Many years ago I was in the business through Craigslist, but am looking to get back in as a true courtesan. Two topics baffle me and I’d appreciate your advice. First is screening; I never did this before, just used my gut and only once regretted it. Is this a common practice? Do men give their real info? Second: I have a legitimate job, so what I make here is going towards debt and savings. I want to deposit any money in the bank. Do I need to pay taxes? Do people want to pay with credit cards? Should I form a LLC?
I think you should do a bit of research before going any further with your plans. You can start with my “mentoring” and “screening” tags, both of which should give you plenty of material to help with your questions. Next, you need to get rid of the idea that sex work is not a legitimate job, because it is, albeit a suppressed one. Many people who have a square job and just do a little escorting on the side do not report their cash income even though it’s illegal not to, because prostitution is already illegal so I guess they figure “in for a penny, in for a pound”. But being a “true courtesan” is a full-time job; if you’re going to go that route it would be most unwise to completely avoid taxes because the IRS will destroy your life if they catch you. If you’re only doing it as a side-hustle you probably don’t need to take credit cards or start an LLC, because you simply won’t have the kind of volume that requires that. However, it’s easy enough to take credit cards via Square. And if you’re going to start an LLC, you had best think long and hard about what you’re going to claim it does, because banks and such are nosy and will cut you off (and possibly steal your money) if they think it’s from sex work.
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Good advice, as always. If I could weigh in on the LLC question, with most states you can show the LLC as authorized for “all legal purposes,” or something to that effect. One can couch things in a neutral term, like “entertainment” or something along those lines, should a bank want to know. If the LLC is a pass-through entity then any income or expenses wind up on the individual’s tax return. If the election is made for the entity to be taxed as a corporation something similar can be used for the company’s purpose on a tax return.
There may or may not be any great advantage of forming an LLC for this purpose but if the person is running an enterprise it could help prevent against liability issues and protect her personal assets (which need to be kept separate from the company assets), though I suspect few people are inclined to sue sex workers. They could be inclined to sue a business, however, whether it’s for sex work or otherwise.
You’re absolutely spot-on about the requirement to declare income and pay taxes on it. The IRS can be a very nasty “customer.”
This isn’t legal advice but just general guidance.
The IRS can take a hike to hell, and that is coming from someone who isn’t conspiracy theorist.