Utah Valley is a natural place to start a Cricut side business. The company that makes the machine began here as Provo Craft & Novelty (our history of Provo Craft and the Cricut tells that story), and the valley's holiday boutique circuit gives a maker places to sell every fall. It is also crowded. Before you price your first batch of shirts or tumblers, it helps to know what the machine costs, what Cricut lets you sell, which permits apply in your city and how Utah and the IRS treat the money.
This page gives the facts and the math structure. It does not tell you what you will earn, because nobody can: prices, competition and your own speed decide that.
The machines and what they cost
As listed on Cricut's shop in October 2026 (machine only, unless noted):
| Machine | Listed price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cricut Joy 2 | $99 | Smallest; bundles $139 to $229 |
| Cricut Joy Xtra | $179 | Bundles $199 to $229 |
| Cricut Explore 5 | $199 | Showing out of stock; bundles $249 to $349 |
| Cricut Maker 5 | $349 | Showing out of stock; bundles $399 to $549 |
The Maker 4 was on sale at $379 (MSRP $399), and the wide-format Venture at $499. Certified refurbished machines were listed from $79 to $439 but were all out of stock when we checked. Bundles that include a Cricut Access subscription were sometimes listed cheaper than the same bundle without it, so read the line items.
A heat press is the other big purchase for shirts and bags. Cricut sells its own EasyPress line; craft stores and online sellers carry other brands.
What Cricut lets you sell
Cricut's Angel Policy, as published on its blog, is the rule most sellers miss:
- You may sell up to 10,000 finished projects a year made with Cricut machines, tools and designs.
- Cricut does not allow mass production, and your finished projects cannot be made by more than one person. Hiring a crew to run machines is outside the policy.
- Designs that Cricut licenses from third parties (trademarks, copyrights and patents owned by others) cannot be used and sold.
- In Design Space, only images marked with a green "a" may be used on items you sell.
The third-party rule matters beyond Cricut. A shirt with a cartoon character or a team logo you do not have a license for can infringe the owner's rights no matter how you cut it. Juried shows here screen for originality: the Beehive Bazaar in Provo requires that everything be handmade by the vendor and bars imagery made with generative AI.
Where to buy supplies locally
The big boxes. Michaels has two Utah County stores (245 Meadow Lane in American Fork, 130 East University Parkway in Orem), open Monday to Saturday until 9 p.m. Hobby Lobby has four (American Fork, Orem, Spanish Fork, Saratoga Springs), open Monday to Saturday until 8. All six close on Sunday; the nearest Sunday option is the Michaels in Draper. Our craft stores guide lists addresses and what else each carries.
Custom cuts. Shoppers at Pebbles in my Pocket in Orem (1132 South State Street) mention custom cutting services in recent Google reviews. It posts no hours online, so call (801) 226-2632.
When to outsource. Some orders are cheaper to hand off than to press yourself: 100 identical team shirts, multicolor prints, embroidery. Utah County has commercial shops for that, including NovaInk, 495 West 800 North in Provo (screen printing and embroidery, weekdays 9 to 5), Vivid Print & Apparel, 426 East 1750 North in Vineyard (heat-press and screen-printed apparel, stickers and totes, weekdays 9 to 5), Blink Threads, 1742 South State Street in Orem (custom apparel and embroidery, weekdays 9 to 5), and Stickerbarrel in American Fork for printed stickers. A side business that knows when to send a job out can take orders it could not fill alone.
Where to learn
Formal Cricut classes are thin in the valley. What we found:
- Michaels' class catalog lists a craft-machines category alongside live online classes in painting, crochet and more; check the calendar for in-store sessions at the American Fork and Orem stores.
- Dave's Bernina in Provo runs embroidery classes, including $15 Embroidery Club sessions, useful if you plan to add machine embroidery.
- Community education catalogs (UVU Community Education and the school districts' adult programs) offer craft and small-business classes some semesters; see our community education guide.
Without a local class, Cricut's own tutorials and practice runs are the teacher. Budget blank shirts and vinyl for mistakes.
The side-business math
Here is the structure to price a product before you make 50 of it. Fill in your own numbers from your receipts.
Cost per item = materials + share of equipment + packaging + selling fees + your time.
- Materials. Blank, vinyl or iron-on (including the waste from weeding), transfer tape, ink.
- Share of equipment. Divide what you paid for the machine and press by how many items you expect to make with them. A $349 Maker 5 spread across 100 items is $3.49 each; across 500 items, about 70 cents; across the 30 items of a slow first season, more than $11 each.
- Packaging. Bags, tags, labels, boxes and shipping supplies.
- Selling fees. Marketplace fees, payment processing, a booth fee, or a boutique's commission. As one local example, the Beehive Bazaar's vendor terms list a commission of 20 percent of gross sales plus a per-week booth fee that depends on booth size.
- Your time. Design, cutting, weeding, pressing, photographing, packing and selling. If the price does not leave something for your hours, you are paying to work.
Two checks before you commit:
- Price against the shelf, not your costs alone. Walk a boutique or browse local listings for the same item. If the going price is below your cost, change the product.
- Count the season. Much handmade buying here happens in a short fall window, as our guide to buying from local makers explains. Plan inventory for October and November, not evenly across the year.
The paperwork, in Utah County
None of this is legal or tax advice; it is the public rules as the agencies post them, so you know which questions to ask.
City business license
Licensing is local. Provo's page says plainly: if you own or operate a business in Provo, you need a business license. It sorts home businesses into Minor and Major Home Occupations (Provo City Code 14.41.050 and 14.41.060). The city states there is no cost for a Minor Home Occupation Permit; Major permits carry fees and may require a conditional use permit unless neighbors within 300 feet sign a petition of support. Provo's application packet lists factors that push a business toward Major, such as more than two customers an hour at the home, and notes that residents of BYU-contracted housing need an approval letter from the landlord.
State law shapes those fees. Utah Code 10-1-203, as amended in 2018, bars cities from charging a resident any fee to operate a home-based business unless its combined offsite impact materially exceeds that of the home alone. Other cities run their own versions; check yours. Our guide to getting a business license in Provo walks through Provo's process in detail, and starting a business the year you graduate covers entities and names.
If you sell under a name other than your own, the Utah Division of Corporations registers DBAs (assumed names).
Utah sales tax
Most handmade goods are taxable sales in Utah (the Tax Commission's Publication 25 lists the exemptions). How you handle the tax depends on where you sell:
- Etsy and other marketplaces. Since October 1, 2019, Utah treats marketplace facilitators with Utah nexus as the seller: they collect and remit the tax. The Tax Commission says marketplace sellers do not need a Utah sales tax license for facilitated sales unless they have Utah nexus.
- Direct sales (in person, through your own website, at a boutique where you are the seller). You generally need a sales tax account, which you apply for on the Tax Commission's Taxpayer Access Point (TAP). Businesses with $50,000 or less in annual sales tax liability file quarterly; returns are due the last day of the month after the period.
- Craft fairs and boutiques. Utah requires all vendors at special events (events running six months or less, including fairs, festivals and seasonal mall stands) to obtain a Temporary Sales Tax License. Since April 2025, vendors need a Sales Special Event Tax ID before attending. Promoters submit a participant list on Form TC-791; vendors file Form TC-790C online or by mail, at the tax rate where the sales occur, and pay within 30 days after the event. If you already hold a regular license, the Tax Commission explains how to back event sales out of your regular return.
Rates vary by city. Look up the rate for a specific address with TAP's rate lookup.
Federal income tax
- Report it all. The IRS says that whether or not you receive a Form 1099-K, you must report the income.
- The 1099-K line. Payment apps and online marketplaces must report when a seller's payments exceed $20,000 in more than 200 transactions. Falling under that line does not make income tax-free.
- Self-employment. You must file a return if your net earnings from self-employment were $400 or more.
- Hobby or business. If you sell without a profit motive, the IRS treats it as a hobby: the income is still reported (Schedule 1, line 8), but you cannot use a loss to offset other income. The IRS asks whether you run it like a business, expect a profit, and depend on it for income.
A sensible start
- Make ten of one product and sell them to people you do not know at a real price.
- Track every cost on that first batch, including your hours.
- Sort out the city license and, if you will sell direct, a sales tax account before your first boutique.
- Apply to a smaller show first; the boutique circuit guide explains how jurying and booth fees work.
- Keep designs original, and keep receipts.
Related Guides
- Selling Handmade in Utah Valley
- Getting a Business License in Provo
- Provo Craft, Roberts and the Cricut
- Christmas Boutiques and Craft Fairs in Utah Valley
- Local Makers in Utah Valley
- Craft Stores in Utah Valley After JOANN
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a Cricut cost in 2026?
Am I allowed to sell things I make with my Cricut?
Can I sell shirts with Disney or sports-team logos?
Do I need a business license to sell vinyl crafts from home in Provo?
Do I need a Utah sales tax license to sell on Etsy?
What do I need to sell at a Utah craft fair?
Do I have to report Cricut sales income to the IRS?
Where can I buy vinyl and heat-transfer supplies in Utah County?
Sources
The facts in this guide were checked against these sources. Hours, fees and rules change, so confirm anything time-sensitive with the source before you go. How we make Provo.com.
- Home-Based Business Permit, Provo City. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Commercial Business License packet (home business criteria, fees), Provo City. Checked October 20, 2026.
- DBA (assumed name) registration, Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Marketplace Facilitators, Utah State Tax Commission. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Sales and Use Tax (licensing, filing frequency), Utah State Tax Commission. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Special Event Sales Tax, Utah State Tax Commission. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Sales Tax Rates (TAP rate lookup), Utah State Tax Commission. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Understanding your Form 1099-K, Internal Revenue Service. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center, Internal Revenue Service. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Know the difference between a hobby and a business, Internal Revenue Service. Checked October 20, 2026.
- S.B. 158 (2018), Municipal Licensing of Home-based Businesses, enrolled copy amending Utah Code 10-1-203, Utah Legislature. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Cutting machines (shop listing, prices), Cricut. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Selling things you've made using Cricut designs: Angel Policy, Cricut (blog). Checked October 20, 2026.
- Cricut, Inc. final prospectus (424B4), March 2021, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR). Checked October 20, 2026.
- Beehive Bazaar: Holiday 2026 vendor application and terms, Beehive Bazaar. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Michaels classes page, Michaels. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Dave's Bernina home page and class calendar, Dave's Bernina. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Google Places listings: Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Pebbles in my Pocket, NovaInk, Vivid Print & Apparel, Blink Threads, Stickerbarrel (Oct. 2026), Google Maps (Places). Checked October 20, 2026.
