Once you've filed your name, you will need to get a tax ID number. This isn't a scary or painful process. In fact it's quite simple. You see, the IRS would love for more people to produce profitable businesses of their own.. This will only help to generate more taxes. Usually all that is necessary is another form and a small deposit. It may be required that you make a deposit based on your estimated income. If so, you may want to estimate the minimum because your deposit will go up as the estimate goes up. Just make sure that when handling anything that is tax related, you are certain to maintain accuracy and pay attention to detail.
You can obtain the proper form by contacting your local dept. of taxation. See if they can mail it to you. But, you may have to pick it up in person. Reason being that there may be a deposit required.
You will also be required to fill out a form stating what type of business you are running. Usually you are only required to collect taxes on sales made inside of your state. Out of state sales are generally not required to have taxes collected. That is one of the beautiful things about the mail order business. First, though, check with your local IRS office to verify this. You definitely do not want a huge bill for back-taxes coming to haunt you anytime in the future.
While on the subject of taxes, this will bring up one of the most incredible reasons to start your own small business. Many times all of the money that you spend on your small business will be deductible right off the top of your taxable income. Let's suppose that you needed to purchase a personal computer with a laser printer and a copy machine for your business. These costs would be considered tax write offs, in some way, against your taxable income. Keep in mind that different states have different laws regarding tax issues, and tax laws are constantly changing. Make sure that you check with your personal tax preparer to see how these tax laws affect your personal situation.