Gladys wrote: “I cater weddings, parties and other events, and I also do catering for businesses and outdoor sports functions.”
Hi Gladys, Southern Cooking By GC is off to a smart start by getting the paperwork right first. Chafing dishes steaming and guests lining up for seconds is a sweet reward, and weddings, birthdays, and sports events keep a caterer's calendar full. The Texas sales and use tax permit comes first here, because it is what lets you collect sales tax and buy inventory wholesale. In this answer you will find the business structure, the tax registrations, and the local and industry licenses for Southern Cooking By GC, plus a short recap at the end.
Catered food in Texas is typically taxable, so a Texas sales and use tax permit belongs on your list alongside any food permits your kitchen requires. Weddings, corporate gatherings and outdoor sports events all share the same basics: a permitted kitchen or commissary, food manager and handler certificates, and a way to keep hot food hot and cold food cold off-site. Outdoor events may ask for a temporary food permit as well. Texas has no state income tax on wages, so with two employees you open only an unemployment account, not withholding. Put deposits and cancellations in writing for weddings, because a rained-out reception is a business problem.
By the numbers: Banks, insurers, and tax forms will ask for your industry code. For a catering service it is NAICS 722320 (Caterers). With 2 employees planned, you are already creating jobs in Dallas. That makes 8 items on your list.
Tip: Keep hot and cold holding equipment in good shape, and log temperatures at every event to protect yourself if a complaint arises.
To recap: Southern Cooking By GC in Dallas, TX needs a sales tax permit, an LLC, a DBA, an EIN, a state employer ID, a business license, catering or food service permit, and food handler card. Get those in place and you can spend your time on customers instead of paperwork.
We can file your seller's permit and the other registrations for you: start here.
99% of new businesses are required to get a(n) , Dallas business tax id registration (business license).
Businesses with an trade firm name other than the owner's legal name are required to get a(n) Collin County DBA ( doing business as ) fictitious business name.
On the other hand you may also need seller's permit if you sell merchandise that is taxable. (A.K.A TX seller's permit, state id, wholesale, resale, reseller certificate).
In addition you will need a federal and a state EIN if you will hire employees. I.e., a TX Federal Tax Id Number and a(n) TX State Employer Tax Number
Instead of filing an Assumed Trade Firm business name ("DBA" Doing Business As) in Dallas, set up a coporation in TX or set up a(n) TX LLC
Here's How to Get Your TX Seller's Permit and Other permits and Registrations You May Need.
TX Seller's Permit, LLC, DBA, Licenses & Tax IDs Requirements:
Start with a Connecticut sales and use tax permit. A thrift and consignment shop sells taxable goods to the public, so you must collect sales tax, and consigned items count as your sales too.
• Trade name: a DBA if you operate under a shop name as a sole proprietor, though an LLC would separate the shop's debts from your own. • EIN: useful for banking and required once you hire anyone. • Local business license and zoning approval for the Bridgeport storefront, plus any certificate of occupancy for the space. • Written consignment agreements with each seller, spelling out the split and the holding period. • Employer accounts for unemployment and withholding if you add staff.
Secondhand dealer rules sometimes apply to jewelry or electronics, so ask us before stocking those.
In Mississippi you would register for a sales tax permit. That registration is what lets you hand wholesalers a resale certificate, so you buy inventory without paying sales tax on it, and it also obliges you to collect tax on sales to Mississippi customers.
As a sole proprietor you can run under your own name, or file a DBA if you want a brand name on your website and invoices. Many wholesalers also ask for an EIN, which keeps your Social Security number off paperwork. Check whether your town wants a local privilege or business license even for a home-based online shop. If you will sell into other states in volume, you may owe sales tax registration there too. An LLC is optional but worth considering once sales grow, and we can file every piece of this for you.
Your cosmetology license covers the services you perform, but selling products is a separate matter. In Ohio you need a vendor's license, since you will be collecting sales tax on every bottle and tool sold to a client.
That same vendor's license lets you buy product from distributors using a resale certificate, so you stop paying tax at the wholesale counter. If you work from a salon booth, ask the owner whether sales run through their register or yours, because that decides whose license is used. Add an EIN, and an LLC or DBA if you want a brand name on your invoices. Your contractor license does not figure into retail, so unless you sell in a store you lease, a local business license is the only other piece. We can file the vendor's license and EIN for you.
The Texas state sales and use tax rate is 6.25% since 1990, but local taxing jurisdictions (cities, counties, special purpose districts, and transit authorities, but specifically not including school districts) may also impose sales and use taxes up to 2% for a total of 8.25%.The main items exempt from Sales Tax (get Seller's Permit) include medicines (prescription and over-the-counter), food and food seeds (but prepared food, such as from a restaurant, is subject to Sales Tax (get Seller's Permit) ).
Motor vehicle and boat sales are taxed at only the 6.25% state rate; there is no local sales and use tax on these items. In addition, a motor vehicle or boat purchased outside the state is assessed a use tax at the same rate as one purchased inside the state. The Sales Tax (get Seller's Permit) is calculated on the greater of either the actual purchase price or the "standard presumptive value" of the vehicle, as determined by the state, except for certain purchases (mainly purchases from licensed dealers or from auctions).
Lodging rates are subject to a 6% rate at the state level, with local entities being allowed to charge additional amounts. For example, the city of Austin levies a 9% hotel/motel tax, bringing the total to 15%, trailing only Houston for the highest total lodging tax statewide, at 17%.Lodging for travelers on official government business is specifically exempt from tax but the traveler must submit an exemption form to the hotel/motel and provide proof of official status.
If merchants file and pay their sales and use tax on time, they may subtract 1/2 percent of the tax collected as a discount, to encourage prompt payment and to compensate the merchant for collecting the tax from consumers for the state.
Texas provides one Sales Tax (get Seller's Permit) holiday per year (generally in August prior to the start of the school year, running from Friday to Sunday of the designated weekend). Clothing less than $100 (except for certain items, such as golf shoes) and school supplies are exempt from all Sales Tax (get Seller's Permit) (state and local) on this one weekend only. There has also been talk of a tax free weekend in December to help with the Holiday shopping season.
First decide on a business structure Catering Serviced as a Sole Proprietor, LLC/Corp, or Partnership.
✔ Step 2 All Catering Serviced Businesses need a , Business tax registration also called an occupation business License ✔ Step 3 Selling/Leasing or if wanting to buy or sell Catering Serviced merchandise, food, equipment requires a Seller's Permit. ✔ Step 4 All Catering Serviced Businesses Using a DBA doing business as name need a DBA Fictitious Business Name ✔ Step 5 Hiring Catering Serviced Workers Requires a Federal EIN and a State Tax Number EIN
Selling/Leasing or if wanting to buy or sell Catering Serviced merchandise, food, equipment requires a Seller's Permit.
All Catering Serviced Businesses Using a DBA doing business as name need a DBA Fictitious Business Name
Hiring Catering Serviced Workers Requires a Federal EIN and a State Tax Number EIN
As of 10/25/2026 7:32:23 AM, you can obtain your DALLAS seller's permit here at $39 plus any tax you may have to pay in advance. To set up your reseller license is inexpensive but starting your business may cost you about (figures vary depending on area and type of business ) $253592.63 or $6675217.66 depending on your start up money. Getting a license in DALLAS DALLAS DALLAS, 75217 You will have many potential clients in this city. In fact, as much as 72897 but about 21654 are families in this area in TX. In addition, getting a 214/469/97 cell phone area code may help increase the idea that you operate from the city because you can text your clients as a local vendor (remember, everyone is texting these days). You can lease a space to operate your business from but if buying a house, the prices are (about $ 75217 51600 avergage value) , which you can use as a home operated business as well.
Your actual location in DALLAS will be your business address. E.g., your business location could be 6463 DALLAS Road/Avenue or 66TH Way/Ct or DALLAS, TX . Operating from a 75217 P.O. Box location purported as your business mailing address. E.g. P.O Box 62462 DALLAS,TX 75217 . However this turns out, in 880 considering demographics is intelligent. For example,
before iinvesting in getting a wholesale license there, there are about 25233, Whites, 33788 Hispanics, and 25359 Blacks in the 75217 area. Another important consideration is that of the residents' income in the wingspan of your business location. Each family here earns about $31532 per household and has about 2.63 residents per family. However, is the weather nice? Consider that the altitude is 463 feet, and you getting a seller's license in 6 time zone.