David Crabill
@david
active 1 day, 15 hours agoForum Replies Created
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If they don’t know, then don’t worry about the sales tax. You should be exempt anyway.
You should be able to make baklava, but since it’s not explicitly listed on the allowed foods list, you should check with the health dept first.
Debbie, Ohio is usually pretty flexible with what they allow, but it doesn’t look like they currently allow mustard through their cottage food law. Sorry!
You can have a cottage food business, but you can’t deliver. People will need to pick the items up from your home.
Arizona is pretty lenient… you will be fine with this kind of item.
You don’t need a nutrition label on your products unless you make a health claim, like “low-fat”. Just apply for an exemption.
The FDA’s info confuses me too, but I know you don’t have to register with them (aside from that exemption). Sorry, I really have no idea if info about preservative ratios exists.
Yes, all the rules that are on Florida’s page. Also contact your planning division to make sure your region doesn’t have any other requirements. And Miami-Dade county is currently not allowing cottage food operations, in case you live there.
April, I just want to further clarify my response. I still think that you are exempt from all taxes, but since I wrote this answer, I have learned that in some states, only state taxes are exempt, and local (city and/or county) taxes still apply to cottage food sales. To be sure for your region, you should contact your County Tax Collector or Business Tax Office.
For sales taxes, it doesn’t seem to be consistent from state-to-state, so I’m not sure. In Colorado, I would start by asking the Taxation Division in the Department of Revenue. For yearly taxes, you’d contact the IRS, as you probably know.
Yes, in Florida it can.
I agree that it could be more clear, and part of the reason that it currently isn’t clear is that there are no rules or requirements for getting started. What you see on that page is all the rules there are… no health dept license or inspection needed. One thing you should do, however, is call up your planning division and ask if there are any county-specific requirements for your business (such as a generic business license). Hope this helps!
Joan, baking for friends and family becomes a business when you start selling your homemade food items to them, or doing monetary transactions for your goods elsewhere. There is no technical definition of a cottage food business, but basically, it’s a for-profit business that sells homemade food products.
If the health dept finds that you are running an illegal business, then they may fine you or may just give you a warning. You’re not supposed to be doing it, but they know that a lot of people do (many of whom do not know that it’s illegal to sell homemade foods), so oftentimes they’re lenient at first.
