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Updates to US verification requirements

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Re: Updates to US verification requirements

#41

Post by gamblor956 »

NewJazz wrote: post #25
gamblor956 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your business's primary place of business is your home (referring specifically to the parent comment, not businesses in general). That you can also carry out the business where ever you physically are does not change that basic fact from a legal or tax perspective. Zoning compliance is not required for a home office (assuming white collar type work). Many, but not all jurisdictions require business licenses, even for…

What if I never do business in my home, but instead operate out of libraries, coffee shops, or client's locations? Picture a carpet cleaning van parked on the street, for example.

Generally in the U.S., this has been a settled question for over a century. If you really have questions, there is guidance about this to govern pretty much every jurisdiction in the continental U.S.

For a solo entrepreneurship business in the U.S., your home is your place of business if you do not have another fixed place of business.

Re: Updates to US verification requirements

#42

Post by mattgreenrocks »

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #28
NewJazz wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if I never do business in my home, but instead operate out of libraries, coffee shops, or client's locations? Picture a carpet cleaning van parked on the street, for example.

If you're a sole practitioner (what this article is about) - by definition - your business is you. And you are most often in your home. It's not that complicated. You want the benefits of a business while not having to worry about angry customers annoying you at your house. I don't blame you. We all want to have cake and eat it, too.

> You want the benefits of a business while not having to worry about angry customers annoying you at your house.

What's the alternative here? Pay a couple hundred a year for a forwarding address that is sufficiently real enough for Stripe to accept?

Asking out of personal interest. I'm working on the solopreneur route and looking at what's available for myself. Would prefer to keep it away from my personal address.

Re: Updates to US verification requirements

#43

Post by rideontime »

DinaCoder99 wrote: post #32
gamblor956 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your business's primary place of business is your home (referring specifically to the parent comment, not businesses in general). That you can also carry out the business where ever you physically are does not change that basic fact from a legal or tax perspective. Zoning compliance is not required for a home office (assuming white collar type work). Many, but not all jurisdictions require business licenses, even for…

Pragmatically, there's a lot of great reasons to not use your personal address as a business address. I still have unemployment claims and financing offers chasing me for a company I started five years ago and closed four years ago.

> unemployment claims

Can you elaborate?

Re: Updates to US verification requirements

#45

Post by Animats »

DinaCoder99 wrote: post #32
gamblor956 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your business's primary place of business is your home (referring specifically to the parent comment, not businesses in general). That you can also carry out the business where ever you physically are does not change that basic fact from a legal or tax perspective. Zoning compliance is not required for a home office (assuming white collar type work). Many, but not all jurisdictions require business licenses, even for…

Pragmatically, there's a lot of great reasons to not use your personal address as a business address. I still have unemployment claims and financing offers chasing me for a company I started five years ago and closed four years ago.

For some reason, this doesn't seem to be a problem for me. For over twenty years, I've had a registered fictitious business name, a D&B number, and a registered US trademark tied to my home address. I don't even get junk mail for that.

Re: Updates to US verification requirements

#46

Post by MBCook »

hankchinaski wrote: post #24
anticorporate wrote: post #17

I understand there are some larger compliance-related issues that need to be solved and that this seems like it's an unintended consequence of the regulatory requirements put in place to solve this. But there are huge consequences for small business owners in requiring a physical address. I don't need or want anyone to ever physically appear at an address I provide, because providing _any_ address for my business is…

There are virtual office addresses for this very reason

That was my first thought.

How is one of those small offices in a building somewhere that have 4700 businesses “located” in that one office any different from a PO Box at a local UPS store?

Effectively it’s not. They’re both lies. But one got cut off so now the other will pick up the slack.

Re: Updates to US verification requirements

#47

Post by hiatus »

rideontime wrote: post #38
ghaff wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I bought my house many many years ago, I think I got something in the sale agreement about being able to operate a business out of my house provided it was just a mail-order business without associated traffic. (The seller was continuing to live next door.) So I'm not sure about zoning in most places--especially today--but it wouldn't surprise me if there were some restrictions on business-related commercial tra…

In what jurisdiction does the former owner of a property have any say regarding what the new owner does with the property?

Any that allows covenants that run with the land. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/covenant_that_runs_with_the_...

Re: Updates to US verification requirements

#48

Post by apozem »

llmblockchain wrote: post #31

I use a registered agent and a mail service. Basically, if the RA receives mail for my business they digitally scan it and email it to me. Costs $200/year and can go up to $600/year depending on how much mail you receive.

I have a similar setup. Be sure to check your state's laws before signing up for an RA service - my state allows an LLC to be its own RA.

Re: Updates to US verification requirements

#49

Post by bonton89 »

cj wrote: post #5
JoshuaRowe wrote: post #2

They don't even really specify this in their link in the email sent, but I am getting this error when going to my dashboard now: Invalid address. Your business address must be a valid physical address from which you conduct business and cannot be a private mailbox. Please correct the following... So now, I have to find a new business address (either rent a place, or do a virtual office), which isn't as simple as just…

This is the message I see in my account: > Invalid address. Your business address must be a valid physical address from which you conduct business and cannot be a P.O. Box. This address is not shared publicly and can be your personal address. You may use a P.O. Box as your customer support address. So in other words, a personal home address should work. Although its odd your error message is seemingly saying a person…

> This address is not shared publicly and can be your personal address.

But who will it be sold to privately?

Re: Updates to US verification requirements

#50

Post by ceejayoz »

rideontime wrote: post #38
ghaff wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I bought my house many many years ago, I think I got something in the sale agreement about being able to operate a business out of my house provided it was just a mail-order business without associated traffic. (The seller was continuing to live next door.) So I'm not sure about zoning in most places--especially today--but it wouldn't surprise me if there were some restrictions on business-related commercial tra…

In what jurisdiction does the former owner of a property have any say regarding what the new owner does with the property?

HOAs are a great example.
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