$35 a year for most home based businesses.
State: You might not need a specific State business license, but the easiest way of determining if it’s required is to call the Department of Consumer Affairs at your state capital.
If you’re going to sell anything other than a service, you’ll also need to get a seller’s permit. You can get this through the State Board of Equalization’s office. One way to avoid this extra paperwork and quarterly filing is to have your clients responsible for purchasing the materials you might need even though you physically purchase them at retail. Your business would then be based as a “non-taxable” service.
If you plan to have employees, you’ll need to obtain Worker’s compensation insurance. This information can be obtained through the State Compensation office.
You will also need to file with the Employment Development Department in your state for withholding insurances and taxes. I outsource my payroll to a payroll service. That way they make sure that I’m covered for all regulations, filing dates, as well as state and federal requirements. There are too many regulations to keep up with and soon it becomes obvious that you’re spending more time keeping up with them and not enough time conducting your business.