How To Register A Name For Writing

1. 

   SapereAude Contributor Contributor

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   Or: No skilful act shall go unpunished.

   I made employ of my COVID-xix stay-at-domicile fourth dimension before this year by self-publishing 3 books. I used my proper name as the writer merely, rather than also using my proper name as the publisher I chose to accolade my maternal great-grandparents and adopt as my "imprint" the name my great grandmother used for the property on which my house stands.

   Something I read somewhere said that if you lot apply an imprint, you should file with your boondocks clerk to register the merchandise proper noun. And so, being the former Boy Lookout that I am, I did that.

   And a couple of days ago I received a course from the taxation assessor, request me to declare all the physical avails of the business -- so the town can tax them. The but physical assets I utilise in connection with the publishing are a xxx-year one-time office desk and a seven twelvemonth sometime estimator that isn't up to snuff to run Windows 11, then information technology has essentially zero value. And the usage each gets that's related to the publishing is probably 10 pct or less of total use. These are my personal desk and calculator.

   I declared each with a depreciated value of zero and a residue value of $50. I'1000 sure I'll get an statement about that.

   I shouldn't have registered the trade name. The unfortunate reality is that I have now probably opened the door to assuasive the tax assessor to accept a legal excuse to come up into my private residence and outset poking effectually for things she can revenue enhancement.

2. 

   Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Correspondent

   Damn! Good to know. Thanks for sharing your existent-life horror story then the rest of us might avoid such a state of affairs.

3. Wow. That sucks. Appreciate the heads upwardly.

   Both my hubby and I have dba names, but nosotros've not been invaded by the mighty IRS thus far (knock on wood and toss common salt over my left shoulder into the face up of Satan), perchance because we've filed years of income tax returns for both businesses.

4. 

   Lazaares Contributor Contributor

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   Interesting. How come you chose to annals a trade proper name and not just go with a simple notary-supported confirmation of the pen name's association?

5. Was this a fictitious business name? A registration like that doesn't offer a lot of protection for the trade name. If you really want to protect it, a federal trademark registration provides the greatest protection (merely will toll y'all a few hundred dollars). A federal trademark registration also won't summon the tax regime to your door that I've ever heard of.

6. 

   SapereAude Contributor Contributor

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   I'm non sure what you mean by "fictitious." My ancestors hailed from a region in Scotland. Peachy Grandmother named her farm after that region. I live on the final tiny corner of her subcontract that remains in the family, and then I decided to prefer the name equally an imprint. I don't await to be producing any international best sellers, so I didn't experience like expending the time, effort and coin to pursue state or national registration of a business proper name or tradename (which is different from a trademark).

7. 

   SapereAude Correspondent Contributor

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   Non a pen name. I write under my own name. This was an imprint, i.e. a name for the publisher.

8. A Fictitious Business Proper name statement is a filing you make with the local authorities to tell them that you're doing business organization under a name other than your own (i.eastward. a DBA). I was only asking out of curiosity about exactly what you lot filed to protect the trade name.

9. Thanks for sharing your experience. Depending on where y'all alive, you may desire to inquiry the tax guidelines for new businesses. By registering your trade name/publishing imprint, you have indicated that you have a business or consider yourself one at least in terms of how you operate in a publishing sense. It should be no issue to declare your figurer and desk equally you have.

   If yous intend to legitimize your publishing imprint as an entity separate from you, information technology still may exist worth information technology to read up on how to start your own small-scale publishing company or annals for your ain EIN fastened to it. I can't fully suspension down how, equally I'grand learning a lot of this myself every bit I transition from freelance editor to business owner and first to establish my work as a business split from myself. (I don't just write and publish my ain work and I'm moving from 1099 contracting to coaching, author services, and publishing, so it's a bit different in my instance.)

   Many authors simply go for the DBA and EIN to track any financials pertaining to that aspect of their business.

   But getting back on track, every bit an indie author with inappreciably the makings of a company, at that place shouldn't be any recourse for but declaring a desk-bound and figurer with a value of $50. This may exist different when you grow. The all-time Existent advice I have for you is to consult a tax professional when you file. I would recommend this anyway if y'all have income that is outside of a standard due west-2 employment.

   (Caveat: My knowledge is grounded strictly in US terms. I'm non familiar with taxation or business laws for any other country. ha ha!)

10. 

    SapereAude Contributor Correspondent

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    My state (U.South.) has a form called a 'Trade Name Certificate." I suppose that's similar to a dba annunciation.

12. 

    SapereAude Correspondent Contributor

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    The lamentable saga continues.

    My publishing is a hobby; I accept a twenty-four hour period job. My books haven't earned enough in royalties to even pay for purchasing the ISBNs. Merely the fact that I filed a trade proper name document has the tax assessor convinced that I am running a business organization. When she sent me a grade on which to declare the "assets" of the "business," I listed my 10-yr quondam computer and 35-year former desk as having a depreciated value of cipher and a residual value of $50 each.

    She doesn't like that. I received an east-postal service today informing me that I didn't make full out the form completely, and enervating that I resubmit.

    The moral of this story is, indeed, that "No good deed shall become unpunished." I should NOT take registered the trade proper noun.

    B.E. Nugent and Xoic similar this.
13. 

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

    Just make full it out properly - the revenue enhancement people are used to business that don't plough a turn a profit immediately (as you'll know from your other ventures hardly any concern make bank in twelvemonth 1).

    The assets of the business include the copyright to the books with the value assessed based on the bodily or potential sales, the isbns, etc

    If you're selling books, you are doing business regardless of whether that concern is a success, so the tax assessor is right.

14. 

    SapereAude Contributor Correspondent

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    I'1000 not writing as a business, I write as a hobby. I have a regular day job. I alive in a small town, and my tax assessor clearly could not brand the mental jump that registering an imprint does not automatically equate to creating a "business organization." In a postal service above, Steerpike wrote:In my land, the course is chosen a "Merchandise Name Certificate." Apparently, although there was cypher near this on the town'due south spider web page where I downloaded the form, the tax assessor regards a trade name certificate as being the same every bit a d/b/a declaration. I had no way of knowing that, and I certainly had no intention of declaring that I was open for business. I merely wanted to declare the proper name, every bit protection (at a very depression level) in case someone down the road starts using information technology and and then wants to force me to stop using it. Considering the very limited level of protection registering the name on the municipal level provides, I at present regret having done and so.She sent a very specific listing of things to declare if I had them, and intangibles such as the value of copyrights, ISBNs, or future potential were not included. The tax is on property, non the appraised value of the "business."At this level, that's like saying that anyone who conducts a tag sale is running a business organisation.

15. 

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

    There's no getting away from it publishing is a business... the fact that you're non making much money just indicates that business organization isn't very good...

    its non the aforementioned as running a tag sale... most people having a thousand auction wouldn't create a business name for their k sales and pretend to be a bric a brac company.

    The reason the tax assessor equates a trade name registration with a DBA is that Trade def "the action of buying goods and services"ie a concern... people don't register merchandise names for their hobbies.

    somewhere along the line you can besides wait them to mention this to the IRS and for you to take to account for your turn a profit and loss on income when you do your taxes

16. 

    SapereAude Contributor Contributor

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    ^^^ The problem is that all this comes to low-cal later on I made the mistake of registering the "trade" proper name.

    I wish I could remember where I read the communication to exercise so. Over the first few months of this yr I spent a lot of time on the Net, reading everything I could find nearly self publishing. I have no idea at this time which site it was that brash registering the proper name of your imprint every bit a merchandise name, just the context wasn't about establishing yourself as a concern, the context was that of establishing at least a first line of protection for the name. And the commodity definitely didn't mention that a trade name certificate is essentially and functionally the aforementioned as a d/b/a proclamation.

    All I can do now is lock the barn door later on the horse has been stolen: I'll cancel the trade name document, and argue it out with the tax assessor over what a fair value should be for the just two items of personal belongings I have that are used for my publishing: the 10-year old figurer and the 35-year old desk -- neither of which was anything like "pinnacle of the line" when purchased.

17. I'1000 sad this has been such a hassle.

18. 

    Selbbin The Moderating True cat Staff Contributor

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    Thanks for the warning. I hadn't thought much nearly that and while the laws hither may be rather different it'south something to check for before venturing downward this path.

19. 

    large soft moose An Admoostrator Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

    Of course most of us want to establish ourselves as a business organization anyway... that's why we're self publishing....

    there's something strange at play here in that they are assessing the assets of the business for tax rather than its income... a lot of service businesses hardly have any assets - if you think of a plumber he has his tools and a van... but he makes way more that in the services he provides.

    On point - I wonder if you misinterpreted the communication given... its not unusual for people to propose that you annals your imprint name as a 'trademark'... to stop a competitor using information technology after you've spent a lot on establishing it... but as far equally i'm aware in the United states of america trademarks are registered nationally with USPTO usually via an chaser... we'll all doubtless remember the wonders of cockygate

    Personally i'd suggest that trademarking an imprint proper noun is only necessary when its really a business organisation- if its simply a hobby presumably you're not going to spend thousands on establishing and promoting anyway, so why would you want to protect the proper noun in the first place.

    Final edited: Oct 21, 2021
20. 

    SapereAude Contributor Contributor

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    In that location's nothing strange at all. In the U.South., municipalities (other than a very few huge cities such as New York) don't tax income, they only tax physical property. My trade name registration and the contact from the tax assessor were both at the municipal level. The boondocks taxation assessor has no interest in whether or non I have whatsoever income, from any source. She is after the tax on the value of what I own.I wasn't registering a trademark, I was registering a merchandise name. As I wrote to a higher place: "... the context wasn't about establishing yourself as a business concern, the context was that of establishing at least a first line of protection for the name." There are three levels at which a trade name tin be protected: municipal (the lowest, offering the least degree of protection), state, and federal (trademark). At the land level, reserving a trade proper name is role and parcel of declaring yourself as a business ... and that's not what I wanted to practise. The process of registering a trademark at the federal level is expensive and fourth dimension consuming, then I elected not to pursue that. I did not misunderstand the communication. The advice was clear ... only it failed to explain the downstream implications.Why would I Non want to protect the name of my imprint? I would desire to protect the name and then that in the future someone else can't adopt the name and so sue me for amercement because I'm using "their" name, even though I was using it first. This has occurred in many instances.

21. 

    large soft moose An Admoostrator Staff Supporter Contributor Customs Volunteer

    Why would y'all even take an imprint if you're not running a concern... and what would someone sue you for as if you're not running a business they'd have suffered no loss by your utilize of of the banner proper noun.

    the trouble here is that you've chosen to apply the trappings of a business to what you draw equally a hobby, and and then look other people to assume its a hobby, despite looking like a business

    Most of the advice in the cocky publishing sphere assumes that people want to sell their books at a profit and make money from beingness an author... if that's not your intention, its not a not bad idea to follow advice aimed at people for whom it is

    Last edited: October 21, 2021

22. You tin also register a trademark with a state in the U.Due south., though I find that nearly want the federal registration (for practiced reason) and many are unaware that states accept their own registration systems.

23. In the U.South., at to the lowest degree, if you're using it offset yous accept priority over a subsequent user (even if they become a trademark registration and you didn't), though your rights will be express in geographic scope. Not that this is the example where you are--merely making the point for those in the U.Due south. who may be reading this thread.

24. 

    SapereAude Correspondent Contributor

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    I chose to use an imprint proper name that I felt was a way of honoring my maternal grandfather and his female parent, rather than just publish nether my name as both author and publisher. Okay?

    Someone else using the aforementioned name could sue because they allege that my use of the proper noun creates market place defoliation and deprives them of sales.

    Quod erat demonstrandum. Every bit I have have stated several times, this indicate was not mentioned in the article I read that strongly suggested registering the imprint name with your municipality equally a manner of creating a first level of protection for the name. I didn't expect anyone to assume information technology'southward a hobby, but I also didn't look the town clerk to assume information technology's a business organization and rat me out to the tax assessor.

25. 

    large soft moose An Admoostrator Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

    The point i'g making is that the article would have no reason to assume at that place was an consequence that needed to be highlighted because cocky publishing is by definition a business

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How To Register A Name For Writing,

Source: https://www.writingforums.org/threads/why-not-to-register-your-imprint-as-a-trade-name.171141/

Posted by: onealwitter.blogspot.com

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