Is it a good idea to get a tax id if you are starting a online business by yourself?

I am going to be starting a online business by myself and was thinking about getting a tax id. What are the benefits that I can get out of it? I heard you dont have to pay tax for stuff? What kind of stuff can you buy and where can you buy it? I heard one of my brothers friend paid over 1700 for a tax id? Is it that expensive or is it free? Do you have to pay anything to get it?

First, it doesn't cost anything to get. You can get a tax ID onlline or by calling ...
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/arti...

It doesn't help you in buying. It basically replaces your social security number for tax reporting (business vs. personal). Are there benefits? In some cases, yes. Once you have a federal tax ID, you can now set up a corporation (LLC, s-corporation, c-corporation). And, under certain circumstances there are tax advantages for this over a sole proprietorship.

A tax ID through federal is not necessary for a small business, what you do need to do is get with the treasury department of your state, which you can do online, and apply for a sales tax license, your tax id will be your social security number, and you will have to keep accurate records of tax collected for sales in your state. However, in most cases, sales tax you pay for any business purchases is deducted from sales tax collected on your paperwork, and from what you owe. Apply for yearly returns, and make sure you register with your county clerk for a DBA, Doing Business As, form and have a name for your business. In some cases, buying at warehouses and wholesalers you will not have to pay your states tax if you do business with companies in your state if you have a sales tax number to show them. I hope this helps.