Everything for Amazon Sellers—in One Base.

An Amazon seller that qualifies as a small business taxpayer does not have to keep a formal tax inventory under section 471(a). IRS Publication 538 says such a taxpayer “can choose not to keep an inventory, but you must still use a method of accounting for inventory that clearly reflects income” — either by treating inventory as non-incidental materials and supplies (NIMS) or by following its applicable financial statement or, without one, its books and records. For tax years beginning in 2026, the gross receipts limit is $32,000,000 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 3.30). Switching methods is done on Form 3115, normally as an automatic change. Everything below is quoted from IRS publications, revenue procedures, and the Treasury regulation, checked 2026-10-11. It lays out the rules and the conditions each option depends on, not a recommendation for any one business. ...

FTC Endorsement Guides for Amazon Sellers: Free Products, Material Connections and Disclosure Under the FTC Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255), a free or discounted product you send to a reviewer, creator or influencer counts as a material connection, whether or not you ask for a review in return. If a significant minority of the audience would not expect that connection, the endorser has to disclose it clearly and conspicuously, and the Guides say you as the seller should tell them to and monitor whether they do. This guide reads the Part 255 text (eCFR current as of 2026-10-07, data checked 2026-10-11) and maps its worked examples to how Amazon sellers hand out product. ...

If you sell on Amazon as a sole proprietor, single-member LLC owner, partner or S corporation shareholder, and you expect to owe $1,000 or more in federal tax when you file, the IRS generally expects you to pay during the year in four estimated tax installments. Self-employment income has no employer withholding, which is why the IRS calls estimated tax the method for paying it. For tax year 2026 the installments fall on April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027 (IRS Form 1040-ES, data checked 2026-10-11). ...

Every article of foreign origin imported into the United States must be marked with the English name of its country of origin, legibly and in a conspicuous place, unless the law provides an exception. For goods you sell on Amazon in the form you imported them, the retail customer is the “ultimate purchaser” who must be able to read that mark. Under 19 U.S.C. 1304, goods that arrive unmarked and are not marked, exported, or destroyed under CBP supervision before the entry liquidates owe an extra 10 percent ad valorem duty (statute text read 2026-10-11). ...

Short answer for Amazon FBA: Amazon lets you register as an individual with no registered business, and none of the three documents is issued by Amazon; each one answers to a different authority. Amazon’s registration guide states: “You don’t need to be an LLC or registered business, or be otherwise incorporated, to sell in the Amazon store” (Amazon Seller registration guide, checked 2026-10-11). A business license is a question for your state, county and city; an EIN is a question for the IRS; a resale certificate is a question for the state tax agency and your suppliers. ...

Short answer: Amazon will not be the importer of record for your FBA inventory. Its own help page says Amazon “will not act as an IOR, consignee, or partner government agency (PGA) agent for any shipment, regardless of the size, value, origin, destination, or product” (Seller Central help, checked 2026-10-11). That role falls to you or an entity you appoint. If you book Amazon Global Logistics, Amazon requires that importer of record to hold a continuous CBP customs bond. CBP’s bond guide leaves some entry types out of the continuous bond calculation, including informal entries under $2,500 (section 6.4.1.2). Under CBP’s February 2024 bond guide, the minimum continuous import bond is $50,000 or 10% of the duties, taxes and fees you paid in the previous 12 months, whichever is greater (checked 2026-10-11). ...

Under the IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (revised 12/2026, data checked 2026-10-10), an Amazon seller generally files Form 1099-NEC for a payment that meets four conditions: it went to someone who is not your employee, it was for services in the course of your business, the payee is an individual, partnership, estate, or in some cases a corporation, and you paid that payee at least $2,000 during the year. The $2,000 floor applies “for tax years beginning after 2025.” Form 1099-NEC is due to the IRS and to the payee by January 31. ...

Under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA), a household cleaner, paint, solvent, or other hazardous substance must carry a label with a signal word (DANGER, WARNING, or CAUTION), a statement of the principal hazard, the hazardous ingredient’s name, precautionary measures, first-aid instructions when needed, “Keep out of the reach of children” or its practical equivalent, and the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, distributor, or seller. CPSC’s rule at 16 CFR 1500.121 then sets where those statements go and how large they must print; 16 CFR 1500.14 adds fixed wording for listed products such as methanol, turpentine, antifreeze, charcoal, fireworks, and art materials. ...

Under the FTC’s Energy Labeling Rule (16 CFR Part 305), a website that sells a covered appliance must show, for each model, a legible image of its EnergyGuide or Lighting Facts label, placed clearly and conspicuously near the price. Covered plumbing products such as showerheads, faucets, and toilets need a water-use disclosure instead, and certain fluorescent lamps, ballasts, and metal halide fixtures need a circled capital “E.” The rule names manufacturers, private labelers, distributors, and retailers as the parties who can be responsible. ...

The CPSC clothing flammability standard, 16 CFR Part 1610, applies to clothing and to textiles intended for clothing sold in the US, and sorts fabrics into three classes: Class 1 and Class 2 may be used in clothing, Class 3 may not. Hats, short gloves, footwear and interlinings are outside the standard. Plain surface fabrics weighing 2.6 ounces per square yard or more, and plain or raised surface fabrics of any weight made entirely from acrylic, modacrylic, nylon, olefin, polyester or wool, or a combination of only those fibers, are exempt from the testing requirement, not from the standard itself. ...

If you email customers from your own brand list, the CAN-SPAM Act requires every marketing email to carry accurate header information, a subject line that matches the content, a clear statement that it is an ad, a valid physical postal address, and a working opt-out that you honor within 10 business days. Messages whose content is purely transactional or relationship (an order confirmation, a recall notice, a delivery of something already bought) are exempt from most of those rules, but they still may not contain false or misleading routing information. ...

Under the FTC’s Guides Against Deceptive Pricing (16 CFR Part 233), a “was/now” price holds up only if the “was” price is one you actually offered openly, in good faith, for a reasonably substantial period of time. A “compare at” or list price holds up only if substantial sales really happen at that price in your trade area. A price raised just so it can be “cut,” a trivial reduction, or a “free” item paid for by a higher main price are the patterns the Guides call deceptive. ...