Start a business to save $$?

Has anyone started an antique bisiness to get out of paying taxes? I am contemplating this before starting more expensive puchasing (still mainly for personal use not resale). Any thoughts would be appreciated. I am currently inquiring the costs of a startup in OH.
My motivation -  $15K in Belter/Meeks = tax savings ~1200!!!

The reason dealers don't have to pay sales tax on purchases is because they provide a resale certificate. They are buying the item to resell - and the state will eventually get their sales tax at what will probably be a higher sales price (thus higher sales tax) when resold. That way they are not charging sales tax on top of sales tax everytime it is resold among dealers. If you buy something as a dealer and keep it for personal use, or don't intend to resell it then you pay a use tax (for personal use) - the same rate as sales tax. As misslilybart states - it is illegal to use a dealer status for personal purchases just to avoid paying sales tax - a very bad idea that will probably catch up to you in a very bad way. I wouldn't even consider it.  woodwright

Thanks for the info, very informative. Gives me a better perspective on the dealer incentives.

I think  as a regular taxpayer and not a business, although you pay sales tax at the point of purchase, the good news is that you don't need to pay gains on anything you sell if you're always "trading up".  That can be more substantial than the tax savings.

I'd be kinda-sorta curious to hear more about what the start-up costs for your antique store turn out to be.  I haven't ever given this sort of business plan much serious thought, but I'm always keen to learn more from those who are active in this field.  A list of "things to consider when starting an antique store" would be nice.

Thank you,

Jason

I am a self employed cabinetmaker (Custom Woodworking & Restorations - 14 yrs self employed) - my wife is self employed she runs our B&B - we used to, but no longer dabbled in antiques sales (part time business) through a co-op. There are many legal & legitimate tax advantages for having a business (even if it's only a part time businesss). Many expenses can be tax deductable like travel expenses when buying (gas, meals, lodging, etc), books & magazines that relate to your business, part of your computer and internet costs if they are used for research or sales for the business, tools and materials used to restore items you are selling, you can write off the space you use to store, restore, or sell your items, etc. Many expenses that you pay for now (without a business) could be incorperated into business expenses and become tax deductable. Starting a business does not have to be difficult or an expensive process, depending on how you choose to begin. At least here in NY - you file a form with your local county clerk (very small filing fee), and you apply to the state for a Cetificate of Authority (small fee)- which states that you are in business and have the right to collect sales tax and you are in business. The simplest (and cheapest) form of business is a sole proprietor business - selling through a local antique cooperative (pay a monthly fee for booth space - don't need a store, insurance, utilities, advertising, someone else is there to run the store, etc.) or online sales - ebay or your own website (which can be difficult with furniture because of shipping expense/ limitations). If you want to be incorperated, or have your own physical store, etc. there can be many expenses involved. You'll need to file and pay quarterly sales tax to the state that you collect (or if sales tax collected is low enough - you can do a once a year filing). Dealers generally offer a dealer discount to other dealers, some businesses will only sell to the trade, etc. - you might want to try it and see if it works for you. A chance to combine your hobby and your business. Who knows - you might even make some money at it.  woodwright

I would have to agree with Woodwright that if you are just getting into this, the best bet would be to rent a space in an antique cooperative or mall and start small-give it a try and see if it is for you--my wife and I are just about to open our booth at our local antique mall this week---the hard part for us has been divorcing our minds from acquiring the kind of antiques WE like vs. acquiring what we think will sell in the booth PLUS having the discipline to say no to something if we cannot get it cheap enough to make a profit---the price might be just right at the auction to put it in your house, but that price might not be low enough to turn a profit----will let you know how it goes over the next couple of months.  Yes, deducting the gas, lodging, etc. for going to antique auctions is a definite benefit...Charles.

Good luck to you Charles in your antique venture - keep us posted on how it's going. A mistake we made when we first got into the antique business was buying a lot of stuff that needed work. At first we bought about every piece of furniture we came across that was cheap, most of it needed work. We had the ability to fix most anything - I am a cabinetmaker and my wife does upholstery work. It took us a while to figure out that if you buy a chair for $25.00 - spend 2 days working on it and it's only worth $125.00 when you're done, you're not making money. Whenever possible - buy stuff that needs no repair, refininishing or reupholstering, nothing more than a good cleaning and it's ready to resell. Projects will pile up on you and everything takes longer than you think to repair - thus cutting into the profit side of things. The exception to that rule is the unique and valuable pieces - if final value is high enough to justify the work/ expense of restoration it can be very worth buying and restoring. We bought a 5x9 gilt pier mirror for $400.00 - it was damaged in 125 places - my wife restored it  (I challenge anyone to find a single repaired area) it is easily worth 5k on a bad day, I bought 2 inlaid (marquetry) antique pool tables - for $200 & $500, restored they are worth 20 - 30k ea. (they're awaiting restoration). I'd buy every project I could get my hands on like that. You make your money when you buy (more than when you sell), if you can buy it right - you can sell it at an decent price (easily), make money, move it fast and turn your money around. While everyone that watches this site loves furniture - small stuff sells more readily than furniture. Not everyone is into furniture, or has the room for it, or is ready for a large expenditure. I personally look at a lot more furniture than I buy (even stuff I drool over I rarely get) - we don't have much room left. But people will pick up smalls on a whim, it's good (essential I dare say) to have smalls also among the larger items and furniture - it will pay a lot of bills. Sometimes smalls will sell in box lots at auction and can go cheap - if you have the tenacity to hang around 6+ hour auctions till the end when most people have gotten tired or spent themselves out - there can be deals to be had, garage sales can be hit or miss, but if you're lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time can be great places to buy (my mother in law bought a lava cameo bracelet for 25c @ a garage sale - I sold on ebay for $232.50). Smalls are also easily shippable, so ebay can be a great place to sell them - especially the unique and unusual. I've had limited sucess on www.craigslist.org - but it can be a source for large items (furniture) - because it is local to your area - so no shipping involved. The more bushes you beat on, the more you are likely to shake loose.  ;)  woodwright

All good advice Woodwright!  Have already discovered the hard way the lesson you mention about staying away from stuff that needs repair or reupholstery just because it is cheap...Will keep you all posted!  Charles.