Starting a DBA in New York

It was about 10 years ago that I first said I wanted to start my own business. By the ripe old age of 15, I got my first client for a website and have been freelancing ever since. Today I made it official in New York State by filing a “Doing Business As” (DBA) form. As a sole proprietor, you claim all income on your your standard tax form, doing business as yourself (accepting payments, opening bank accounts, etc.) A DBA allows you to be a sole proprietor under a business name. There, of course, are many other reasons for a DBA, but that was my main focus. Here I am going to tell you how go through this fairly simple (and low cost) process in the state of New York (but I will assume it’s similar in other states).

First, you need a business certificate (the DBA form). I got mine at a local office supplies store (which apparently carry them), but if you are in the Tri-State area, you can go to Blumberg Legal Forms, where you will find a number of legal forms that might come in handy, including your DBA Form, in PDF format, which you can purchase it from the site. It looks like according to the site, it’s $9.00. I got mine for $2.60 from the office supplies store.

After filling it in (you can see an ‘example’ here), take it to your local government building to file it. You will first have to get it notarized, which they did for me for free. You might need a photo ID. After that, file it with the county clerk. That costs $25 + $5 if you want a certified copy, which you do. And that’s it! Fairly easy for a government process I’d say. They will give you a nice little packet that talks all about your federal tax duties, which I suppose are pretty important.

If I could offer some tips:

• Pick a unique name. You can’t incorporate if another corporation with the same name exists in your state. So in the interest of keeping your name if you ever do decide to incorporate, make sure it’s not taken.
• Talk to an accountant. It’s a little different as a small business/self-employed person filing taxes. Crunch some numbers, figure out how often to pay taxes to the state and fed, and SAVE MONEY to do so. It looks like I’ll be paying about 15.3% on all income. I know to put that away in a bank account. Speaking off…
• This one should be a no-brainer, but open up a bank account under your new business name. To do so, you should only need the business certificate and your SSN. Also, shop around for a good account based on your needs. I know my bank offers free business checking. This will also help keep all of your income and expenses a little easier to manage. Use checks or a check card for that account when you can. And remember, you can write off a lot more than you think.

So today I officially fulfilled my goal of becoming a business owner by filling out a DBA. It will be a little more work now on my end because I’d like to make this my full time shtick right out of college, but I think I’m up for the challenge.