EIN and Business question!
Hello Ladies,
I am currently looking into camming. I have yet to completely register for any sites, but I am looking to do so within the next month. My main issue is that I really want to keep my camming as private as possible for future career opportunities. I have registered and obtained a EIN number with the IRS (as a potential business) and from looking at past thread it seems that I also need to officially register and obtain a business license with the state of Florida. Would this allow me to open a business account to deposit earnings so it doesn't necessarily lead back to me? I feel like I may have done this backwards and I'm just a little confused as to how I should move forward.
Re: EIN and Business question!
You might want to have this moved to Dollar Den.
Using your SSN or an EIN will not make a difference privacy-wise. An EIN is just the IRS's version of you/your business' SSN. It still links your name to your tax return. It will all 100% lead back to you. The only way money you make would never lead back to you is if you were a dancer in a club that did not issue any 1099s or require a business license, or if you were an escort paid in cash. Camming will always leave a papertrail. Especially now since basically all sites now issue 1099s, and I am 99% sure studios in the next year or 2 will have to start issuing 1099s as well once the IRS realizes how studios work.
The best thing to do, for occupational privacy reasons, is to get up an LLC. Make it something random, and then set up a DBA in a different name just in case. Then incorporate yourself as your only employee & pay yourself a wage every month so it looks like its your employer, when really you are paying yourself a wage. However, you will still be paying taxes in your name and your EIN and SSN are linked to your earnings.
Also, here is why camming will sometimes come up on a background check:
1.) 1099s being issued by those companies in your name that you must attach to your tax returns year after year- it may be flagged as a potential employer.
2.) Deposited (or direct depositing) checks from that company so often that your bank will automatically update that company name as your current employer. You can't really stop this from happening, it just kind of happens. And you can't tell them to not do that or it will look suspicious as fuck and they'll probably start holding your checks. That will create another big mess because if the checks are flagged as potentially fake, and the bank calls the company & asks if you are an employee, they will say no (because you are not an employee, you are an independent contractor) and then they may mark the checks as fake. This has happened to girls on here before. Also, the phone number on Streamate's check does not reach Streamate so they cannot confirm anything. Weird I know.
3.) If you ever mention that company's name or EIN on any application for anything, or show the 1099 or tax return with that company's name on it. Often times, companies help you fill out apps for things like bank accounts, credit cards, IRS, car loans, home loans, etc). Most of this is out of your control and is just luck. All they will ask for is your documents (last years tax return, etc.) and will do the work for you to get you approved. Again, you can't really stop them from using this information in a way you don't want them to. It just kind of happens. But its freak accidents like these (which are relatively common) that cause it to end up on your background check.
I would not cam if it needs to be a secret. You cannot control that aspect. You can do your best to minimize risks, but there's still a good chance it will come out even if no one sees it (<--- that's a whole different issue).
Re: EIN and Business question!
Thanks for your reply! Very much appreciated. My camming work would not need to be totally secret, as I do not plan on working in any field dealing with children, finances, or one that I am a public figure. I just would like to do my best to remain relatively private.
Since posting I have been looking into creating a S-corp. Now is there anyway, that other than providing some form of personal ID to the site, that I would be able to have my 1099's issued to the business? As for the banking issue, if I set it up where I am an employee for my S-corp and that entity is paying me instead of the site, is there anyway it would be untraceable?
Re: EIN and Business question!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
veronica_luv
Thanks for your reply! Very much appreciated. My camming work would not need to be totally secret, as I do not plan on working in any field dealing with children, finances, or one that I am a public figure. I just would like to do my best to remain relatively private.
Since posting I have been looking into creating a S-corp. Now is there anyway, that other than providing some form of personal ID to the site, that I would be able to have my 1099's issued to the business? As for the banking issue, if I set it up where I am an employee for my S-corp and that entity is paying me instead of the site, is there anyway it would be untraceable?
No they will only issue it in your name. They may allow you to give your EIN instead of SSN though. But they will still issue it in your name because your are an independent contractor contracted with them. They don't contract your business, they contract you. All your contract work (various sites) is apart of your business though.
The only real reason an S-corp makes sense for a camgirl (if that is the only thing you do) is to add another layer of privacy, or to (kind of illegally) maximize tax deductions if you bring in a ton of money, but it still really doesn't do much. All thats happening is you are paid by the site, but you claim it as your S-corp's income, and then it is paid back to you as an employee. Its good if you want a home loan, but I bet they would take bank statements & tax returns just as easily these days.
As far as security and finding info on people goes, the more hoops people have to jump through to dig up info on you, the better though. However, anyone can pretty much find out any information about you that they want if they hire the right people or dig enough. Most people are too lazy to do that though- especially if they see a lot of hoops.
If you set it up where you are an employee of your own S-corp, and the S-corp is paying you some or all of your profits from the site(s), it is still 100% traceable because the cam site will be paying you in your name and SSN/EIN. You will list it as your S-corp's income on your taxes, and then pay it right back to yourself as an employee. The IRS can still see all of this- especially because the 1099s are in your name.
S-corps would make a lot more sense for dancers and escorts than they would for camgirls. They are good for people who want to have a way to prove their income + steady employmentm but cam girls can already do that with checks/direct deposit/bank statements (Payoneer statements are considered bank statements bc they use BankOne- a bank in Belize). However, in recent years, it has become more common for places to accept last 3-6 months of bank statements as proof of income due to the popularity of direct deposit these days. In the past though, creating an S-corp and paying yourself as an employee made a lot of sense for cash businesses because there was no real way to prove: a.) your monthly or weekly income, and b.) that you had steady work. S-corp+employee would eliminate all those issues almost entirely. But otherwise it really serves no purpose.
I do know some people though, who make a ton of money and have S-corps in order to maximize deductions on their taxes... but I don't think what they are doing is exactly legal.
The best thing for a cam girl to create is an LLC in a random name with a DBA in your real business name, in my opinion.
You're probably best getting Melonie's opinion on the S-corp though. She probably knows more reasons to opt for it than I do.
Re: EIN and Business question!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
veronica_luv
Thanks for your reply! Very much appreciated. My camming work would not need to be totally secret, as I do not plan on working in any field dealing with children, finances, or one that I am a public figure. I just would like to do my best to remain relatively private.
Since posting I have been looking into creating a S-corp. Now is there anyway, that other than providing some form of personal ID to the site, that I would be able to have my 1099's issued to the business? As for the banking issue, if I set it up where I am an employee for my S-corp and that entity is paying me instead of the site, is there anyway it would be untraceable?
As far as Streamate goes, I know for sure that you can have the checks AND 1099s issued to the business name and not your personal name. You can also use your EIN and not your SSN. How closely that can be traced directly to you depends on the type of business you set up, S-corp, LLC, etc.
But yes, you CAN have checks and 1099s issued to the business name. This is how I currently do it for one of my accounts and plan to switch the other over to this soon as well.
Your name will still be on the account as the contact for the Account Holder, but there is a place for a contact name (your name) and the company name. Just use the EIN, company name, and make sure you put the payee as the company name as well and then all checks AND 1099s will be issued to the company name.
Also this works for MFC as well. All my MFC checks and 1099 were issued to my business name NOT my personal name.
Re: EIN and Business question!
I'm starting from scratch, and I want to make sure that I keep everything as private as possible so that my future employment options stay as open as they can. The problem is that I have very little understanding of any of this at this point. I have only a very limited understanding of how personal taxes work, vaguely understand that 1099s are a form that your employers submit to... you? The IRS?... that shows annual income in order to determine withholdings, or something? And after that my understanding of these terms and concepts fall apart, including EINs, S-Corps, LLCs, etc.
@SarahTime I know this is a lot to ask for, but is there any way that you can explain what it is that you are currently doing to protect your privacy in a way that assumes that the reader has zero prior understanding of or experience with the US tax system? I would really, really appreciate it...
Re: EIN and Business question!
Re: EIN and Business question!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
TeasingCadence
I'm starting from scratch, and I want to make sure that I keep everything as private as possible so that my future employment options stay as open as they can. The problem is that I have very little understanding of any of this at this point. I have only a very limited understanding of how personal taxes work, vaguely understand that 1099s are a form that your employers submit to... you? The IRS?... that shows annual income in order to determine withholdings, or something? And after that my understanding of these terms and concepts fall apart, including EINs, S-Corps, LLCs, etc.
Its basically impossible to protect your privacy from the cam company or the IRS just so you know. Your SSN or EIN are both essentially your name in a number form. Its linked to your name. Its you.
A 1099 is a document the cam company sends to both you (so you can attach a copy to your taxes) and to the IRS stating 100% of the income you've made the previous year, so you can't go about hiding any of it. It serves 2 purpose: 1.) to make claiming your income easier for you and the company who contracted you (cam company) and 2.) to ensure the IRS that you do not underreport any of your income. If you claim any total income amount less than the combination of all your 1099 amounts, its an automatic audit and the IRS will come after you for the difference plus pentalty fees.
Google the rest of the stuff for an explanation, or talk to an accountant. EIN = basically your social security # only for your business (which still links to you). S-corp = you legally start a business with more than 1 employee (the point is to pay yourself if you do this as a cam girl). LLC = limited liability company which is best for a cam girl so it makes your business look official.