Bus Activity code for making crafts etc in home office

[AZ-Tax]

TP spouse makes greeting cards, crafts etc. from home. Did a google found potential codes like: 711510, codes in the 300000 series & 440000 series yet none of them quite fit this home based business.

[taxea]

TP spouse makes greeting cards, crafts etc. from home. Did a google found potential codes like: 711510, codes in the 300000 series & 440000 series yet none of them quite fit this home based business.

the code is 999999

[Koss]

Activity Code

I don't think there is a code that fits exactly what you are describing.

You could use 999999, since you are "unable to classify" the activity.

711510 seems pretty close. If she's making greeting cards, there's definitely an artistic element to it.

Most of the 44xxxx series seems to be meant for retail stores. She's not operating a store in the traditional sense of the word. But how does she sell stuff? Does she sell it retail, to the end user, or does she sell it wholesale, to someone who then sells it at a store? I'll bet she sells at least some of it online. Online sales are usually retail, unless she gets a big order from someone planning to resell the stuff.

If most of her sales are retail, whether face-to-face or online, the it could be code 454390, which is "direct selling," which includes "party plan merchandisers." Think Avon, Mary Kay... and Amway, and Shaklee. I know it's different because she's creating the merchandise, but she's still a direct seller.

If she actually sells wholesale, i.e., she has an arrangement with a local store or something, then it might be 424300, which is wholesale goods such as "apparel, piece goods, and notions."

The whole system is obsolete. The IRS team that handles these codes is slowly staggering into the 21st century. In the 2005 instructions for Schedule C, code 517000 was called "Telecommunications." In 2011, the same code is called "Telecommunications and Internet Service Providers." This actually makes sense. Almost any telecommunications provider today also offers internet service. How such a business would end up on Schedule C is beyond me, but unifying the concepts into one code seems appropriate.

And yet we still have code 454113, which is "mail order houses."

Okay, I realize that not everyone uses the internet, and I also realize that it is still possible to order merchandise from a paper catalog. You can still fill out a paper order form, and mail it off with a paper check. And some people still do this.

But are there any businesses left that only sell stuff by mail? They all have an online presence. And most of them take phone orders.

So what the heck is a mail order house?

Why wouldn't you choose some other code that describes the product they sell??

I think I ordered my first Tax Book back in 1992 or 1993. I actually sent in a paper order form with a paper check. And they still offer this option.

Is TMI a mail order house?

BMK

[Koss]

The Tax Book

I wrote:

I think I ordered my first Tax Book back in 1992 or 1993.

But I guess it was actually a QuickFinder. That would have been before the Tax Book team split off on their own...

BMK