u/ShankarNgenyi66

Starting a construction LLC in Texas and spent way too long trying to get a straight answer on actual costs.

Here's what I pieced together since most guides conveniently stop at the filing fee.

The state filing fee is $300, one time, straightforward.

You'll also need a registered agent which runs anywhere from $100 to $300 a year depending on who or what you use. That's the part I find unsettling since I can basically use my address right?

Texas has a franchise tax. It's not an income tax but it functions like one for a lot of businesses. Below roughly $2.47 million in revenue you owe nothing, but you still have to file a no tax due report every single year. That filing requirement means a recurring compliance deadline, and if you're using an accountant to handle it that's a billable hour you weren't budgeting for.

Going in blind to that annual requirement is exactly how small business owners end up with late penalties on a tax they didn't even know applied to them.

Anyone running a small LLC in Texas, what does your actual annual compliance cost look like in practice?

I reviewed and audited my business recently and discovered that I've been at the same spot from last year. Then I realized there's a difference and I think I've been confusing the two, which feel a lot of us might be in the same boat.

Revenue moving, calendar full, work happening every day, but when you actually sit down and compare this year to last, some businesses are just running in place.

Not complaining, love what I do and the freedom it brings... but taking time to audit might actually reveal something we never knew.

I reviewed and audited my business recently and discovered that I've been at the same spot from last year. Then I realized there's a difference and I think I've been confusing the two, which feel a lot of us might be in the same boat.

Revenue moving, calendar full, work happening every day, but when you actually sit down and compare this year to last, some businesses are just running in place.

Not complaining, love what I do and the freedom it brings... but taking time to audit might actually reveal something we never knew.

Getting ready to launch an Etsy shop for handmade home goods and trying to set realistic expectations before i invest too much time into it.

Every article i read is either extremely positive or extremely negative about Etsy's current state and i'm struggling to find a balanced take.

The things i'm trying to understand are how long it realistically takes to get traction on a new shop, how much the Etsy algorithm favors established shops over new ones, and whether the fee structure is actually sustainable for handmade goods with real material costs.

Also wondering about the tax side. At what point does Etsy income need to be reported and how are people handling sales tax given that Etsy collects it in most states now?

For anyone with an established Etsy shop, what would you tell someone just starting out?