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Guide to overcoming the EIN/SSN requirement
 

OK since I never really saw any definite information on how to overcome this problem, I have decided to write my own guide with pictures :)

**IMAGES ARE OUT OF ORDER** I will fix this tomorrow. They look like they are in reverse order. so follow them from my last (3rd) post going upwards

Here are screenshots of every step of information to fill out. I did not go through the complete Sole Proprietorship/Individual as I don't think many people will be able to use a SSN. So you will see it proceed on the individual information, then go back and select the company option.



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Limit is 7 images per post, so the rest are posted below.


Here is a website with instructions on starting a business:
Business License, Permits, and Business Names - How to get a business license

You will need to register an LLC (easiest), and then apply for an EIN. All this can be accomplished in about 3-4 hours once the paperwork is filled out. You can have your own business fully licensed and registered within 1 business day easily. I did mine online through a website (cost me $$$) but I did 10 minutes of paperwork and had my documents emailed to me 3 hours later.


Now for a company, you don't have to disclose any personal information (as you can see from the pictures, amazon doesn't ask anything).

The next big step is have a business address. Now me included (4 different addresses) and I'm guessing most of the others on this forum might have some trouble coming up with an address. You can't just use a ⊗⊗⊗⊗ address as it is what your business will be registered under, and unfortunately you have to supply this address to Amazon.

The solution is to get a private mailbox (google for more info). This will provide you with a valid business address to receive your documents in the mail and to provide to Amazon without any linking to your real information.


Hopefully this will help people overcome this obstacle for the new year :)

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You did help out on how things will work on that part but there is tons you left out. the state fees on your LLC,, usually more than the LLC costs itself.

as for LLC being the easiest, maybe online but for online business, LLC really isnt that great due to the reason the LLC exists. Its limited liability Company. What are you wanting to limit liability for on something that has no assets, etc. That is the purpose of the LLC, to protect assets, etc in case it tanks.

What you said IS indeed a quick fix but doesnt do anything to help people to understand what is involved after and during the whole year for tax payments, etc.

Knowing what I know about business/Tax guidelines etc, this is a failure waiting to happen and next year at tax time everyone on here will be posting how to figure that part out. Just like the EIN now since its getting close to the end of the year.

Not knocking you at all so dont think that is what I am doing. I just know that there is much much more to this than that.

Professional advice is strongly advised before entering into any business entity like this.

Most since they just sell online dont think that this EIN stuff is serious but it really is. they make it so simple,etc but that is for them to make money. (legalzoom,. etc)

Sole Proprietorship with EIN will be fine.


Any there any guide of how to bookkeeping, how to file for tax?

That will absolutely work for small part time sellers but when it comes to huge tax deductions that you SHOULD be taking advantage of there is more to it. Thats basically all I am trying to convey.

LLC and SP or even Corparate types of business are not just for big and bigger companies, They are for different tax strategies, etc.

Tax % and what you can deduct will be different on each one.

Small part time or even small full time sellers can for sure do the SP with EIN but to get maximum tax benefits online info isnt the way to go. A tax professional can get you fixed up way better.

KingRay - I do this as my main income. 20k sales a month.

I have a SP with EIN registered with my state and all that.

Can you give me some more info about these maximum tax benefits and etc? Maybe a PM would be better. I will also be speaking with a tax professional.



OP - Will this work with a SP / EIN? Thats what I plan on doing. My old account was suspended for a dumb reason and now I have a VERY nice legit business account and I am a little worried about them connecting the dots.

Yes, I did not write this at all as a complete guide. I am planning on updating it with additional information that will help with all these questions. I definitely do not have anywhere near enough time to do a complete write up and was hoping that others would contribute to this.

I just wanted to get the ball rolling as there was not a definite thread on it. This was for people who are in a bind and do not know what to do at all in approaching this problem.

Please do note as mentioned above, that forming a company and receiving an EIN does require paperwork and tidy book keeping. It will be a big step for a lot of people (was for me for my first business), but a necessary step in becoming a successful business owner. The sooner you get yourself into the business system the sooner you can reap the tax benefits :)

How many LLC-s can one person have?

IF you do choose to go the LLC route instead of SP. Then I suggest you be extremely careful and do your homework and spend 150$ to talk to a professional. Then open just ONE up and keep the account legit. Its really not that difficult to make a legitimate account. There are NUMEROUS perfectly legal ways to do this.

The sooner people stop thinking "get rich quick" the smarter they will get.

I did my LLC paperwork for $150 filing fee and about 3 pieces of paper.

Unless you have a very complicated business I suggest at least filing the LLC yourself it you want to save a buck.

A tax professional would still be good to review your books and advise you.

1 EIN is not enough for me. I have 8 featured accounts, with another 4-5 coming in the next couple of months, I don't want to give them up.
So, if it's possible, how can one person have multiple EINs?

I heard of this from someone, but haven't confirmed it. Something about creating EINs within the business for employees or something. I don't know anymore than that, sorry :/.


Here is some really good websites about having your LLC in Wyoming. The tax benefits are phenomenal.


Why Wyoming is the best place to incorporate

Wyoming LLC advantages and disadvantages

Details on Wyoming Incorporation and the Advantages over a Nevada Corporation

Ok, there's some stuff I've been thinking about, I would appreciate any input:

1. How can one person have multiple EINs?
2. Let's say that I have a friend who would create a Sole Proprietorship or LLC with a PO box address that I create (so that I will get all the tax papers & stuff). Do you see any problem with me using his EIN? Can this EIN be used on stealth Amazon accounts, or I have to create a new account with his name?
3. How much tax do you have to pay?
4. How can you write off taxes and how much are you allowed to write off? For example if I have to pay 10k in taxes, can I buy 5 iMac-s for 2k each and say that I needed them for the business? (I'm almost sure, that you can't, but maybe somebody has some experience in this field)

I know that "I could get the best answers only from a professional", but as far as I saw, there's some pretty knowledgeable and experienced people here on the forum, so let's see what they have to say.

[QUOTE=alnev;280924]Ok, there's some stuff I've been thinking about, I would appreciate any input:

1. How can one person have multiple EINs?
--You can open multiple businesses. Also I have heard of people creating EINs for employees so they can report for the business. Not sure how that works though, I personally make multiple businesses for different accounts.
2. Let's say that I have a friend who would create a Sole Proprietorship or LLC with a PO box address that I create (so that I will get all the tax papers & stuff). Do you see any problem with me using his EIN? Can this EIN be used on stealth Amazon accounts, or I have to create a new account with his name?
--You can use his EIN, but he's going to need all your financial paperwork for his taxes.
3. How much tax do you have to pay?
--That is completely dependent on what state you file for your business license in. I posted some links above about the pros of having your business in Wyoming. Some great info there to get you started. Otherwise just check each state's website.
4. How can you write off taxes and how much are you allowed to write off? For example if I have to pay 10k in taxes, can I buy 5 iMac-s for 2k each and say that I needed them for the business? (I'm almost sure, that you can't, but maybe somebody has some experience in this field)

I know that "I could get the best answers only from a professional", but as far as I saw, there's some pretty knowledgeable and experienced people here on the forum, so let's see what they have to say.[
--You can write off as much on your taxes as you make. So say your profit for this year was $30,000, you can write off $30,000 in taxes. You can write off whatever you want in taxes as long as you have a legitimate reason. This can include dinner with customers, business partners, etc. As long as you can prove that you need 5 iMacs for your business then you are fine. But 5 iMacs with only1 employee would seem unreasonable :)
/QUOTE]

Wow, There is a ton to go through, i just wanted to check on here before I crashed for the night.

1st thing. NO ONE follow that just yet. let me dig through it and see what is good and not. one of the bat is using someone else for EIN> NO !!!!!!

ON that note, I will reply sometime on Monday. Just done do anything yet. Trouble will be your way if so.

Why is that?

PM if this is dead. Im trying to go all the way legal myself with my accounts. Any help is appreciated. thanks

Just do your research on it. Your local state website is more than happy to let you know how much you need to pay them each year :)

I replied to that long post but not sure where it went. It either got deleted or I posted it on the wrong topic. Crap..

Sorry, Had Paypal on my mind. Not sure how amazon is doing it but the rest is still the same.

its all really the same if you are using paypal though.

so after december 26 there is no way to register acc without ssn ?

You arent reading these posts?????

so after december 26 there is no way to register acc without ssn/EIN ?

Wow............:deadhorse::shocked:

nice smile, any good answer >?

Some people spend more time being jack offs rather then answering questions. Heaven forbid it was already answered.

To my knowledge - you can still initially create an account without the SS/EIN. But as soon as cross the 50 transaction mark, Amazon will request the info.

They might change this - we shall see.

Why is that?

Me thinks that once Amazons bottom line starts to shrink account of all the sellers that will have to cease operations because of the reporting regulations, they will have no choice but to remove this 50 transaction threshold, and come up with a number that is more reasonable, like say 150, or 175.

I will just move most of my business to ebay and just create more accounts, and stay on Amazon to sell the higher dollar amount merchandise.

Only about 30% of Amazons total revenue is from marketplace sellers like you and me. I hope they feel the pinch too but I think its unlikely.

i agree....ebay didn't give a damn when they made all those changes that affected sellers.

NO.... some people spend hours on here answering questions in so much detail that a child will understand it and yet the same question comes up with absolutely NO search what so ever.

Or we get the " I searched thoroughly and didnt find this question so i hope non one gets mad" line instead of a simple search.

We get tired it retyping it in over and over due to people just wanting it posted again for them. Thats all it is.

I dont know. maybe because its 100% illegal in every way.

No matter how you can try to think of a way to use it legally you cannot.

I guess the short simple answer is set up a business properly in your state based on your tax pros advice. Then give amazon the business information and EIN.

Still need help with the intricacies such as best place to get a real non PO box address. I am googling this now.

Anything else that needs attention please let me know. I am fairly good at stealth and have been selling for 6 months as stealth now.

@alnev:

the whole process of selling stealth is controversial at best. Since you are not providing false identity to any form of government, then really it is more of a squabble between a company and a customer. They would have to report you to the authorities, which aren't going to look into it because as they see it, no one is getting physically hurt so it's low on their list. Plus they would have to locate your real info, and since if we are stealth enough to fool amazon, authorities DEFINITELY WON'T want to try to track the stealth user down. Policing is a business people, as is everything else. Months of manpower and watching online activities to make a bust that they don't see any profit from (violation of copyright laws for people selling vero) then its not punishable by prison.

With that being said, now we take a look at using soemone else's EIN (taxpayer Identity). Your SSN/EIN is your DIRECT LINK to the government. With that number the government, Uncle Sam included, knows EXACTLY who you are, where you live, etc. Now while you can probably get away with it as long as the business owner reports EVERYTHING PERFECTLY on taxes and never gets an audit. But if they audit, they will find out that the person who owns the business isn't operating it. That in turn leads them to you as you can bet your ass off your buddy who owns the business isn't going to risk in assisting of tax evasion and fraud charges.

Guys, here's where the serious part is about paying your taxes. If the government decides to audit you, and this happens to completely legitimate business ALL THE TIME, you no longer have ANY privacy rights. All your bank accounts, paypal, ANYTHING that has to do with holding/transfering/receiving money is now an open book to them. They see every credit/debit card statement, western union, etc. There is no hiding from Uncle Sam. He owns you and he owns your soul. The sooner you realize this the easier your financial life gets.

Keep Uncle Sam happy and you will stay happy. Just pay your taxes and it's all easier.

If you don't know how to file business taxes, there are plenty of search results on Google that will be more than glad to assist you with any information you need. Or just hire an accountant.

If you are getting hit with the tax ID requirement and are not sure what to do, then you need to decide this:

Do you want to be serious and make a real living off of the business you have built, or are you not ready to handle the responsibility of it?

Axcend,
Thank you for posting all your information, I greatly appreciate it. Sounds like you and I think alike as far as incorporating for each Amazon account. I am just starting but to me that seems the way to go. Paying the $$$ to multiple incorporate doesn't bother me or does taxes, I would rather overpay taxes then ever face an audit. I just want to do all this as smooth as possible with the 4+ accounts I have and found this thread while searching the forums for advice. I plan to get more advice this week and start filling out all the paper work for at least one account to be my "test" so to speak. Please PM me if you get a chance and maybe we can exchange ideas.
Thanks again for everyone chiming in as well on this, I will post more info as I go through the whole process.

Sad thing is that I've yet to find a suitably qualified tax expert here on this forum.

I've been dealing with this problem since 2009 when it was first announced.

I've said it before. And now I'm saying it again for your personal benefit:

To comply with what you suggested, you must take the advice of a tax professional for your state. You need to find one with expertise in company law.
There is an obligation for anyone making money to pay taxes, and those who elect to have an intricate way, need the advice & skills of a professional.
Beyond the remit of this forum.
I would be grateful if you could appreciate this point of view spoken to protect yourself from tax problems which might occur because of bad advice.

I have a question. I have an LLC which is a single member so its taxed as a S-P.

On this step :

ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

What do I select? I was planning to file for S corp soon but I wanted to file taxes as S Corp for the 2012 tax year. Not 2011 because I just opened the LLC a week or so ago. Private mail box etc. I have the EIN number ready, I just don't know what to select here on this step. Help is appreciated.

Forum has no tax accountant, fully registered and able to reply on a professional basis to IRS requirements.



So go out into the real world, pay for a tax consultation and find out. This advice has been given for months and is not for discussion any longer.

Refrain from making posts based on business plans that need to satisfy tax needs.

Thanks.