Do I need a business licence for my Side Hustle? Your questions answered!

What is a business licence?

A business licence is a document that lets you do certain types of work.

Do I need a business licence for my side hustle?

You'll need to get a federal license or permit if your business activities are regulated by a federal agency.

Check to see if any of your business activities are listed on the link below, and then check with the right federal agency to see how to apply.

Requirements and fees depend on your business activity and the agency issuing the license or permit. It's best to check with the issuing agency for details on the business license cost.

You can find more information on the Government SBA website here.

What happens if I get caught without the appropriate business licence?

If you do not have a licence there can be some pretty serious implications.

First of all, your activities as an individual could be subject to the appropriate provincial business licensing penalties and enforcement actions for operating without a license. In addition, if caught you can also face fines from the federal agency that regulates your line of work.

Do I need insurance for my side hustle?

This is a great question, and there are two sides to it.

The first side is do you need insurance for your business? In short the answer would be probably yes. Insurance can protect your personal assets if something goes wrong with your work as an independent contractor or small business owner. This could help insulate you from any financial losses that could come up.

The second question is do you need business liability insurance? The answer to this would be probably not, unless your work exposes you to a specific risk of harm that needs special protection. This might include working with certain high-value materials or where there's an increased chance of injuring others on the job site for example.

Every businesses need are different and should be discussed with an experiences insurance broker to ensure the appropriate coverage is in place.

Do I need to pay tax on money I make from my side hustle?

The answer is yes, if the business makes over $400 in a year. If your income level is below this amount do not start paying taxes until it goes above that threshold.

This of course doe not include any taxable benefits such as gas or vehicle allowance that comes with your new business.

For more information on the do I need to pay tax on my side hustle questions, you can check out this SBA link here.