Solved

How can I start a Shopify store if I am under 18

entre
Visitor
2 0 1

Hello, I am 17 years old from the US, and I am looking forward to starting a Shopify store. I have a few concerns about the payment setup: Do I need to use the name and SSN of my parents, as well as their banking information, or can I use my bank account? Will it affect my parents' taxes? How can I manage the money I own if I use my parents' banking info on Shopify?

Accepted Solutions (2)

Scott-Marshall
Excursionist
36 3 4

This is an accepted solution.

@entre 

 

Shopify's terms of service state that you must be at least 18 years or older to open an account. I'd suggest speaking with your parents and letting them know you'd like to create an online store to start a business. This means that your parents will need to create and manage the Shopify account until you become of age to manage the account yourself. Given that your parent's banking information and personal information will be used to create the account, any income will affect your parent's taxes as the income would be under their name (and not your own). I'd suggest speaking with your parents about how the money can be managed from any sales that are made.

 

Best of luck,

View solution in original post

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

This is an accepted solution.

Hi @oetsuru,

As a minor you can add your bank account for payouts but the credit card (CC) used for billing would need to be your parents. Your parent's would also need to be the account owners (AO) and you (the minor) a staff member.

There can be a few steps to this process and getting it set up. Your best bet could be to create an account (so you can log in when you reach out to support for authentication purposes) and then reach out to our support team directly to get the account set up properly. You can contact the support team directly here for that. Let me know if you have any other questions! 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

View solution in original post

Replies 24 (24)

Scott-Marshall
Excursionist
36 3 4

This is an accepted solution.

@entre 

 

Shopify's terms of service state that you must be at least 18 years or older to open an account. I'd suggest speaking with your parents and letting them know you'd like to create an online store to start a business. This means that your parents will need to create and manage the Shopify account until you become of age to manage the account yourself. Given that your parent's banking information and personal information will be used to create the account, any income will affect your parent's taxes as the income would be under their name (and not your own). I'd suggest speaking with your parents about how the money can be managed from any sales that are made.

 

Best of luck,

entre
Visitor
2 0 1

Thank you very much.

MichaelSonic
Visitor
1 0 0

Ok what about this my mom set up a bank account for me I have my own debit card I would like the money I make come straight to my bank.

I am 17 

Scott-Marshall
Excursionist
36 3 4

@MichaelSonic 

I believe you'd still need to be 18, however, I believe any bank account can be hooked up.

I'd double-check with Shopify to see if this violates their policies 🙂

Cheers,

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @ynwa & @MichaelSonic,

Great questions! In both of your scenarios you would need to have your parents as the Shopify Payments (SP) representative and the name on the account. To have these altered for the name and identity change to your parents names, it will need to sent to our Account Identity team to review and then change. This is something we'd need to access your account in order to resolve. We’re not able to provide account-specific support via the Shopify Community at this time, we’d be happy to continue assisting you through live chat, email, or callback. Please visit our support team here and log in to your account to create a support request.

Something to remember is to log in and talk to someone on the support team you will need to verify via the account owner's (AO) email. 

 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

oetsuru
Tourist
4 0 1

Hi! Sorry, just to confirm here, I’m still a little confused. If I am 15, would it be a violation of Shopify’s Terms if I register a Shopify account undermy parents legal information but input my own bank account for transactions? 

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

This is an accepted solution.

Hi @oetsuru,

As a minor you can add your bank account for payouts but the credit card (CC) used for billing would need to be your parents. Your parent's would also need to be the account owners (AO) and you (the minor) a staff member.

There can be a few steps to this process and getting it set up. Your best bet could be to create an account (so you can log in when you reach out to support for authentication purposes) and then reach out to our support team directly to get the account set up properly. You can contact the support team directly here for that. Let me know if you have any other questions! 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

oetsuru
Tourist
4 0 1
Hi Nick! Thank you for your quick response. Does this mean that all profit
I make will be put into my bank account, but fees and taxes will be charged
through my parents credit card?

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @oetsuru,

Great questions. What would happen here is the same as any other account, if you're using Shopify Payments (SP), then transaction fees are deducted from your payouts and the remainder is transferred to the bank account. If for some reason your payouts didn’t cover his transaction fees then it would be charged on the CC for billing which would be your parents in this instance yes. 

Can I ask which country you're based in to see if you're eligible to use SP's as your payment gateway?

Let me know if you do have any other questions about Shopify or setting up your account! 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

oetsuru
Tourist
4 0 1
Hi Nick,

I am in the US so I believe that I am in fact eligible to use SP. So as
long as I retain a steady profit, and (hopefully) no customer issues, my
parents card would not be billed?
Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Almost! The credit card will be billed for any Shopify-related charges. For example, the card will be charged every month for the Shopify subscription. You may also be charged for any apps you install or any shipping labels you may create. The funds your store generates can not go towards the monthly invoice as they will need to be paid separately. 

Wishing you the best with it all and like I said if you have any other questions about Shopify or setting up your store. Don't hesitate to ask. 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

oetsuru
Tourist
4 0 1
Ok, thank you so much! You’ve been super helpful.

Lillyb
New Member
10 0 0

Hi @Nick!

I am under 18 and looking to start a Shopify!

I’ve followed along this thread and from what I’ve gathered, my parents will only need to have their name and credit card entered, and the rest of the information ( SSN. And bank account) can be under my name.

 

I am located in Ny, would this still affect my parents taxes?

 

and if so, is there anyway to open a shop and not have it affect my parents taxes.

 

Thanks!

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @Lillyb,

 

The SSN would need to be one of your parents since one of their names will be on the card using to pay for the subscription but the payout bank account can be in your name. 

 

Because one of your parents SSN number is involved with a business it would affect their taxes in some form or fashion. I'm not completely familair with NY taxes, and I would advise to contact/speak to a local tax official about this to learn more. They would know more about how taxes are in your area and can give a concrete answer. 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

An6r3w
Visitor
1 0 0

Hi @Nick,

  I transferred the account ownership to my mom, and will be using her SSN. My understanding is that associating the business with her SSN simply means that any store income will be taxed at her tax bracket. Am I correct, or will it have an actual affect on her overall income tax? Also, does just the SSN have to be an adult's? As a minor, can I enter my personal details and my Banking information? 

 Thanks,

  Andrew 

LuisSchulze
Visitor
1 0 0

Hello Nick would this also be possible to do in Spain.

Thx

WcEsto
Visitor
1 0 0

Hey @Nick 

 

If I am 17 but am making sales, could I wait until I am 18 and then put in my information to collect a payout from that? And also will the customer still get their product (Zendrop is connected to my Shopify)?

Soccerdriven
Visitor
1 0 0

So I can use my banking account as my shopify payments and my billing methods as my parents?

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @entre,

 

Nick here from Shopify. 

 

Great questions and @Scott-Marshall pretty much nailed a lot of them on the head here. To follow up a little further from what Scott said, you can see the Shopify Terms of Service where this is stated here and highlighted in the screenshot below: 

 

20-04-aa82i-5bs1g

 

 

Something else which might be worth talking to your parents about is registering the business and if that can be done in your name or would it need to be in your parent's name also. This could be different for different places around the world so I would definitely suggest talking to a local accountant or tax office about this to be sure. 

 

All the best, Nick

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

Themtblifestyle
Visitor
3 0 0

Hello I really need help, I did not realize that you have to be 18 and entered my Bank account and now my payout is locked, How do I change my SSN and DOB to my parents name but still get the funds? and why does it have to go through the bank? is there a way i can make it go to my paypal? Like I said I really need help so thank you for your time.

Nick
Shopify Staff (Retired)
4531 434 1024

Hi @Themtblifestyle,

Yes, as per the Shopify Terms of Service you must be 18 yrs old to be an account owner. You would need to discuss with your parents after making them the account owners and attaching their bank and SSN details to the store about how you want to work the payout situation. 

You can see how to transfer account ownership here and then how to replace the bank details from the guide here

Regarding PayPal, you can set up PayPal as a payment gateway on your store in addition to Shopify Payments if you like and the sales made by customers who choose PayPal would go directly to your PayPal account then. 

I hope this helps answer your questions! 

To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Community Blog.

ynwa
Visitor
1 0 2

Hi @Nick , I started an account also without realising you have to be 18. I'm being asked for ID so i transferred the account ownership to my mum and completely removed my account off the store but its still asking for 'Finley Walsh' (Me) ID. Is this because my bank account is still attached to the shopify payments? Thanks

GJakji
Visitor
1 0 0

Did you figure it out Finley?

ValentinoR
Visitor
1 0 0

So my country's law says, I am allowed to create a Business under 18 and run it with my bank account, if I first speak to a council, get permission from my parents and register the business. Does this make it legal for me to start a shopify store under 18? Or do my parents still have to be the managers of the store?