Weird situation with a trademark

[grizli]

What is the name of your state? OH

Hi everyone,
A bit of a weird situation, not sure how to handle. I'm familiar with a typical sole-proprietor business in Oh and I typically just file together with my personal taxes.

However, my son registered a trademark in 2024 and received a "Notice of Assessment". It has a $200 tax, some additional charge, penalty, late penalty and interest.
I under he has 60 days to respond.

Is having a trademark in Ohio the same as LLC or s-corp under individual ssn? He never registered anything else.
Is he supposed to file trademark taxes along with personal? Did he receive notice because nothing was filed for 2024?

He never ended up doing any business under trademark like he thought he would, minus some supplies for few hundred bucks. I'm assuming best advice is to cancel it and discontinue it?
Since he never made any money with this, can he claim exception?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? OH

Hi everyone,
A bit of a weird situation, not sure how to handle. I'm familiar with a typical sole-proprietor business in Oh and I typically just file together with my personal taxes.

However, my son registered a trademark in 2024 and received a "Notice of Assessment". It has a $200 tax, some additional charge, penalty, late penalty and interest.
I under he has 60 days to respond.

Is having a trademark in Ohio the same as LLC or s-corp under individual ssn? He never registered anything else.
Is he supposed to file trademark taxes along with personal? Did he receive notice because nothing was filed for 2024?

He never ended up doing any business under trademark like he thought he would, minus some supplies for few hundred bucks. I'm assuming best advice is to cancel it and discontinue it?
Since he never made any money with this, can he claim exception?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!

A couple of questions:

Has your son been filing tax returns for his business even when he has not had any business activity?

Is your son’s trademark federally registered?

IF your son has not conducted any business, and has no intention of conducting any business, under his registered name (his trademark), dissolving his business is probably his best course of action.

 

[quincy]

From Ohio’s Department of Taxes:

https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/u...ess/Ohio Small Business Tax Guide_Rev2.24.pdf

See Pages 8 and 9, which might explain the “Notice of Assessment” received by your son. From pages 8 and 9 on Sales Tax: “Returns must be filed even if no sales are made or no tax is due. Failure to file a return or remit tax due will result in fines, penalties, and possibly criminal charges.”

 

[zddoodah]

I typically just file together with my personal taxes.

File WHAT together with your personal taxes?

my son registered a trademark in 2024

Registered a trademark with whom? How old is your son? Please give a general summary of the type of business your son conducts (or intended to conduct) and the mark that he registered.

and received a "Notice of Assessment". It has a $200 tax, some additional charge, penalty, late penalty and interest.

Received from whom?

Is having a trademark in Ohio the same as LLC or s-corp under individual ssn?

This question doesn't make sense. An LLC or a corporation is a business entity form. Both forms are distinct legal entities from their owners. A trademark is a word, picture, symbol, etc. that serves to distinguish the goods and/or services provided by the owner of the mark from goods and/or services provided by others.

Is he supposed to file trademark taxes along with personal?

I've never heard of "trademark taxes."

Did he receive notice because nothing was filed for 2024?

No one here has any knowledge about your son's situation beyond what you have told us.

He never ended up doing any business under trademark like he thought he would, minus some supplies for few hundred bucks. I'm assuming best advice is to cancel it and discontinue it?
Since he never made any money with this, can he claim exception?

Perhaps, but there's no way for anyone who hasn't read the notice to speak intelligently about its meaning. Unless he wants to allow you to post the notice here (which would not be a good idea), he should consult with a local attorney.

 

[quincy]

I agree that reviewing with a local attorney the Notice and circumstances surrounding the receipt of the Notice is good advice but I think some of the information provided by grizli can lead to logical conclusions. Reading between the lines is, I hope, not a lost art.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? OH

Hi everyone,
A bit of a weird situation, not sure how to handle. I'm familiar with a typical sole-proprietor business in Oh and I typically just file together with my personal taxes.

However, my son registered a trademark in 2024 and received a "Notice of Assessment". It has a $200 tax, some additional charge, penalty, late penalty and interest.
I under he has 60 days to respond.

Is having a trademark in Ohio the same as LLC or s-corp under individual ssn? He never registered anything else.
Is he supposed to file trademark taxes along with personal? Did he receive notice because nothing was filed for 2024?

He never ended up doing any business under trademark like he thought he would, minus some supplies for few hundred bucks. I'm assuming best advice is to cancel it and discontinue it?
Since he never made any money with this, can he claim exception?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!

If all your son did was register a trademark, then no, that is not the same as setting up an LLC or an S-Corp. However, based on the "notice of assessment" there is some reason to believe that it has nothing to do with the trademark your son registered, and everything to do with some sort of business tax. Therefore that is some indication that your son may have done more than just register a trademark.

There is no such thing as filing "trademark taxes".

He can cancel the trademark, or close the business (if he formed one). However, he really needs someone who can review the letter to see exactly what it is talking about if he wants to resolve the issue that the letter addresses. Again, I suspect that it is addressing some sort of business tax, but that is just a guess based on the tiny bit of information that you have provided.

 

[grizli]

A couple of questions:

Has your son been filing tax returns for his business even when he has not had any business activity?

Is your son’s trademark federally registered?

IF your son has not conducted any business, and has no intention of conducting any business, under his registered name (his trademark), dissolving his business is probably his best course of action.

No, he didn't realize you have to file it together.
Trademark is registered strictly with the State of Ohio.

No actual business has been conducted. He is thinking about just abandoning this.

 

[grizli]

File WHAT together with your personal taxes?




Registered a trademark with whom? How old is your son? Please give a general summary of the type of business your son conducts (or intended to conduct) and the mark that he registered.




Received from whom?




This question doesn't make sense. An LLC or a corporation is a business entity form. Both forms are distinct legal entities from their owners. A trademark is a word, picture, symbol, etc. that serves to distinguish the goods and/or services provided by the owner of the mark from goods and/or services provided by others.




I've never heard of "trademark taxes."




No one here has any knowledge about your son's situation beyond what you have told us.




Perhaps, but there's no way for anyone who hasn't read the notice to speak intelligently about its meaning. Unless he wants to allow you to post the notice here (which would not be a good idea), he should consult with a local attorney.

I was using myself as an example with an LLC. I file it together with my personal taxes.
He registered trademark with Ohio, no federal registration.
Mail came in from the State of Ohio.

It appears, as others wrote, you can have trademark without an LLC/business (was news to me too) and still have to file taxes together.

 

[grizli]

If all your son did was register a trademark, then no, that is not the same as setting up an LLC or an S-Corp. However, based on the "notice of assessment" there is some reason to believe that it has nothing to do with the trademark your son registered, and everything to do with some sort of business tax. Therefore that is some indication that your son may have done more than just register a trademark.

There is no such thing as filing "trademark taxes".

He can cancel the trademark, or close the business (if he formed one). However, he really needs someone who can review the letter to see exactly what it is talking about if he wants to resolve the issue that the letter addresses. Again, I suspect that it is addressing some sort of business tax, but that is just a guess based on the tiny bit of information that you have provided.

He didn't. In case he didn't realize what he was doing, I searched Ohio SOS, nothing there under his name except trademark. This is why it's confusing, but apparently, as someone pointed out couple sections of Ohio code state you still have to file.

Question becomes: is it still possible to file an amended return with the State of Ohio, or is it possible to disagree with assessment on some legal grounds and have it dismissed?

 

[zddoodah]

It appears, as others wrote, you can have trademark without an LLC/business (was news to me too) and still have to file taxes together.

Trademarks and taxes have nothing to do with each other. You said the letter came from the State of Ohio, but Ohio, like every other state, has dozens of state agencies, so that's not particularly helpful.

 

[zddoodah]

is it still possible to file an amended return with the State of Ohio, or is it possible to disagree with assessment on some legal grounds and have it dismissed.

Both of these things are hypothetically possible. There is no way for anyone here to opine intelligently about the appropriateness of your son doing either or both of these things.

 

[quincy]

He didn't. In case he didn't realize what he was doing, I searched Ohio SOS, nothing there under his name except trademark. This is why it's confusing, but apparently, as someone pointed out couple sections of Ohio code state you still have to file.

Question becomes: is it still possible to file an amended return with the State of Ohio, or is it possible to disagree with assessment on some legal grounds and have it dismissed?

A trademark is a company’s product or service identifier, used to distinguish the company’s products or services from those of all others. You do not register a name with the state or federally unless it is used for this purpose.

With federally registered marks, you must show evidence of use of the mark before it can be registered (or, with “intent to use” applications, that you intend to use the mark in commerce within 6 months of the application).

When your son registered his “trademark” with the state of Ohio, it is assumed that the trademark is being used as an identifier for a company’s products or services. The supposed business must file taxes, this whether the supposed business generated any income or not. It appears that your son failed to do this, hence the penalties assessed against him.

Your son would benefit from sitting down with an attorney in his area, for a review of the Notice and a review of his tax filings (did he deduct the supplies for his business, for example?).

It sounds like your son thought of a great name and wanted to reserve it in case he ever wanted to use it. He went about it the wrong way. For trademarks, you register the name after you have a business.

You can read over the information in the link I provided earlier.

 

[LdiJ]

He didn't. In case he didn't realize what he was doing, I searched Ohio SOS, nothing there under his name except trademark. This is why it's confusing, but apparently, as someone pointed out couple sections of Ohio code state you still have to file.

Question becomes: is it still possible to file an amended return with the State of Ohio, or is it possible to disagree with assessment on some legal grounds and have it dismissed?

Again, I believe that you are confusing things between what goes on someone's income tax return, and business returns that must be filed by businesses. I can imagine no circumstance where something regarding a trademark, and nothing else, would require an amendment to an income tax return, particularly a personal income tax return. Examples: When a company is set up to collect sales tax they must periodically submit a sales tax return (could be yearly, could be monthly, could be weekly depending on factors). When a company is set up for payroll they must periodically submit payroll tax returns. When a company is set up for excise tax they must periodically submit excise tax returns. There are also property tax returns. Those are just a few examples. There are also fees that businesses must periodically pay but those are not usually called "taxes".

It may be that your son needs to submit some sort of business tax return(s) and then something else to close things down. Or, he might just need to file something to close things down. The letter will explain what the state believes is missing. Therefore you need someone knowledgeable to look at the actual letter and explain to you what is needed. Right now you are doing a lot of research that may prove to be a waste of time until you pinpoint what the letter is actually talking about.

 

[quincy]

These are state of Ohio tax requirements.

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to the Ohio’s SOS on trademark registrations. See page 7 for the procedural requirements.

https://www.ohiosos.gov/globalassets/publications/busserv/trademark.pdf

From the publication: “The mark must be in use prior to filing the application.”