Your
State Tax Obligations
When you're running your own business, your tax obligations
are never far from your mind. Whether you take care of your own
tax matters or have a tax professional that handles your
obligations, you and your business are the ones on the line. Tax
troubles of any sort are best avoided from the get-go. While
keeping abreast of your federal obligations may seem daunting
enough, we don't want you to forget about your state tax
obligations. All sorts of requirements are imposed on businesses
on a state level and complying with them is crucial to your
business.
Here's where we come in. Just as we state on a federal level,
retaining a good accountant or other tax professional can prove
invaluable in sorting out your tax matters. However, possessing
a working knowledge of your state tax obligations can help you
get the most out of your relationship with your tax
professional. We provide general information on a state-by-state
basis, as well as tips for saving money and avoiding problems
that you can put to use in your business or that you can bring
up when you speak to your accountant or tax professional.
In our state tax discussions, you'll find information on
initial formation and filing and licensing fees, the state taxes
imposed on your business income, and the various sales and use
tax issues specific to your state. We ask that you use our
federal-level discussions of general tax issues (such as selecting
a business entity and your sales
tax obligations) for background when going through the state
information. The information we're providing you with on a
state-by-state basis is not meant to be an exhaustive treatise
making you a tax expert (was that a sigh of relief we heard?).
We do want to make you aware of the general requirements of each
state and give you the working knowledge and resources, such as
phone numbers and departments, to allow you to seek more
information if you feel it's necessary — whether you do it on
your own or through your tax advisor.
Whether you're just starting out or have been in business for
a while, use the list of states below to go to the state or
states you're interested in learning more about.
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