[digi59404]

This isn’t true. The tax office will bother you, the client also will demand you have an actual company with liability insurance and more.

There is a tremendous amount of legal and paperwork once you start accepting money and working with corps. It’s a nightmare.

[degamad]

> The tax office will bother you...

This is entirely jurisdiction specific, so I can't say for certain, but in almost every country I've looked into it for, there is a set of paperwork that an individual can use to independently invoice for work, without the effort of setting up an incorporated company. You will definitely need to record the income you received, and declare it on the relevant tax forms.

There is often a scale variance too - in Australia, "hobby" income is treated differently from "business" income. [0]

In Germany, there is the concept of the "Freien Berufen" ("liberal professions"), in which you can freelance without a company. [1]

> ... the client also will demand...

The client may also demand these things of you.

They are certainly capable of dealing with sole traders, and will have some services provided by people who do not have those things. (Your boss does not check if the receipt you submit for the new bookshelf for the office comes from a registered company or a sole trader carpenter.)

Depending on the scale of the services you are providing, they may prefer to deal with a registered entity, but for small one-off things, that may not be necessary.

If you are regularly working with large businesses who are funding your work, it's worth looking into the most effective tax and legal structures for you. But if you just need to send the occasional invoice off to someone who wants something quick done, it's useful to know what your options are.

One final thought - even when dealing with organisations who prefer to deal with registered businesses, you have options. You can choose to be employed by a company which does that on your behalf. Either a business which you have a good relationship with, and is willing to enter into a casual employment contract with you and bill for your services, or a dedicated contractor management company. Either way, you give up a percentage of what you bill, but in exchange, they take the paperwork and liability overhead.

[0] https://www.ato.gov.au/forms-and-instructions/trust-tax-retu...

[1] https://handbookgermany.de/en/self-employment

[bigfatkitten]

> There is often a scale variance too - in Australia, "hobby" income is treated differently from "business" income. [0]

I have an ABN and I am registered for GST for side hustles beyond the hobbyist income threshold. This costs me about 10 minutes of extra admin per year when I do my tax return.

All I need to do is give the tax office three figures: How much money I earned, how much GST I charged, and how much I paid (ie how much they need to give back to me.)

[carlosjobim]

You don't seem to understand the power balance here. The client is in no position to demand anything, since the article author can just tell them to scram, and they can solve their own problems.

Working with corps is not a problem. Unless you have a slave mentality that is, and let them bully you and stomp all over you. If they have their wits with them, they will fully understand what negotiating position they are in, and not make unnecessary demands on the software creator.

[notpushkin]

I have a company in Estonia for cases like this. The amount of paperwork is nearly zero, the corps are happy they’re working with an actual company, and you can do things like holding money there (for business purchases) and paying no taxes in your home country (unless they have a CFC rule, notably US and Japan, in which case eh good luck).

[j16sdiz]

It is easier in EU than in US.

[bigfatkitten]

> This isn’t true. The tax office will bother you, the client also will demand you have an actual company with liability insurance and more.

If the commercial terms of the engagement don’t work for you, then walk away. It’s really as simple as that.

[immibis]

What exactly did the "bothering" consist of?