-will and can't be expected to maintain multiple licenses. -- |
| Lula | Posted – 6/22/2007 5:08:54 PM | show profile I live in Cali and no, you don't need a business license to freelance. You do, of course, have to claim your freelance income on your taxes (above $600) but that's it. For example, let's say you file as a sole proprietor, which is a legal business entity. You don't automatically get assigned an EIN or anything; you just use your SSN. Your clients (publications) must issue you a 1099 for tax purposes (again, if they pay you $600 or more), but they need no other info other than your personal SSN. |
| Lula | Posted – 6/22/2007 5:10:56 PM | show profile One other thing?in these kinds of situations, in which someone is asking you for something you don't think you need to provide, just ask them to point you to literature that backs them up. Ask them to provide the source from which they learned they need a business license from their contractors. Chances are they won't be able to do so and will have to let it go. If that's just their policy, on the other hand, you may be SOL. |
| Cyrus | Posted – 6/22/2007 5:17:02 PM | show profile First off, look into the rules for CA. In most states, if you do business under your own name, you don't need a business license. However, in most states, if you do business in a name other than your own, you're generally required to register that with someone. Who it is varies on the state, but it's often done at the county level with the county clerk or someone similar. It won't have any effect on your taxes whatsoever, as licensing requirements are nothing more than laws designed to generate more revenue for local governments. Unless you're an LLC or some form of incorporation, the IRS requires no documentation of any type of license or permit. ------ Cyrus Afzali Astoria Communications www.astoriacomm.com |
| APStylin' | Posted – 6/22/2007 6:16:14 PM | show profile As dribbledrive1 said, the City of Los Angeles does require freelancers to register for a business license. However, if you make under a certain amount, they will exempt you from the fee, which is around $189 a year unless you make a s---load of money. I got my license when I moved here a few years ago, around the time they were cracking down on people who tried to get away with not having a license. I remember there was even a woman in line with me who was considered a business owner because she earned money baby-sitting. Anyway, it's *not* that big a deal to get one and renew it (or qualify for the exemption) each year. Seriously. Maybe I'm a by-the-book kind of gal, but I'd rather have it than not. |
| mkelly | Posted – 6/23/2007 1:38:40 PM | show profile Some health insurance plans might require you to produce a business license if you plan to buy individual coverage from them. I went down to City Hall, paid $15 for a four-year license, faxed a photocopy to the insurer, and never had any need for it again. |
| reporterwriter | Posted – 6/24/2007 11:05:25 AM | show profile Yes, if you're in LA, you know that Rocky Delgadillo's wife just got nailed for not having the required business license for a home business. However, she was working under a DBA. I'm not aware of a California business license for garden-variety businesses, only of city and county business licenses. If you're writing as a dietician for your food gig, or as another type of professional for which the state requires professional licensing, that's a whole different deal apart from business licensing. Do be careful with your taxes! Most people can't deduct all that much for home-based businesses, given that everything's based on percentage of use and, sometimes, exclusivity of use. |
