the business end...

Okay. this is gonna be a long one. I have read that to breed and sell balls you have to get a LLC license from the courthouse, and also save all receipts for whatever you spent for the snakes, substrate, feeders, etc. I have 10 08 normals. my plan was to buy babies, get used to caring for them over the three years that im gonna wait to breed. here come the questions.

1. Should i get a license now, or when i actually start breeding my babies?
2. I read that since it would be my business, that the things i buy to support said business would be considered tax-writeoffs. True or False?
3. Should i start saving receipts for the things i need for them or have already bought (i.e. shelving, tubs, feeders, substrate, heat cable, etc.) and claim them on next years taxes?
4. Are the snakes themselves a tax-writeoff?

i know its a lot of questions, but everywhere else i've looked, not that much info. this is the fountain of herp-related info, and the business aspect is still a tad confusing to me. im gonna say thank you in advance for ANY info you guys give. you guys ROCK. :bow:

1. Should i get a license now, or when i actually start breeding my babies?

If you aren't planning on becoming a big breeder you can claim your income as a hobby based business on your personal return without a license. If you plan to expand you should get a business license -- you will need a license or a DBA if you plan to do business as something other than yourself (your name).

2. I read that since it would be my business, that the things i buy to support said business would be considered tax-writeoffs. True or False?

Most things are deductible -- some things are better depreciated -- a decent accountant will be able to help set you up proper.

3. Should i start saving receipts for the things i need for them or have already bought (i.e. Shelving, tubs, feeders, substrate, heat cable, etc.) and claim them on next years taxes?

Yes set up a good filing system and keep everything - as far as things you have already bought - I was told you could only claim them in the year you bought them but you can double check with your accountant.

4. Are the snakes themselves a tax-writeoff?

Snakes are a depreciating asset.

wow. that was quick haha but a GREAT help. my friend told me i needed to get a LLC license but im thinking no since its not gonna start out huge haha. but thanks again for the info!!! :D

An added note about an LLC.

While not neccesary it does protect you. It limits your personal liability and focuses the liability on your company.

While unlikely, if someone were to get injured from a bp you own or sold them and decided to sue you they could come after your personel assets and/or income. With an LLC they could only sue the company and get access to the assets and income of the company.

You can form an LLC and be the sole proprietor and still claim all expenses on your personal tax return without filing seperately.

Snakes are typically "unpopular" in society and I believe it would be rare that someone getting injured from a snake would lose a court case (or possibly even saying they were "traumatized" by its presence:rolleyes: ....people sue over the dumbest things). Hence why I personally decided it would be best to form an LLC.

Hope that helps :)

lol yeah that helps as well! i had a question though, tosha said that unless i plan on becoming a big breeder, i really dont need a license. my question is how one becomes a big breeder? do you take out a loan for say 25 or 30 grand (or more) to start of buying a huge amount of racks and equipment and snakes? i was just curious as to how someone becomes a big breeder. i was watching ralph davis vids haha

now that you have 10 08 normals are you going ot be breeding them to normal x normal. cause in hindsite you can't really make any money breeding normals. Also you must figure what morphs your gonna breed the 08 normals to when they are older. are you gonna breed the 08 to a co-dom morph or to a recessive morph.

Imo i would state a large or commerical breed to be 50+ adult animals. some one becomes a large breeder by practically the same way you start out. they raise animals from babies and choose select bloodlines or adult animals to breed thier babies to in the future. becomeing a big breeder doesn't just happen over night. takes years of coustomer service and breeding quality animals to get your name out thier. as for the loan aspect i don't know that xD good luck with your future hobby

Good infromation :)

was wondering about some of the whole buisness stuff too. :)

Thanks

yeah i was thinking about it during the day, and i realized that it would take a considerable amount of time, but i think i might just go into it slowly, if i decide to breed big at all. and no im not gonna breed normals to normals, over the course of the three years that i have to wait im gonna save a little money each month, and a big chunk from the next three tax refunds, so that when the time comes for breeding, that summer i can buy three or four different morphs (along with credit card help haha) and some morph fems, probably mostly codoms but maybe some recessives if i want to breed hets. i have a lot of time to think about it while i stock up on breeding equipment and more racks and tubs and things though, but i just hope it all works out!!! right now im more worried about getting my babies to eat!! they are all doing fine, health wise, but some of them were super skinny so i took them to the vet and he gave them all a clean bill of health, but i told him i was worried about the weight and he said as long as they're not sick, they'll eat when they're ready. i just hate how they look. :( anyway. thanks for all the info, you all really really helped me out!!!