Question for those who might have a Cafepress account?

[Justin24]

So my friends and I launched our website last night. We plan on selling T-shirts and hats and other stuff, but were not really in the Clothing business. So I am opening a Cafepress account. So it's asking me for my Tax ID # if we are a corporation even though we are not. If we are non-profit then it's asking for my SS# so what should I do?

The money we made would not be going into our pockets but to maintain the site, buy new equipment or upkeep the equipment we have.

 

[AngelofHarlem01]

I'm not a 100% sure..There are some paranormal investigation sites that classify themselves as non-profits and then others that don't, so I guess that's up to you. Maybe others here will have more info on that. With my own personal website though I bypassed that section. You might want to do a search in the cafepress marketplace for 'ghosts' or 'paranormal' and see what others have classified their merchandise as to help you figure out what you want to register as.

 

[Miringeltje]

Uhm, you can't just say you're a non-profit.
You need to file forms for that with the goverment.

 

[ylimeU2]

Exactly. And if you are a legit for-profit business, you need to have a tax id. If you are charging for your services, most states require a license or permit.

 

[Justin24]

if we do investigations we will not charge, It's me and my friends who have studied the field for a while now wanting to do investigations. The reason for the store idea is if we have T-shirts like Interference does the money would go to maintain the site, repair equipment. We would not pocket the money it would go towards what I just described.

NO CHARGE FOR INVESTIGATIONS.... so what category would we fall under then?

 

[ylimeU2]

Nonprofit.

However, as Miringeltje has already pointed out, you can't just call yourself a nonprofit organization. The second you try to pull income from an outside source, you have to have a license or a permit to legitimately operate.

 

[melon]

So it's asking me for my Tax ID # if we are a corporation even though we are not. If we are non-profit then it's asking for my SS# so what should I do?

You are neither a corporation nor a non-profit, because both require government certification. And I sincerely doubt that you'd qualify as a non-profit, because this organization doesn't sound like it's charitable. You are, at best, a sole proprietorship/partnership, so you are better off signing up as an individual or whatnot.

Secondly, does it require a tax ID at all, knowing that you're neither a corporation nor a non-profit? In that case, if they let you, just leave it blank, I guess. Of course, your best advice would come from an accountant, not an internet forum.

 

[Liesje]

Neither of those options. You can't just say you are a for-profit or non-profit organization. Do you have to be an organization to use Cafepress? If not, I'd just fill it out as yourself or one of the other guys.

 

[Justin24]

Thats what I was trying to get at, we are not trying to be a "Corporation, or Non-Profit" but to mearly sell some shirt, which my team and I and if others want to buy. You can do the same on Zazzle and not have to fill out a Tax ID number.

 

[Miringeltje]

So does Cafepress let you sign up as an individual or not?
If they do, are you obligated to give your TAX ID (social security) number or not?
If you don't want to disclose that, is there another website you could use?

 

[AngelofHarlem01]

Yeah you can sign up as an individual. You DO have to give your social security number though.

 

[ABEL]

i use cafepress. there's another website i use too called zazzle. but whenever you sign up to sell something you have to provide your social security number. if you make more than a certain amount like $400 - $500 then they file the taxes to the IRS for you. i've never made that much though.

 

[melon]

Thats what I was trying to get at, we are not trying to be a "Corporation, or Non-Profit" but to mearly sell some shirt, which my team and I and if others want to buy. You can do the same on Zazzle and not have to fill out a Tax ID number.

As ABEL has rightly pointed out, you need to provide a valid Tax ID (SSN) for tax purposes, in case you sell enough to require taxes. To supply an incorrect number, for instance, would be tax evasion and tremendously illegal.