What kind of licenses do I have to have in order to bring in advertising revenue from a website?

Question

I am currently building a website that is going to be full of paid advertisements from certain local companies.....if they pay me to advertise on my site what kind of business license does that require??? if any....? I'm sure I have to pay taxes on that money that comes in but I'm not sure what else I have to do in order for it to be legal. Also, I took some disclaimers etc from another similar website and worked the words differently...will this be ok or should I find some sort of internet lawyer?? Thank you!!!

Answer 1

Its up to you how you want to approach this. You can  either have the advertisers pay you directly and count it as part of your personal income or you can create a corporation and then have the advertisers pay that company. It really depends on how much income you will be producing. Corporations have better tax deduction options and have limited liability however they are a greater expense to maintain and operate.

Answer 2

It depends on where you live, and where you set up your corporation.  You probably should hire a lawyer to set up your corporation and go over any legal language you plan to post on your website.  Make sure you're not using copyrighted material from another website.

You'll probably also need a TIN, and you'll want to know about quarterly tax payments, if you're in the US.

Answer 3

First of all, even though I am a lawyer, what follows is not to be construed as legal advice, and I am in no way undertaking to represent you in a legal capacity.  (Ok now that we've got the boring disclaimer out of the way....)  Yes, you do need legal advice here, and much depends upon your local jurisdiction.  Many cities in the US (particularly in California) require a business license even if you are working from home.  Many cities have fairly good websites, which show your obligations.  You should check the website of the city from where you operate your business.  If you are not in a city, check your county site.  You would be responsible for paying income taxes (federal, state & local) according to where you are operating your business.  On the disclaimers that you took, you should try to get permission from the copyright holder.  If you cannot, you can obtain similar disclaimers from Nolo Press, or other publishers who grant permission in their publications....a good internet lawyer in your local area can also help you with this.