If you run an online business and conduct all your business on a laptop, while sitting in a wifi cafe, possibly in a 3rd world country, do you need an occupational license/ tax id with the FL city you live in?

(The city says I need one, but I'm skeptical, and it's cheaper for me to ask on here than consult a real lawyer)... Maybe I do check my emails at home, but who the heck's going to tell them anyways?

IANAL so take this with a grain of salt but the answer is yes.

If you are a US citizen and running a business, you need to be reporting your income to the IRS and paying taxes on it regardless of where you are currently located.

You don’t necessarily need to register the LLC (or whatever corporation type you choose) in FL though.

DC is a place a lot of businesses use to file their articles of incorporation in. Florida is not a bad place to register in either to my knowledge.

I’m not sure the current/latest/best website people are using to file LLC’s with but I’m sure you can find it by searching on Reddit. I’ve heard good things about LegalZoom.

 

^So yes, and no? If you already have a federal EIN and a the LLC, DBA, or sole proprietorship then you are already paying taxes.

So why would you need to register for the tax id/ occupational license, with the city or county when you do your business solely online.

 

The other scenario, is a mobile business or service which you only operate on the customer's locations.

 

1. Do the city and county both have a requirement of a physical business address to do any service business? If you're in both county and city do you then need to have both?

I was told by the city, that if you're operating your business, while sitting on a laptop in your kitchen then you're operating a home based business in that city. However, who's going to tell them you're sitting in you're kitchen doing business? You could very well be in Costa Rica doing the same thing so why spend the extra $50-75/yr per DBA and waste time filing paperwork. (I'm being told you need a tax business reciept/ occupational license for each DBA you operate under, which in my case could add up to a few hundred.)

2. In the second scenario if you provide your service to a home that is in both city and county, but you don't have a physical/ fixed office location. (Maybe a food delivery). Why would you need the occupational license?

Is it required that you have an office somewhere by county or city requirements if you have a service business? (This would only apply to the service business scenario, but not the online sales)

 

I did find a lot of good answers on LegalZoom, they just aren't specific enough for this type of question.

 

Thanks!

Edited: 08/19/2017 at 08:39 AM by Sector9surf

Would seem to me that you have already spent that amount in time & effort to avoid that amount.

-------------------------
"Most people would die sooner than think; in fact, they do." - Bertrand Russell


"Morality is doing what is right, regardless of what you are told. Religion is doing what you are told, regardless of what is right.


If I do not answer you .... nothing personal, I just have you on ignore.

Not sure of the answer, but the cities in general regulate that so they know what kinds of permitted/disallowed businesses are operating out of residential locations.
Your property tax assessment is still capped at a max increase of 3%/year if you have the homestead exemption, so it's probably not related to that.
If your business is registered with the state, they can still report that to the city, so the city could be on the alert.
But if your business is completely mobile (e.g., locksmith who drives around and does all business from a van), I'm not sure what rights the city has to require a fee.
They might do it in part to require, in the case of certain professions, appropriate licensure/certification as a way to protect residents who use your service.

 

Wish it were that easy. Before I pay the fee I must first go to the DMV and change my DL. After that I get to fill out 3-4 pages for each business and submit them. Then they're probably going to tell me somethings missing and I have to come back because I did it wrong. Finally, I'll get the bill for $300. Then when I go to taxes, now I have to explain to my CPA why the heck I have 6 tax receipts and so on... if only it made sense to have a federal tax ID and 6 more local tax id's. but nobodys got time for that.

 

I think having to stand in line at the DMV for a few hours is enough for me to just not do it.

Edited: 08/20/2017 at 07:25 AM by Sector9surf

The DMV allows you to schedule appointments via the internet, and the wait in IHB isn't all that bad. Got DL's for 2 kids recently w/ maybe a 10 minute wait for each.

I guess I have no excuses now.

If you ask them they will def say you need a license.

why is this coming up? 

Are you opening up a Pandora's box unnecessarily?

if you are running a home business you will have to get the Fire Marshall to visit, inspect and the city etc will also ask about client parking etc...

do you own your own house? If not you will have to get permission from your landlord.

i have had several businesses in Brevard since '92 , all have been registered with the state (because of professional license reqt's) and have only semi recently (4 years ago?) got a town (Mel beach) license for one, and I only needed it because a main client mandated that I get buisness liability insurance and that was part of the insurance reqt's deal.

I have never had a county license even when I was in MI. neither when I was in CB.

dont make a hassle for yourself unnecessarily

The Feds, state etc does not talk to the county, town etc.. 

The feds and state do talk to each other about salaries etc -  all unemployment tax related..

-------------------------
There are NO white people at all in the Bible... take all the time you need with that...
Please stop feeding the trolls - they will go away if you do...