:lol: I Am 14 years old, I don’t have to pay for rent, heat air conditioning, tra sportation, and insurance. and abouve all i don’t have a lawyer . Someday, i will have to worry about that, but not yet =P. But thank you both for your help.
JZ[/quote]
Since you’re just 14 years old, you don’t have to worry about paying Federal Income Tax unless you make over $4000.00 (net) in a year. Above that, you start paying 15% a year. That means you can make around $330.00 per month and not have to worry. I don’t know what your State Income Tax rules are, but here in Ga., you’d still be exempt up to $4000.00.
I doubt if zoning would be an issue either, since you can just say it’s a hobby. Now, if you were to get a building and employ 10-20 tyers, then that’s a different story.
When I was in Jr. High and High School, I made extra money by tying flies for teachers, employees and people I knew. I never had any trouble, and in fact, bought my first car with money I saved by tying flies (among other things). I doubt if you will progress to the point where taxes will be an issue, but if you do…GOOD GOIN!!!
As far as making a career out of it…you will never compete with the Chinese and thier child slave-labor market. They turn out millions of flies for places like Wal-Mart and sell them for pennies. A selection of 12 flies from Wal-Mart is around $4.99. I can’t even buy the materials for that much. Yeah, they are cheap and shoddy-made, but most novices don’t care. They just want to get fishing. By the time they progress to an appreciation of well-made flies, they are probably tying thier own! This is just my opinion.
Go ahead and tie your flies, enjoy life, and the best of luck to you.
Excise Tax is a tax on Communications and fuel oil that was started in 1894 to pay for the Spanish American War. Money that goes into this fund is never seen or heard from again. It wouldn’t apply to your situation.
Also, you couldn’t be classified as a Manufactuer of Sporting Goods, because you are a minor and cannot legally own a business, since it would involve contracts, and a minor cannot enter into a legal contract on his/her own, according to Federal Law.
You would be a self-employed minor covered under the 'Kiddie" tax code, which was crafted mostly for paper-carriers and baby-sitters.
The Federal Excise Tax collected on the manufacture of fishing tackel is returned to the state based on the number of fishing licence sold in that state. I think a call to the IRS is all that is necessary for JZ to find out if it applies to his situation.
JZ, i’m 15 and have been wanting to start selling. i have a few hundred flies ready to sell, and am tying about 2 dozen a day. If i can pay for materials with what i’d make, i’d be happy. I love tyin’ and the more i tie, the better i get, the more people like the look of my flies. I have all the flies i’ll need for awhile so i’ll start selling soon.
Depending on the State Laws where JZ lives will depend on weather he has to pay taxes as a minor in some states they are exempt from all taxes, and if they do pay they can get it all back at the end of the year.
kayakfish and others the tax we are saying that he should pay is not a State or a IRS tax—Read fishbums post above. It is the Federal Excise tax on all fishing equipment sold… The money is then sent back to the state for fishing improvements with every lisc sold. For as little as he will make he may not want to pay it but there is that one time when questions will be asked and it will be too late then. :lol: BILL
To further what Bill posted, since this has been hashed out on-line, you certainly can’t plead ignorance. I don’t know if the IRS has started using web crawlers yet or not, but any time in the next 3 years could be enough to buy an audit. Over all, it is easier to play fair with everybody and try to follow the rules and laws. It is also a good habit to get in for later.
When was the last time a 14 year old was audited? What about a 17 year old? When was the last time the kid down the street that goes around mowing lawns went to prison or was fined for not declaring income? Come on guys. It’s all good advise, but not for a child.
JZ, do it. If you like it, then your parents can help you start your business, or you can wait until you are 18. Till then you are just having fun. Don’t worry about anything except doing what you like to do. If you are lucky enough to have people that want to buy your flies then let them buy them. I only wish I had that opertunity when I was your age. Probably would have kept me out of some trouble.
In the words of a man with a real cool middle name, “Hold onto sixteen as long as you can. Change is comin’ 'round real soon, make us women and men.”
The way I see it here is a chance for a young man to learn what starting and running a business takes…doing something that he enjoys. There is nothing wrong learning to do things the right way…it takes no effort to do it the wrong way, just leaves you with a bunch of potential headaches and legal issues. I cannot believe some of the scofflaw responses. Chances are the young man will not have much legal issues, but to advise the man to ignore laws is just plain ignorant. Let’s help this person grow to be a responsible citizen
I knew kids 20 years ago making $20,000 or more in the summers with their lawnmowing routes. You can bet that THEY kept up on their taxes. The issue here, with tying a few gross of flies, isn’t really income tax. The issue is excise tax. And it is only fair for us to tell a younger person what they need to know to make an informed decision. Just because WE think it’s OK doesn’t actually make it OK. Personally, I think that people who gross less than a few thousand dollars per year should be exempt from the excise tax. But what I think is right doesn’t mean that it is in the tax code. That is why I made my previous post.
JZ, enjoy your teenage years, but don’t try to hold on to 16 as long as you can. There are few things more pitiful than people at or nearing retirement age who are still desperately trying to be cool by the standards of people who could be their grandkids. “Cool”, like Trix, is for kids.
If you read my post, I wasn’t telling him to ignore laws. I was telling him to try it out before he spent time and money starting a bussiness that he didn’t like. Taking one or two orders for a friend is not against the law.
And I think you missed the meaning of the quote. “Don’t grow up too quick.” You have your whole life to be an adult, but only a finite amount of time to be a kid.
I’m a pro tyer, but it’s purely a winter adjunct to my guiding and writing.
I charge between $10 and $15.00/dozen wholesale for a fly that retails for $1.80-$2.75. For tax purposes, my outfitter treats what I do as piecework and therefore he’s the one that gets stuck paying the excise tax. I’d charge probably 25 cents more per fly otherwise.
I strongly suggest that you focus on simple flies --some midges, Woolly Worms, San Juans, etc.-- and perhaps a handful of fairly easy custom patterns rather than trying to tie a Stimulator just like the ones a shop can get from Fly H20, MFC, Spirit River, Rainy’s, or Umpqua for somewhere in the $6-9/dz range depending on their order size and the manufacturer. You simply can’t compete with those rates, and stimmies take too long to make any money, anyway. You’d be better off babysitting --with that job you get free food, too.
Personally, the only “stock” patterns I tie are flies we can’t get anywhere else anymore, most specifically wets. Otherwise, I tie a bunch of color variations of Chernobyl Ants, some dry Salmonflies which I charge dearly for, some custom midges and mayfly nymphs, and some Green Drakes that work better than the standards.
JZ, Its Jeff let me tell you I sell flies at my local shop and unless you make over 500.00 it is non taxable. Plus if you dont tell anyone who`s to know . The saying goes: WHEN YOU HAVE A GOOD THING KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT. JEFF
. Someday, i will have to worry about that, but not yet =P. But thank you both for your help.
:lol: