Do I fill out income tax or not?

I wanted to start a self-employed, small eBay business. In order to buy items from wholesalers I needed a sales tax ID number. So I got my IBT number (Illinois Business Tax number). Consequently, I have to fill out a ‘sales tax’ form every month, but I don’t have to pay anything since I haven’t sold anything yet (I know you only pay this tax whenever you sell to someone in your state). Also, I have to worry about income tax, and income tax is what I am concerned about. Currently, I am unemployed, and I have not started the eBay business yet. Therefore, I’ve made no income through eBay/IBT number. Since I am a self-employed ‘ebayer’ and have made no income, what am I to do about my IL-1040, income tax? Do I simply just not fill out the form?

Public Comments

you can if you want to
Yes
Sounds like it isn't necessary to do so.
Did you file last year? If so I would file with the no income info and they will probably tell you not to bother filing next year unless you get some income.
Since you are a registered business owner, you still have to fill out the form, even if you do not have to pay any tax.
Suggest you contact the IRS (800 # is in Dex)
If you had no income there is no need to fill out the forms. Call the IRS to be sure.
Find the answer at www.irs.gov
Do you have expenses for the business for FY2007? If so, you can claim them (you won't get any money back, of course, since you have no business income as yet) on this year's forms and carry them over to FY2008 when you can use them to offset a profit in 2008. Remember, expenses include such things as as application and license fees, postage, actual purchases of materails you haven't sold, preparation for starting up (equipment, office space, office furniture, etc). Also, if you've been filing sales and use tax reports to Illinois and do NOT file a State and Federal business return, it will 'trigger' a 'watch switch' and you're much more likely to be audited in the near future. Don't forget that any fees you may pay for tax preparation for the business are deductible business expenses for next year.