DBA question...

[Wil_Bloodworth]

No, not database DBA... Doing Business As DBA...

So, can you have several DBAs under one LLC? If so, can each of the DBAs use the same Texas tax ID?

- Wil

[jgrindal]

Yes and Yes.

[Phanee]

This might be a dumb question.. but do we need a DBA when you have LLC?

I thought DBA is required only for Sole Proprietorship. Because when you have LLC, you are anyway doing business with your business name.

[Kalrog]

But what if you aren't doing business as your LLC name? I think the DBA form also tells the county that you are doing business in their jurisdiction - in addition to telling them what your legal name is. That is why I think the DBA form is required each time. I could be wrong on that one though.

And I could answer the database DBA questions as well...

[Steelsun]

Yes.

It's quite common for one LLC (or inc) to have several DBAs.

[FireHeart Photography]

to do business no matter how you set your corporation, partnership up you have to have a DBA...

[Wil_Bloodworth]

Originally Posted by FireHeart Photography

to do business no matter how you set your corporation, partnership up you have to have a DBA...

But I think by default, your DBA is your corp name... if you want another DBA under that same corp, you just have to file for it and then get a copy to your bank. I never had to file a DBA on any of my original LLCs... which is why I am assuming what I said in the last sentence.

- Wil

[brad]

Yes and Yes.

Our corporation has several DBAs... but then again, we do several different kinds of business.. each with its own brand. And the sales tax id is in the corp's name.

[David Whatley]

If you have an LLC, S or C corp, etc you do NOT have to do a DBA. You may want to do a DBA, owned by the LLC/Corp, etc for other purposes. Example, MyPhotography LLC is the legal entity, and that is the one that files taxes, etc. But under that entity, you might have a camera repair business, a studio rental, barbershop, or whatever. You want a checking account on each of those "sub business" and would do a DBA for each.
To me the advantage of the LLC is how quick it is to set up and the cost. ITs now a300.00 filing fee and takes about 2 weeks.

[WarrenG]

Originally Posted by FireHeart Photography

to do business no matter how you set your corporation, partnership up you have to have a DBA...

Actually you only need to have a DBA if you do business in a name other than your Corp name. For example... if your corporation is "Fireheart Photography" but you decide you would like to also do business as "Fireheart Imaging" you would need a DBA listing the parent corp, and the DBA name.

[pbyd]

A DBA Gives you the right to have the business name in the county you buy it in. If your DBA is only in Harris County, someone could get a DBA in Montgomery County and do business under the same name you have, if you care. Having a DBA gives you the right to have a checking account at your bank, most banks will not let you open an account without having a DBA, if you have people make their checks out to your personal name and not to a business name you really do not need a DBA. Do remember that a DBA goes out after 10 years, and they do not notify when this happens, I have been late renewing my DBA many times.
Wayne
Photography by Design

[jprechel]

What if your main business is a sole proprietorship (DBA). Can you have other DBA's under the main DBA like you can for a LLC? So if my main business is "Jim's Photography", could I have another DBA like "Super Wedding Photographer"? I have a situation like this and would like to have different brands for the different types of photography that I do. I know I could just change my main DBA to a LLC, but I really don't want to do that at this point.

[brad]

Yes.. but each DBA would be under you.. I do not think you can have a DBA owned by a DBA...

[Jeff Lane]

Jim of a dozen enterprises asks:

What if your main business is a sole proprietorship (DBA). Can you have other DBA's under the main DBA like you can for a LLC?

In short, no - the DBA will be assigned to a real person or entity (corporation or LLC), not as a subset of one of the other DBAs.

Here's an analogy that might make it easier to understand. A "business" is analogous to a person, and a "DBA" is like a nickname. If your business is a sole proprietorship, then you as an individual may apply for any number of "nicknames" depending on what type of product you're offering through that "nickname" and each DBA will refer to you - the real person behind the nickname. The same is true for a corporation or LLC which is simply a "person" who acquired personhood by virtue of filing a "birth certificate" with the Secretary of State.

It's a little like this: My Lovely Bride (hereinafter, "MLB") sometimes calls me "Honey" when there are honey-dos to be honey-done, and sometimes "Handsome" when she's lying but feeling amorous nonetheless (I almost never hear that one), or "Sweet Daddy Warbucks" when she wants access to my wallet (even though "Handsome" would work better for that purpose). Three different DBAs for one guy, depending on what "service" I'm selling her. (By the way, there are a whole slew of other names she calls me when she's unhappy, and I hear those ALL the time, but I guess that's where the analogy breaks down.)

[Steelsun]

Actually you can have a DBA hold a DBA. I've seen it done several times.

In fact about a dozen years ago I had an investigation that was very hard due to this.

Investigating company named (names changed to protect the guilty) "Aardvark Photo Studio & Deli". Aardvark was a DBA, pulled the filing and it was listed to "Warden Gates." Could not find anything on Mr. Gates, no TDL, no SSN history in Texas, no Real Property, nada. Thought I was at a dead end. Then I noted on the file the ID # by Mr. Gates (in the old days the clerk would jot down the TDL or another ID number on the original filing). The number was the file number to another DBA (but was not noted as such). That DBA was for "John Smith" Doing Business As "Warden Gates" (guess he told the clerk he was opening a fence/gate company, but it just sounded like a real name).

Now this might not be legitimately allowed, but the clerks are only human, and often don't look to hard at the paperwork they are putting through.