Sales tax for making websites?

Question

To design and host websites for people, Do I have to charge then sales tax? Do I have to own an actual comany? Can I just claim the money as "extra income" on my taxes at the end of the year?

Answer 1

You may or may not have to charge sales tax, depending on the state in which you live. Call your county auditor's office for information.
You do NOT have to incorporate, and it's usually smart not to for at least the first couple of years. You will be considered "self-employed" for this money, so be careful to keep close track of everything you spend in order to make the money - most of it will be deductible. This includes things you already owned (like your computer), but put into business use.
You don't want to claim it as just "extra income" - or 'miscellaneous income'. This does not allow you to take the deductions you can likely claim if you file as self-employed (which is what you really would be). You'll file a Schedule C (to show the income and deductions), and a Schedule SE. The Schedule SE computes "self-employment tax". This is not an extra tax on being self-employed, it's the way self-employed people pay into Social Security and Medicare.
Feel free to let me know if you have further questions.

Answer 2

Most states you'd have to charge them sales tax, but not all. Check with your state department of revenue.

You can BE the company, you don't have to do anything special to declare a company to do this. On your tax return you'll show the income and associated expenses on a schedule C or C-EZ, use a schedule SE to calculate your self-employment tax (social security and medicare) on the profits, and then the numbers from the bottom of those two schedules transfer to your form 1040. You'll have to file a 1040, not 1040A or 1040EZ.