Arkansas Cakers! Get in here! :D - Page 2

BabyCakes77 - I too live in Little Rock and I have some questions about you getting your licences to bake out of your home kitchen.
Did you get inspected by the Health Department?
What are the benefits to getting a license?

I mainly bake cakes for friends and co-workers, but would like to expand out to a bakery someday. I'm wondering if this is a good first step to take in getting a tax number, license and all that or if I need to wait.

Thanks for your help!
BJ

so I'm a bit confused, I thought with the passing of the cottage food law you didn't have to be a business and could sell some products out of the home.

So are you getting the business license, tax id, etc... so you can be listed as a business and have the benefits of that?

I know that roadside farmers don't charge taxes and wouldn't that apply to this under this bill?

Okay, I'm running into roadblocks here! I'm in Benton, not Little Rock, and am having problems getting any real answers. Several phone calls & left messages to the Dept. of Agriculture with no response. I called my city zoning department, they told me I need to call the Health Dept. and get approval first. So I call both the State & City of Benton Health Dept. and they both basically tell me the same thing. No requirements outside of what is stated in the law, they don't perform inspections & I don't need approval from them to do it. I call to see about getting a business license. They tell me to call the County Clerk's office to get a Privilege License, then come to them and get my DBA. So I call the County Clerk and they tell me that I need to call the City Clerk (which as far as I can tell is the same person I talked to in the Zoning Dept). When the City Clerk calls me back, she tells me what I need to do to get a Privilege License (I need to get a Home Occupation Permit, not sure if that is in addition to a Privilege License or in place of it). Then when I mention the Cottage Food law to do home food processing she tells me that they probably won't allow me to do that because the city hasn't met to discuss that yet; she also tells me that since that was signed in the most recent legislative session that the law won't go into effect until July 1 anyway. Now, in reading the law myself, it looks to me like this was to go into effect immediately (there is actually the section at the end that indicates it is an emergency action so that people can do this legally during this farmer's market season). So, I am now at a loss as to how to proceed further. As far as I can tell, people aren't real knowledgeable about this law and thus choose to either put it off on another department, or try to discourage you from proceeding with it. Does anyone here have any suggestions for who I can call, maybe at a state level, that might be able to clear this up for me? Thanks!

Wow, who knew there were so many Arkansans in here! This is great info to learn. Someday when I can quit working it will be of great benefit for me. Or maybe a cake to sell here and there. What kinds of fees and taxes are you responsible for after the initial fees?

you need a sales and use tax id and pay taxes to the state for what you sell, then file your stuff with your regular tax return

babycakes77 (or anyone else who has gone through this), I have a question about the State Sales Tax ID. I assume that you didn't incorporate your business or anything like that, correct? Just went and applied for a business license (or a Privilege License as the call it in Benton) and the DBA? Not trying to get too personal here, but I ask because I am not sure how to fill out the form for the Sales Tax ID. Would I mark Sole Proprietor and show my social security number? I did as listed about, got my license through the City Clerk in Benton and then applied for the DBA. Also, can you tell me what the cost was? I am seeing different amounts in different places, and just want to be prepared for the cost. Thanks!

you shouldnt actually have to apply for a dba, just make sure the name you are using isnt already in use. fill out the sales and use form from dfa fill in your name and the dba use your ssn the fee is 50. if you want an fein you can sign up through the irs ( cam even do it online) i dont think it cost anything unless you want your number instantly ( in which case i think its 20) other wise it will come in the mail in about 3 weeks, as far as your state sale and use it usually takes ar dfa a month or so to process it, the sales and use id is what you will file your sales tax with and also what you will use to buy ingredients tax exempt. hth

Thanks for the response! I've really been having a hard time getting any clear answers from anyone that actually works in the state or city offices!

I live in Central Ark. I didn't realize there were so many cakers from Arkansas on here, good to know!! I don't make cakes for profit, but I have been thinking about getting my license too since they passed the Cottage Food Law, I really appreciate all the info that you all have provided.

the problem with getting answers from the hd offices is they are all pretty clueless on the cottage food law. they know it exists and that's about it. I have a store front, so when the cottage law passed, i asked my health inspectoe about it so to find out how it could potentially affect my business. He told me that most offices are just interpreting it their own way because even they cannot get clear answers on it, he says he just tries to enforce that nothing that could be potentially hazardous is being produces from home kitchens. i would personally just keep a copy of the law on hand to show anyone you are operating legally under the cottage law just in case.

I've done this and am making cakes from home as a legal business. The cottage foods law IS NOT exclusive to farmers markets and jams and blah blah blah. That's what the non educated employees keep incorrectly passing along.

All I did was get zoning approval for my city N. Little Rock $50, applied for a federal tax ID, free, Signed up through the AR state website to be an LLC, $40, and signed up for a state tax id number, $50.

That's all I did and I only went through this so I could advertise and use business tax benefits. I was given so much misinformation it was unbelieveable. City hall was being a jerk but I told them zoning said I could have a license and they better send me one and they did. Other then that I wouldn't worry so much. They really have no idea how to navigate this new law.

Well, my problem is that the person that I talked to in Benton to get zoning approval told me that "I don't think that we are going to allow you to do that", and then proceeded to tell me that the law doesn't go into effect until July 1 anyway (this was obviously in June that I talked to her). No problem with getting a home occupation permit or a business license, but not for the cottage food law. It seemed obvious to me that she really wasn't at all familiar with the law, especially since she told me that the law didn't go into effect until July 1.

That's BS about it not going in to effect until July. However, your local zoning laws trump the cottage food law. Here's the deal, get a home occupation permit for your home office, mine said cake decoration and consultation.

They were really nice at our zoning department and said no one is going to harass me since I'm not having delivery trucks or supplies outside my home or anything like that and even wished me luck and asked for my card. They didn't even care about the cottage law. My license is technically for my home office and the cottage law covers me the rest of the way.

Because without a business license you're covered under the cottage law still you just can't act as a business or receive any business benefits. Your license could say, cake design and consultation or something like that. Tell them you offer baked goods under the cottage food act (which is active) and you want to have your home office listed as your business because you have expenses you want to claim.

Technically though it's up to the zoning department if they want to let you. Mine didn't have to based on their guidelines, they just didn't care.

I have a home occupation permit & a business license as an independent distributor (I have a couple of other things that I am also doing), but was actually trying to "go by the book" and make sure I was doing everything correctly. However, it's hard to do that when no one knows what the law is and don't really seem to be overly eager to help you. The statement that she didn't THINK they would let me do that, in addition to the statement that the law didn't go into effect until July 1 (since the whole reason for the law being passed when it was, was so that people could do it during this season's farmers markets) told me that she pretty much wasn't familiar with the law or just didn't want to be bothered with it. Either you will allow it or you won't. I talked to the guy and the Health Department (who put a call into her that wasn't returned to my knowledge) told me that they weren't going to do any inspections and that as long as I followed the parameters set out in the cottage law, that I shouldn't have any problems. I got this response from both the state and the county Health Departments. Again, it just seems to me that noone wants to be bothered with it.