Do You Know That an Internet Home Business Needs to Comply with Local Regulations

Starting an Internet home business is one of the least time consuming, most effort-free and least costly of businesses when it comes to complying with local business regulations such as licensing. This is primarily because the main concern with so many municipalities is zoning. The reason behind zoning regulations for business involves the amount of walk-in and drive-in traffic that a residential or semi-residential community would have to endure with the addition of a home business in the neighborhood.

An Internet home based business seldom meets resistance by local authorities, because it's reasonable to assume and easy to prove that this type of business doesn't typically have client traffic. An Internet home business, just as its name would indicate, is conducted on the Web. Clients are met and communicated with by Web, by phone and by fax. Nothing of this would disturb the neighbors. In fact, the major hurdle of having the business there is the problems experienced by the Internet home based business owner - the interruptions and noise of the neighbors. The opposite is seldom true. Internet home business owners can be in business for years before their neighbors even know they have a home business.

Here, then, are the procedures typical of complying with local home business regulations. Of course, each municipality, and particularly each state, will have its own set of costs and compliance requirements, though most don't vary much. In Phoenix AZ, for example, the application for a local business license is $20 and the annual fee is $50, prorated for a portion of a calendar year the first year. The application is straightforward and easy to complete. The city wants to know the business name, the industry, and whether it's a sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation. The Internet home based business owner would need to indicate the address, whether it's a rental property or owned, whether the business records are stored there or elsewhere (and where that elsewhere is) and whether it's a new business or one you just bought.

In most of South Carolina, in contrast, the additional question asked of an Internet home business or any home business is how much, if any, client or vendor traffic is expected. They also inquire of the product or products sold, the type of business conducted in the course of the business day, and what type of business activities the proprietor or staff is engaged in during the course of that day. These questions are to determine if the business is going to be disruptive to the neighborhood. The business license fee starts at $20 (no application fee) and the first year is based on anticipated gross revenue. Subsequent years the owner is asked to divulge the gross profit of the prior year and from that the license fee is determined. Naturally the higher the gross profits the higher the business license fee.

Before you start your Internet home based business, the first stop to make either in person or online is the office of the city clerk.