What type of license is needed to sell rods from the workshop in your home or allow a marina to sell them for you? I have no employees nor do I plan to incorporate. I live in Massachusetts and I assume each state has their own laws regarding the sale of products such as fishing rods. Thanks for any help.
Sanford Hochman

First thing you need to do is check your state and county's sale tax regulations on starting a business.

You may have to obtain a Business and Occupation license and you may be required to pay Federal Excise tax.

Sanford,
Check with your local area for any particular regulations or anything else that might be required for you.

Good luck

All states will have specific requirements for you to sell merchandise. As already mentioned, you should check the websites for the Department of State for your state to see what they are. The simplest way to start is to set up a business where you are the sole proprietor.

In Oregon, here are the basic steps:
Obtain a business registration for the state
Obtain a federal tax ID
Your county or city may also have business license requirements.
If your state has a sales tax, you may also require a state tax ID in addition to or instead of a state business license.

Keep good records for purchases of components and materials, as well as your sales.
It's a very good idea to keep a separate bank account for your business from your personal banking.
You will need to file and pay Federal Excise Tax Quarterly.
You may need to make estimated income tax payments quarterly depending on your revenue.

There are lots of other smaller details but this is the basic list to be "legal".

Terry

Terry has some very good advise.

One thing is to either review the tax code to see what is and isn't tax deductible. If you aren't comfortable with that then you need to speak with a tax professional. Keep very good records and pay you taxes.

Unless I've been given some bad info for a number of years, one thing that is true regardless of your state is that you will have to file for the FEDERAL excise tax and pay it on every rod you sell. As above, filing is quarterly.

Thanks for the help. I am in the process of registering with the state and also getting an EIN.

Thanks for the help. I am in the process of registering with the state and also getting an EIN.