Advice regarding online income for (almost) 17 year old

tootz

My son has managed to put together a pretty viable online business selling personalised stickers. Yes.. I was skeptical too at first, but in less than a month he's already earned the maximum that Paypal say he can in a year as a minor. My ex husband is employed and says that he'll have to declare the income if he opens a business account for him in his (my ex husbands) name. I run my own business so I already have a business account on paypal which I can't add him to or I'd surely be at risk of being audited for tax fraud if I'm only declaring my income (does that make sense?)

Does any one have any advice on how my son can proceed with this. It seems every which way he turns he can't use his entrepreneurial skills because he's not yet 18! Other avenues? Kickstarter?

Aquamania

tootz wrote: »

My son has managed to put together a pretty viable online business selling personalised stickers. Yes.. I was skeptical too at first, but in less than a month he's already earned the maximum that Paypal say he can in a year as a minor. My ex husband is employed and says that he'll have to declare the income if he opens a business account for him in his (my ex husbands) name. I run my own business so I already have a business account on paypal which I can't add him to or I'd surely be at risk of being audited for tax fraud if I'm only declaring my income (does that make sense?)

Does any one have any advice on how my son can proceed with this. It seems every which way he turns he can't use his entrepreneurial skills because he's not yet 18! Other avenues? Kickstarter?

Congratulations to your son! :T

Where is he selling his items?
If it's not on ebay, then why is he even using paypal?
If it is on ebay, presumably he's doing it through your ebay account?

Has he considered receivinbg payment direct to his bank account?

If you decide to put his sales through your paypal account (assuming that is permitted under the terms of your agreement with paypal), HMRC will not accuse you of tax fraud as long as you can fully explain (if asked) via proper accounts what has happened to the money received. Your son will also need to keep proper accounts for his business.

tootz

He's not doing it through ebay, it's through his own website with traffic directed there from YouTube.

If there's a better option than Paypal I'd love to hear about it?

Stevie_Palimo

I did use Neteller once albeit a long time ago but think that this will not solve the long term issue of having payments coming into his account, If he has a website set up and is trading with some decent figures and profits then I would suggest he look at having people pay him direct as well.

Failing this then perhaps open a 2nd business that you run until he is 18 and then sign it over to him.

martindow

Aquamania wrote: »

If it's not on ebay, then why is he even using paypal?

Has he considered receivinbg payment direct to his bank account?

Paypal can be quite a good option as its easy to set up and especially to start with you know the costs and don't have large set up and monthly fees that some other card processors ask for. It is not limited to ebay. I offer it on my site as well as debit/credit card payment and about a third of people pay this way.

It also gives the buyer some protection. Paying someone you don't know by bank transfer requires a lot of trust and bravery and few people will agree to this.

I think if you jump through some hoops you can get payment limits raised on Paypal. Have a look at the ebay board or post there to ask experts like soolin. That board has a lot of threads regarding Paypal.

If there is a reasonable turnover it is worth looking at card payment providers. There are fees involved setting up and a monthly fees but the percentage for credit cards and the fixed fee for debit cards will be a lot cheaper than Paypal. How it works with a minor applying I don't know.

rhysadams

I'm after some personalised stickers, could you please send me details

scoly

tootz wrote: »

...

If there's a better option than Paypal I'd love to hear about it?

I'm struggling to think of a worse option in the circumstances

tootz

scoly wrote: »

I'm struggling to think of a worse option in the circumstances

The problem is that once you hit €2500 per year you are required to give your personal information and as a minor, you shouldn't have a paypal account at all. He's already hit that amount and they're asking for verification.

Again.. any advice?!

Stevie_Palimo

tootz wrote: »

The problem is that once you hit €2500 per year you are required to give your personal information and as a minor, you shouldn't have a paypal account at all. He's already hit that amount and they're asking for verification.

Again.. any advice?!

Three people have left advice here for you now and there is not much else that can be said to expand upon this to suit an answer that you may wish to hear.

tootz

Stevie_Palimo wrote: »

Three people have left advice here for you now and there is not much else that can be said to expand upon this to suit an answer that you may wish to hear.

It's not about an answer I "wish to hear" it's about looking for an answer to the question which is a viable option.

The answers given are not viable;

1. Paypal is not an option until he is 18.
2. Payments into his account still needs a gateway, again, he has to be over 18.
3. Neteller, you said yourself, wasn't a long term solution...

martindow

I suppose you or another adult needs to open a Paypal account and let the money from his site go there.