How to start an online store in 2026

Is there a license? The business, and the name. None of the five states we read — Ohio, Texas, Florida, New York, California — licenses selling goods online as an occupation; every one of them wants the sales-tax registration before the first taxable sale (below). The business itself: trade under your own name for nothing, or file the brand name — "A trade name or fictitious name registration or report, thirty-nine dollars" in Ohio (Ohio Rev. Code §111.16, as archived — the state's own site refuses readers), "$2 for filing each certificate" plus "50 cents for each name to be indexed" at a Texas county clerk (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §71.155), "For registration of a fictitious name, $50" in Florida (Fla. Stat. §865.09), a county-clerk filing for an individual and "twenty-five dollars ($25.00)" for an LLC in New York (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law §130). Or form an LLC: "ninety-nine dollars" in Ohio (§111.16, above), "for filing a certificate of formation, $300" in Texas (Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code §4.152), "For filing original articles of organization … $100" plus "$25" for the registered agent in Florida (Fla. Stat. §605.0213), "two hundred dollars" in New York (N.Y. LLC Law §1101) plus a notice "published once in each week for six successive weeks, in two newspapers" (§206), "Seventy dollars ($70)" in California (Cal. Gov. Code §12190) plus the annual LLC tax (Rev. & Tax. Code §17941) of "eight hundred dollars ($800)" (§23153) — "four hundred dollars ($400) for its first taxable year" for a company formed from 2027 through 2029 — and $40 in Kentucky, the known low (Kentucky Secretary of State). The AI answer says to "obtain an EIN before accepting your first customer payment"; the IRS's own list says "You need an EIN if you: Have employees · Will need to pay employment, excise or alcohol, tobacco, and firearms taxes · Withhold taxes on income, other than wages, paid to a non-resident alien", or "to operate any of these entities: Partnership · Limited liability company (LLC) · Corporation" (IRS) — a sole proprietor with no employees needs none, and when you do, "Use this tool to get an EIN directly from the IRS in minutes for free." (IRS, get an EIN). What the LLC buys, in Ohio's words: a member "is not liable, solely by reason of being a member, for a debt, obligation, or liability of the limited liability company" (Ohio Rev. Code §1706.26, as archived) — the same in Texas (§101.114), where "The entry of a charging order is the exclusive remedy by which a judgment creditor of a member … may satisfy a judgment out of the judgment debtor's membership interest" (§101.112), in Florida (§605.0304; the charging order is "the sole and exclusive remedy" — §605.0503) and in New York (§609). What it does not buy, in California's words: a member "shall be subject to liability under the common law governing alter ego liability", and nothing in the section affects liability "for the member's participation in tortious conduct, or pursuant to the terms of a written guarantee" (Cal. Corp. Code §17703.04) — your own wrongly labeled product and your personal guarantee stay yours, which is why product liability insurance sits beside the LLC.

Sales tax — register first, collect your own state's rate, and watch the others. Each of the five states wants the registration before the first taxable sale. Ohio's vendor's license: "Effective April 9, 2025, new vendor's license applications increased from $25 to $50" (Ohio Department of Taxation; "a license fee in the sum of fifty dollars for each fixed place of business" — Rev. Code §5739.17, as archived; the county auditor collects it — Hamilton County Auditor). Texas: "There is no fee for the permit, but you may be required to post a security bond." (Texas Comptroller), and the resale certificate that buys the stock tax-free is "Form 01-339, Texas Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate" (Texas Comptroller). California: "Is there a fee charged for a seller's permit? No. However, the CDTFA may require a security deposit" (CDTFA). Florida: "you must register as a sales and use tax dealer to collect, report, and remit sales and use tax before you begin conducting business in Florida" (Florida Department of Revenue; no fee is printed), at "6%" plus the county surtax (Florida Department of Revenue). New York: "You must apply for a regular Certificate of Authority at least 20 days before you begin operating your business in New York State." (New York Publication 750; no fee is printed). The sample's rate: Ohio's state rate "is 5.75 percent" (Ohio Department of Taxation, above) and "Franklin (25) TOTAL 7.50% 8%" since April 1, 2025, when the transit authority's half-percent took effect — Columbus is 8 percent (Ohio Department of Taxation rate bulletin, 2025). Other states pull you in at a threshold, since South Dakota v. Wayfair (2018), and each prints its own: Ohio, "Your total sales to Ohio customers were over $100,000 in the current or previous year, OR You made 200 or more separate sales" (Ohio Department of Taxation, above); Texas, "Remote sellers with total Texas revenue of less than $500,000 in the preceding twelve calendar months are not required to obtain a tax permit" (Texas Comptroller, remote sellers); Florida, remote sales whose total "exceeded $100,000" (Fla. Stat. §212.0596); New York, gross receipts that "exceeds five hundred thousand dollars and such person made more than one hundred sales of property delivered in this state" (N.Y. Tax Law §1101); California, sales that "exceed $500,000" (CDTFA). The marketplace collects on the orders it sells for you in all five: "Marketplace providers must collect and remit state and local sales and use tax on all third-party sales." (Texas Comptroller); "If you sell through an online marketplace (like Amazon or eBay), you don't need to collect sales tax if the marketplace collects and pays it for you." (Ohio); a Florida marketplace provider "shall certify to its marketplace sellers that it will collect and remit the tax" (Fla. Stat. §212.05965); and in California "a marketplace facilitator is generally responsible for collecting, reporting, and paying the tax on retail sales made through their marketplace" (CDTFA). Is the shipping charge taxed? Yes in Ohio — "charges for transportation, shipping, postage, handling, crating, and packing, are defined as part of the price" (Ohio Admin. Code 5703-9-52); yes in Texas — "taxable even if stated separately from the sales price of a taxable item" (34 Tex. Admin. Code §3.303); yes in New York when the goods are — "charges for shipping or delivery that a seller includes on its bill are taxable if the product or service that is being shipped or delivered is taxable" (New York Tax Bulletin ST-838); in Florida only when "the purchaser cannot elect to avoid the charge for transportation services" (Fla. Admin. Code R. 12A-1.045); in California the inversion — "If you are charging for shipping, which may not be taxable, use terms such as shipping, delivery, freight, or postage. If you are charging for handling, which is taxable, be sure to use that term on your invoice." (CDTFA Publication 100). Confirm your own state's rule with your accountant each quarter.

The federal rules an online store lives under. The shipping promise: "If no time is clearly and conspicuously stated, within thirty (30) days after receipt of a properly completed order from the buyer", and if you cannot ship in time you must offer "an option either to consent to a delay in shipping or to cancel the buyer's order and receive a prompt refund" (16 CFR part 435, the Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule — the FTC's own guide page refuses readers, so the rule is cited). The marketplace's file on you: a "high-volume third party seller" is one who "in any continuous 12-month period during the previous 24 months, has entered into 200 or more discrete sales or transactions of new or unused consumer products and an aggregate total of $5,000 or more in gross revenues", who must hand the marketplace a bank account, contact details and a tax ID within 10 days, and whose name and address buyers see above "$20,000 or more in annual gross revenues" (15 U.S.C. §45f, the INFORM Consumers Act). The labels: a textile "shall be labeled or invoiced in conformity with the requirements of the Act" with "The generic names and percentages by weight of the constituent fibers" (16 CFR part 303) — the linen towels in the sample line; a packaged candle's label carries "the identity of the commodity and the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor" and "The net quantity of contents" (15 U.S.C. §1453, the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act); "Made in the United States" only where "all or virtually all ingredients or components of the product are made and sourced in the United States" (16 CFR part 323); and a children's product carries a certificate from "the importer, as defined in this part, [who] is the finished product certifier" (16 CFR part 1110 — the CPSC's own pages refuse readers). The email list: no marketing email "more than 10 business days after the receipt of" an opt-out, and every one carries "a valid physical postal address of the sender" (15 U.S.C. §7704, CAN-SPAM) — "the sender's current street address, a Post Office box the sender has accurately registered with the United States Postal Service, or a private mailbox" (16 CFR part 316). A subscription box needs "a consumer's express informed consent before charging" and "simple mechanisms for a consumer to stop recurring charges" (15 U.S.C. §8403, ROSCA); the FTC's wider "click-to-cancel" rule never took effect — the Eighth Circuit chose to "grant the petitions for review and vacate the Rule" (Eighth Circuit, No. 24-3137, July 8, 2025), and the FTC recodified the old text "In light of the Eighth Circuit's vacatur" (Federal Register, February 12, 2026). Income tax: a payment app or marketplace sends a Form 1099-K "when the total amount of payments you receive for goods or services through the platform exceeds $20,000 in more than 200 transactions", but "No matter the amount of reported payments, if you receive payments for selling goods or services, you must report all income on your tax return." (IRS, understanding your Form 1099-K) — the 2025 law "retroactively reinstated the reporting threshold in effect prior to the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" (IRS, Form 1099-K FAQs, October 23, 2025); "The self-employment tax rate is 15.3%" (IRS), and even a hobby's income goes on "Schedule 1 (Form 1040) PDF , line 8" (IRS).

The refund policy is the law — four states, four ways. New York, the inversion worth its own sentence: "Every retail mercantile establishment and online retailer shall conspicuously post … its refund policy", for an online retailer "by a notice displayed or made accessible by hyperlink near the item itself or … prior to requesting billing information", and one that doesn't "shall be liable, for a period of up to thirty days from the date of purchase, to the buyer for a cash refund or a credit, at the buyer's option" (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law §218-a). California: a seller with a no-refund policy "shall conspicuously display that policy", and one that doesn't "shall be liable to the buyer for the amount of the purchase if the buyer returns, or attempts to return, the purchased goods on or before the 30th day after their purchase" (Cal. Civ. Code §1723); a subscription may not be charged "without first obtaining the consumer's affirmative consent to the agreement containing the automatic renewal offer terms" (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §17602). Florida: a retailer "that offers no cash refund, credit refund, or exchange of merchandise must post a sign so stating at the point of sale", and one that fails to "shall grant to the consumer, upon request and proof of purchase, a refund on the merchandise, within 7 days of the date of purchase" (Fla. Stat. §501.142 — written for a "retail sales establishment"; the statute does not name online retailers). Ohio: "Sellers are not required to have any specific type of return policy under Ohio law. However, if a store has a refund policy, it must be clearly and conspicuously posted", and "If a seller does not have a refund policy posted, the consumer is entitled to a refund, if the consumer requests it." (Ohio Attorney General's business guide, as archived). Texas has no posting statute we could find — the bill that would have required one was introduced in 2009 and never passed — so your own policy and the federal 30-day shipping rule govern. Two phrases the search asks about. The "types of e-commerce": a university guide prints six — business-to-consumer, business-to-business, consumer-to-consumer, consumer-to-business, business-to-government and direct-to-consumer (Dartmouth, 2026) — and a marketing textbook four: "The most common type of eCommerce is business to consumer (B2C), in which a business sells products or services directly to consumers over the Internet." (LibreTexts); a one-owner store is B2C. The "80/20 rule" is the Pareto principle, which "states that, for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes" (Wikipedia) — a rule of thumb, with no e-commerce version on any page of record; the "3-3-3 rule" and the "1% rule" print only on sales-tool and real-estate blogs, which this guide does not cite.

Insurance and the first hire. No state read mandates liability insurance for an online store. "E-commerce businesses pay an average of $42 per month , or $500 per year, for general liability insurance", "Online stores pay an average of $95 per month , or $1,136 per year, for a business owner's policy", and "General liability coverage often includes product liability insurance , which can help protect your online retail store in the event a customer has an allergic reaction to a product your business sells" (Insureon, from its customers' policies, February 26, 2025). Workers' compensation once you hire the holiday packer: Ohio, "All employers with one or more employees must carry workers' compensation coverage. It's the law." (Ohio BWC, form U-3S); Texas, "private employers can choose to carry workers' compensation insurance coverage, but it is not required in most cases" (Texas Department of Insurance); Florida, "Non-Construction Industry — Employers with four (4) or more employees" (Florida CFO); New York, "Virtually all employers in New York State must provide workers' compensation coverage" (New York Workers' Compensation Board); California, "even if they have only one employee" (California DIR).

The money to start. The AI answer prices the start at "$100 to $3,000+" and the launch at "$50 – $150"; no page of record prints either, and the three cost articles on page 1 refuse a reader. From the pages that open on October 25, 2026, the Columbus sample's paperwork is the $39 trade name, the $50 vendor's license and a .com at "$11.08 everyday low price" (Porkbun): $100.08, our arithmetic — $630.08 with a barcode and a year of general liability: "1 GS1 US GTIN $30 $0" and "There is no annual renewal fee for a GS1 US GTIN" — a ten-product prefix is $250 with a $50 yearly renewal (GS1 US), needed only if a marketplace or a wholesale buyer asks, and Insureon's $500 a year (above). The rest is free or pay-as-you-sell: the EIN; "No setup fees, monthly fees, or hidden fees" at Stripe (its archived US page, above); "shipping boxes and envelopes are free" with Priority Mail (USPS); "USPS Ground Advantage ® From $8.40 at the Post Office From $7.33 for Commercial Pricing" (USPS business prices) — $7.33 to $8.95 for a parcel under a pound and $8.01 to $11.22 for one pound by zone at the commercial rate you get by shipping online (USPS's rate file, above; retail runs $8.40 to $13.65 — USPS retail rate file); "Even if you don't have a printer, you can still ship online using Click-N-Ship ® —for an extra $1.65 per label, we'll print an outbound label and deliver it to you" (USPS Ground Advantage); Klaviyo's free plan at "Up to 250 active profiles" and "500 email sends/month" (Klaviyo); TaxJar's "Starter … $39 / mo … 200 orders / mo" when the states multiply (TaxJar); Amazon's "Professional $39.99 / month" if the marketplace is Amazon (Amazon); and the trademark, "Base application, per class 350.00" — $350 a class — only once the name has proven itself (USPTO fee schedule). The stock is the budget and no vendor prices it: the plan page's planning range is $2,000 to $10,000 for a first run, and its fuller start of $5,264–$24,014 adds photography, packaging, a label printer and scale, a year of insurance, launch ads, the website and two months of working capital. Two owners here started with $80 and $500 (Jenkins, Thomason — above).

In the UK: no permit to sell online; "You can start trading straight away without registering. However, you must register for Self Assessment as a sole trader if you earn more than £1,000 in a tax year" (GOV.UK); VAT once turnover "goes over £90,000" (GOV.UK); and the inversion of the US as-sold sale — a distance shopper may cancel "at any time in the cancellation period without giving any reason" (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, reg. 29), a period that "ends at the end of 14 days after the day on which the goods come into the physical possession of" the consumer (reg. 30): "You must tell the customer they can cancel their order up to 14 days after their order is delivered. They do not need to give a reason for cancelling." and "If you do not tell the customer about their right to cancel, they can cancel at any time in the next 12 months." (GOV.UK, online and distance selling); goods must be "of satisfactory quality" (Consumer Rights Act 2015, s.9); and a store holding customer data pays the data-protection fee, "£52" for the smallest tier (the 2018 fee regulations, reg. 3). In Australia: "It's free to register for an ABN" (business.gov.au); a business name is "$47 for 1 year $108 for 3 years" (business.gov.au); GST registration at A$75,000 of turnover (the ATO's page; its address carries a British spelling, so it is not linked); the consumer guarantees are the inversion of the US posted-policy rule — "Your customers can ask for a refund, replacement or repair if your goods or services don't meet a consumer guarantee" and a store policy cannot override them (business.gov.au, the Australian Consumer Law). Check your own regulator's rules.