How to incorporate in Arizona

On November 29, 2009, in C-Corporations, S-Corporations, by Entity Wiz

Forming a C corp in Arizona is not very difficult; you can do it in as little as three steps. What most incorporations don’t realize is that while there are only three steps to the incorporation process, some of those steps require many details. For example, to form a C corp in Arizona you will need to file your articles of incorporation, publish them in a newspaper a specific number of times, and then submit an affidavit of publication to the Arizona Corporation Commission.

The process seems simple, but it gets complicated as you go further along because of the numerous tasks that need to be performed. In Arizona, you do not need to have an operating agreement for your corporation, but having one can help you prepare the articles of incorporation and the bylaws.

The first step for incorporating in the state of Arizona is filling out and filing your articles of incorporation. The first task that you face with filling out your articles of incorporation is selecting the name of your corporation. When choosing a name you want to choose something that will make your business stand out, but something that doesn’t sound like anybody else’s business name. When you have finally decided on a name that fits in with the requirements for the state of Arizona you will want to run a name search through the Arizona Corporation Commission Name Approval’s website.

The second task that you have is to prepare the articles of incorporation. Your articles of incorporation must include specific information including a name that satisfies the requirements of A.R.S. Section 10-401 and the number of shares your corporation is authorized to issue. You will also need to include a statement of the type of business your corporation is going to practice in the state, and the name and address of each person who is going to be serving as a director. Your articles of incorporation must also include the name and address of each incorporator, along with their signatures, and the name, address and signature of the corporation’s statutory agent. If the known place of business for your corporation is going to have a different address than your statutory agents, you will also need to include that information.

The third thing that you will need to do is select your corporation’s statutory agent. This agent must be an adult individual who lives in the state or Arizona or it can be a domestic corporation that was formed under Arizona corporate law. You can also use a foreign corporation that is authorized to do business in the state of Arizona or a limited liability company that is authorized to do business in Arizona, or was formed in Arizona. The reason you need a statutory agent is if you are ever served with legal papers they can be served on behalf of your corporation. Just keep in mind that the statutory agent cannot have a post office box, they must have a street address.

Once you are ready to file your articles of incorporation with the ACC you will need to prepare a cover sheet and a certificate of disclosure. When completing the certificate of disclosure depending on how you answer the questions you might be required to submit more information. Once this is done you can file the articles of incorporation with the ACC in person or through the mail, in either case you will need to pay a filing fee of $60.

Once your articles of incorporation have been reviewed, you will receive a rejection or approval in the mail. If your articles of incorporation failed, you can resubmit them and pay another filing fee after correcting the mistakes. If they were approved you will need to publish them in a newspaper for the county your corporation is registered in for three consecutive publications. After this is done your corporation is formed, but you still have to prepare the bylaws and adopt them at a Board of Directors meeting.

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How to incorporate in Wisconsin

On November 29, 2009, in C-Corporations, General Entity Advice, Operating Agreement, S-Corporations, by Entity Wiz

One of the best things about choosing to incorporate in Wisconsin is that it is one of the many states that recognize S corporations. This means that you can form a C corp or an S corp in Wisconsin, depending on which form will fit your business, needs best. Even though am S corp will see the benefits of pass through taxation like the one a partnership does, you do not need to prepare an operating agreement for one. An S corp is incorporated the same way a C corp is incorporated, through filing the articles of incorporation and adopting the bylaws.

Before you can go about forming a corporation in Wisconsin, you will need to choose a name for your corporation. When choosing a name for your corporations you need to ensure that they name you choose is different from other corporations registered in the state of Wisconsin. The name also has to stand out from other businesses in the state it cannot be similar. To identify your business as a corporation you will need to include the word corporation or incorporated or an abbreviation of those words in the business name, it can even be tacked on at the end.

Once you have chosen a name and performed a name search to ensure that the name isn’t being used by anybody else you will want to prepare your articles of incorporation. Once you have finished preparing the articles of incorporation you will need to file them with the Wisconsin Secretary of State. Before you file your articles of incorporation, you want to make sure that all of the required information is included, otherwise your request to form a corporation will be denied, and you will have to start the process from the beginning.

In Wisconsin, you do not have to include the information on the initial directors of the corporation, but you do need to include information on the incorporators. There has to be at least one incorporator included in the articles of incorporation. If there is more than one incorporator, all of them have to be listed in the articles of incorporation, but only one of them has to be a natural person who is at least eighteen years old. All of the other incorporators can be businesses.

The state of Wisconsin allows a corporation to be formed for any lawful business activity, as long as it follows the laws of the state, and certain industries are regulated by the state more than others are. With this in mind it is not necessary to include the purpose in the articles of incorporation, but it can be included if you deem it necessary. The number of shares that your corporation is authorized to issue must be included in the articles of incorporation. It is also good to include the par value of the share of stock or designate whether it will be no par value stock. You will also need to include any provision granting or limiting preemptive rights and the name and address of the initial registered agent. The last thing that has to be included in the articles of incorporation is a statement saying the corporation is incorporated under the laws of Wisconsin.

Once the articles of incorporation have been filed and approved, you can hold a board of directors meeting to adopt the bylaws that have been prepared for the corporation. At the first meeting, you can also determine if a corporate seal is going to be required for opening bank accounts or for issuing stock.

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How to Incorporate in Iowa

On November 29, 2009, in C-Corporations, Corporate Seals, General Entity Advice, Operating Agreement, S-Corporations, by Entity Wiz

If you are thinking about incorporating your business in Iowa, a good thing to know is that Iowa recognizes a C corp and an S corp as a business entity. This means that you can incorporate your business as an S corp to get the protection that a corporation has to offer, but a tax break on corporation taxes, you will avoid the double taxation that a C corp faces.

Something else that you want to think about when incorporating in Iowa is using a corporate seal. It is not required by the state of Iowa to have a corporate seal, but it is something that you should consider getting. Your corporate seal will come in handy if you plan to do business in foreign countries, but it is also required by some banks to open a business bank account.

To start the incorporation process in Iowa you will need to create a name for your corporation. The state of Iowa does not have any restrictions on terms that you can use in creating your corporation’s name, but you still don’t want to make your corporation’s name confusing. You want to create a name that clearly conveys to your customers what the purpose of your business is. Your corporation’s name should also be different from any other business in the state so hat your customers will not confuse you with other businesses. The only requirement that the state of Iowa has on your corporations name is that it must contain a word that identities your business as a corporation.

The next step of incorporating your business in Iowa is filling out your articles of incorporation. Most articles of incorporation will include basic information about your corporation, including director’s information, officers’ information, and stock information among other things. In the state of Iowa, you can include the directors’ information and the officers’ information in the articles of incorporation, but neither of them is required to be included in the articles of incorporation. Stock information must be included in the articles of incorporation, including classes of stock that you will be issuing, along with their value. In Iowa if you plan to increase the shares of stock that you are issuing or increase the par value of the stock you can do so without incurring any additional fees.

Once the articles of incorporation have been filled out, you will need to file them with the Secretary of State’s office. Upon filing your articles of incorporation, you will need to pay the required filing fee, which is not the same fee that must be paid when filing your annual report. After your request to incorporate has been processed, you will receive a certificate of incorporation in the mail. To keep your corporation status safe you will need to make sure that you pay your taxes on time and meet any yearly requirements that the state of Iowa has.

Income taxes in Iowa will be 6% for the first $25,000; 8% for any income from $25,000 to $100,000; 10% on income from $100,000 to $250,000, and 12% on any income above $250,000. Once a year you will also need to file your corporation’s annual report with the Secretary of State, when filing the annual report you will need to pay a $30 filing fee. Your first annual report is due between January 1 and April 1 of the year following the calendar year that your business was incorporated in Iowa.

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How to Incorporate in Colorado

On November 29, 2009, in Corporate Seals, Operating Agreement, Registered Agent, S-Corporations, by Entity Wiz

Forming a corporation in Colorado can be done by hiring a corporate law firm or by filling out the paperwork and filing it yourself. You also have the option of hiring online incorporation services to complete the paperwork for you and file it with the Secretary of State for you. Hiring online incorporation services to incorporate your business is nice because it saves you the time and hassle of doing everything yourself, but is still cheaper than hiring a lawyer. Online incorporation services can also create your corporate seal as part of the incorporation process.

The first step to incorporating your business within the state of Colorado is to choose a corporate name. The name that you choose for your corporation must be distinguishable from any other business that is registered in the state of Colorado, this means it cannot be the same as or similar to any registered business or reserved name. Each corporation’s name must contain a term that allows it to be easily identifiable as a corporation.

Once you have chosen and reserved your corporation’s name you will need to fill out and file the articles of incorporation. When filling out the articles of incorporation you will need to include some specific information that is required by the state of Colorado. The first thing that you will need to include is the personal information of any of the incorporators of the corporation; this includes their name and address. The incorporators must also sing the articles of incorporation before they are filed. Articles of incorporation usually include the purpose of the corporation, but Colorado does not require you to include your corporation’s purpose. Most articles of incorporation include information on the directors of the corporation, but under Colorado formation requirements, you do not need to include this information.

Stock information must be included in the articles of incorporation. In the articles of incorporation, you must include the number of shares of stock that you will be issuing and the class of stock that you will be issuing. If your corporation plans to issue more than one class of stock, you will need to include the number of shares you wish to issue for each class of stock. Cumulative voting also needs to be addressed with the stock information. If your corporation does not want to use cumulative voting during the election of directors, that must be stated in the articles of incorporation under the stock information section.

Limited liability companies use an operating agreement to dictate the rules that will govern their business. A corporation does not have an operating agreement; instead, they have the articles of incorporation and the corporation’s bylaws. The articles of incorporation can include any regulations on the powers of the corporation, shareholders, or board of directors. The bylaws are adopted by the board of directors for the corporation to follow. In most cases, the bylaws are written so that the corporation’s business and affairs are handled in a specific manner. The one thing that you need to remember is that the bylaws cannot conflict with the corporation’s articles of incorporation.

The articles of incorporation must be filed with the Secretary of State to form the corporation, when filing the articles of incorporation a filing fee must be paid. The bylaws do not have to be filed with the state, but they do have to be kept on file at your corporation’s executive office.

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How to incorporate in Alaska

On November 29, 2009, in Corporate Seals, Operating Agreement, S-Corporations, by Entity Wiz

If you plan to open a corporation in Alaska, you can begin the incorporation process by hiring an online incorporation service or you can hire a corporate law firm to do it for you. If you choose to use a corporate law firm or an incorporation service, you will have to pay their fees on top of any filing fees that are needed for forming a corporation in Alaska. Hiring a corporate law firm is the most expensive method for incorporating your business because they charge you per hour, plus filing fees. Your last choice is to do everything yourself, all you need is the filing fee and the required paperwork and you are done.

When doing it yourself the first thing you have to do is to choose a name for your corporation. In Alaska, your corporation’s name must contain the word corporation, company, incorporated, or an abbreviation of those words. When naming your business you must not use a name that is being used by another business in the state, or a name that another business has already reserved. The business name that you choose cannot contain the words city, borough, or village and it cannot contain any words that imply a different purpose of the business than what is stated in the articles of incorporation.

In Alaska, you will need to fill out and file your articles of incorporation with the State Department. The articles of incorporation are similar to an operating agreement for a limited liability company, but they are a bit more detailed. Your articles of incorporation will include information on the officers of your corporation, but this information is not required. The articles of incorporation will also include information about the directors, but they are not required to be included. The directors do not have any age or residence restrictions, so you can use somebody who lives in another state or somebody who lives in Alaska.

Any information pertaining to the stock that your company will be issuing needs to be included in the articles of incorporation. One of the best things about incorporating in Alaska is that an increase in the number of shares that you are issuing or their par value will not increase your initial fees, unlike other states. Once you have included all of the required information for the articles of incorporation you will need to file the articles of incorporation and pay the required filing fees.

After you have filed your articles of incorporation, you will receive a certificate of incorporation once your request has been processed. Once you have received your certificate of incorporation you can start issuing stock to investors. Most business finds that the best way to issue stock is through a stock certificate. The stock certificate allows investors to have proof of their investment, rather than just something written in their portfolio.

You will need to file annual statements for your corporation with the SEC, but you will only need to file a report with the state of Alaska every two years. The cost to file this biennial report is $100, and it must be filed by January 2 of the first filing year, if you file it after February 1 it is considered delinquent.

Each year you will also need to pay the appropriate income tax to the state of Alaska. If your corporation’s income is less than $10,000, you will need to pay 1% of your taxable income in taxes. If it is over $10,000, you will need pay up to $4,500 in taxes on your taxable income up to $90,000. If you make more than $90,000 in taxable income, you will have to pay $4,500 for the first $90,000 and then 9.4% of anything over $90,000.

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How to incorporate in Hawaii

On November 29, 2009, in Limited Liabilities Companies (LLC), S-Corporations, by Entity Wiz

If you are thinking of incorporating your business in Hawaii, you might want to think about buying a corporate seal, especially if you are going to incorporate as a c corp and do business in other countries. If you plan to do business in other countries, you want to buy corporate seals because they are required in order for you to do business in foreign countries. You can also buy corporate seals when doing business in the United States because they can be useful. For example, corporate seals are great for opening business bank accounts because they prove that the business exists, you can also use them when issuing stock.

When choosing your corporation’s name you must make sure that, it ends with corporation, incorporated, or an abbreviation of those two words, so that people can easily identify it as a corporation. The other requirement that you must meet when incorporating your business is that the name cannot be the same as or similar to any other business that is registered to do business in the state of Hawaii.

When you begin to fill out your articles of incorporation the first thing that you need to include is the physical address of your corporation. You will also need to include the directors’ information. In Hawaii you will need to have at least three directors, the only way that you can have less than three directors is if you have less than three shareholders. If that is the case, you will need to have the same number of directors and shareholders. While there is no age requirement for the directors, there is a residence requirement. At least one of the listed directors has to be a resident of the state of Hawaii so that they can receive any court filings for the business. Officers are not required to be listed in the articles of incorporation, but you must include stock information.

Once you have filled out the articles of incorporation you will need to file the articles of incorporation with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. When filing your articles of incorporation with the department you will need to pay the appropriate filing fee, which if you decide to add additional stock or par value there will not be any additional fees. Once you have paid the filing fees for the articles of incorporation, the state will process your paperwork. Once the request has been processed and approved, you will receive your certificate of incorporation for your corporation, which makes everything official.

Once you have gotten your certificate of incorporation you will need to hold your corporations annual meeting. At the first meeting, you will want to adopt your corporation’s bylaws, but you will also want to elect your board of directors. You will also need to research any yearly requirements for your corporation so you can maintain your corporation in good standing. Currently the state of Hawaii requires your corporation to file annual statements with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs by March 31 each year.

If you are incorporating in Hawaii, you need to be aware of the income tax rate that they charge. Currently Hawaii is charging 4.4% of the first $25,000 of taxable income, if you have taxable income between $25,001 and $100,000 you will be charged a rate of 5.4%, and if you make over $100,000 you will have to pay an income tax rate of 6.4%.

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How to incorporate in New Jersey

On November 28, 2009, in Corporate Seals, S-Corporations, by Entity Wiz

Incorporating your business in New Jersey can be done by hiring a lawyer, using an incorporation service, or by doing it yourself. If you hire a lawyer to incorporate your business in New Jersey, you will be paying hourly fees, plus any filing fees that are associated with incorporating your business. If you decide to hire an incorporation service, which they can often be found online, you will be paying a flat fee for their service, plus any filing fees that are needed to incorporate your company in New Jersey. Incorporating your business yourself means you will only be paying any filing fees that are need for the incorporation process.

Incorporating your business is not that hard; most people find that they can do it themselves. One of the easiest ways to go about incorporating your business is to use an operating agreement that your company already has drawn up. Using an old operating agreement makes filling out the required paperwork easy because majority of the information that is needed is included in the operating agreement.

Before you begin filling out any paperwork you will need to choose a name for your corporation. When choosing the name of your corporation you will need to perform a search of the name to ensure that it is not being used by any other registered businesses, you also have to look for any similar business names. You will also need to follow any other regulations that are required for corporation business names, such as having the proper ending and not using any terms that are not allowed. When creating a business name keep in mind the length of the name, the longer it is the more it might cost to get a corporate seal stamp made. Your corporate seal can be sued for issuing stock or even opening a bank account.

Once you have chosen your corporation’s name you will need to fill out the articles of incorporation. The articles of incorporation for the state of New Jersey do not need to include any director’s information, but you will want to keep it in your corporation’s records. The officers’ information does not need to be included in the articles of incorporation either, but needs to be kept on file in your corporations records. You will need to include any stock information in the articles of incorporation, including the class of stock that you will be issuing, how many shares of each class you will be issuing and the value of each share of stock. A good thing to know about issuing stock in New Jersey is that you can authorize an unlimited number of shares of No Par value stock, but the other classes of stock are limited.

Once the paperwork is done, you will need to file it with New Jersey’s filing office. When filing the articles of incorporation with the state’s filing office, you will need to pay the filing fee that is required. Once you have filed the first year you will be given a special date for your corporation to file its annual reports. Each year either 30 days before or 30 days after the date, you are given, your corporation will need to file its annual report and pay a $40 filing fee.

Once all your paperwork is filed, you will need to hold a meeting for your corporation so that you can adopt the corporation’s bylaws. You can also choose your board of directors and handle any other business that is required at the first meeting. Once that is done you will need to obtain your federal employer identification number and open a bank account for your corporation.

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How to incorporate in Utah

On November 28, 2009, in Corporate Seals, S-Corporations, by Entity Wiz

One of the best things about incorporating in Utah is that you are not required to have any corporation seals. Even though you do not have to have, corporation seals to do business in Utah it is still a good idea to have one, especially if you plan to do business in other countries. Corporation seals are also important when you issuing stock certificates because they allow you to emboss or stamp the stock certificate to authenticate them.

If you plan to start a corporation in Utah, the first thing that you will need to do is determine if you want to use online incorporation services or if you want to incorporate the business yourself. Using online incorporation services can get expensive because you will have to pay their fees, plus any filing fees. If you do it, yourself you only have to pay the filing fees. The good thing about using online incorporation services is that it helps save you time and frustration because they do everything for you.

To start corporation paperwork yourself you will need to begin by picking out a name for your corporation. The name that you choose for your corporation cannot be used by any other business, nor can it be similar to any other business that is registered in your state. The name you choose for your corporation must also end in a way that makes it known to your customers and investors that it is a corporation. This can be corporation, incorporated, company, or an abbreviation of those three words.

Once you have chosen your corporation’s name you will want to begin filling out your articles of incorporation. When filling out the articles of incorporation keep in mind that you will need to have a registered agent for your corporation, you can use an individual who lives in the state of Utah, but you can even use online incorporation services as your registered agent. You will not need to include the number of directors that your corporation has, but you must have at least three directors for your corporation, unless you have fewer shareholders. If you have two shareholders you can have two or more directors, if you have one shareholder you can have one or more directors. Officers’ information is not required in the articles of incorporation, but stock information must be included. One thing to know about stock information, in addition to the class of stock that you will be offering, is that there is no extra filing fee based on the par value of the stock or the number of shares you are issuing.

Once you have filled out the articles of incorporation you will need to turn in the articles of incorporation to the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code. Once you have turned in the paperwork you will need to pay the filing fee so you can receive your certificate of incorporation. After you have filed your articles of incorporation, you will need to hold a board meeting for your corporation so you can adopt the corporation’s bylaws and formally elect the board of directors.

Each year after you have formed your corporation you will need to file an annual statement with the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code. The annual statements must be filed by the end of the second month following the month that the report was mailed from the Division. To file the annual statements you will need to pay a $10 filing fee.

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How to incorporate in California

On November 28, 2009, in C-Corporations, Corporate Seals, General Entity Advice, Operating Agreement, S-Corporations, by Entity Wiz

One of the benefits of incorporating a company in California is that you only have to have three officer positions and all three of the positions can be filled by the same person. Something else to keep in mind when incorporating a company in California is that if the corporation only has two shareholders the corporation only need s to have two Board members, if there are three shareholder there must be three board members.

Before you can begin forming a corporation in California, you will need to choose a name. When choosing the name for the corporation you will want to choose a business name that is different from other businesses in your industry, so that the two businesses cannot be confused. You also want to choose a business name that is different from any other registered business in the nation. If your chosen name is already in use, you will need to choose something else.

The next step to incorporating your business in the State of California is to fill out your articles of incorporation. The initial list of directors does not have to be included with the articles of incorporation, but they must be made available to the general public once you have formed your corporation. The registered agent must also be made available to the public after your have incorporated your business. If you choose to list the directors, they will need to sign and acknowledge the articles of incorporation.

Stock information must also be included in the articles of incorporation. If your corporation is only going to authorize the issuance of one class of stock you will need to identify the total amount of shares that are going to be authorized by your corporation. If you are issuing no par value stock, you can authorize an unlimited number of shares. You can always increase the number of shares at a later date by filing an amendment with the state. Once you have filled in all of the required information for the articles of incorporation you will need to file them with the state. To file the articles of incorporation you will need to pay a $100 filing fee. Once your request has been processed, your business will receive a certificate of incorporation.

Upon receipt of your certificate of incorporation, you will need to hold an annual corporation meeting so that you can elect your board of directors. You will also need to adopt the corporation’s bylaws that you prepared along with the articles of incorporation so that the rules for governing your business are clear. If no bylaws are adopted the state can govern how your corporation is run.

Since you are a newly formed corporation, you will an $800 franchise tax upon incorporating your company. After you have formed your corporation, you will still need to pay the $800 franchise tax each year to keep your incorporation status valid. Unlike other states, you will only need to file an annual report every other year. When you file those reports, you will need to pay a $25 annual report fee.

Obtaining a corporate seal stamp is not required, but it can help when forming a corporation. Many banks will require you to have a corporate seal stamp to open up a business bank account; you will also find it useful if you are going to be doing business in other countries.

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How to incorporate in Idaho

On November 28, 2009, in C-Corporations, Corporate Seals, General Entity Advice, Operating Agreement, S-Corporations, by Entity Wiz

Incorporating a company in Idaho is similar to incorporating a company in other states. The basic steps that you have to take are the same, but what is different is the type of information that has to be included. For example, some states require that you include the director’s information, while other states do not require you to provide the information when filing the articles of incorporation.

If you decide to incorporate a company in Idaho, the first thing that you want to do is decide who is going to incorporate your business. When it comes to incorporating your company, you have three choices to choose from. The first choice that you have is hiring a lawyer to incorporate your business. Lawyers are going to charge hourly fees, plus any filing fees that are incurred. Your next choice is hiring an online incorporation service to form your corporation; they will charge you a flat rate plus any applicable filing fees. The last choice that you have is forming the corporation yourself, which if you have an operating agreement in place, you can use that to form your articles of incorporation and bylaws. Choosing to do it yourself will save you a ton of money because you will only have to pay the filing fees that are incurred from forming your corporation.

To begin forming your corporation you will need to select a name for your corporation. When naming your corporation you will need to have a term included n the name that identifies the business as a corporation. You will also have to avoid using certain terms or phrases that are restricted by the state. The name must be unique, meaning it cannot be the same as or similar to any other business that is registered in the state.

Once you have, the name picked out you will need to fill out the articles of incorporation. The articles of incorporation must include basic information about your business, including the present address for your business. You can also include the director’s information, but it is not required. When choosing your director in the state of Idaho the good news is that there are no age or residence requirements, which means you can live in another state and incorporate your business in Idaho. You will need to include information for a registered agent for your corporation that lives in the state so that they can receive any legal documents that pertain to your business, such as lawsuits.

Once you have filled out the articles of incorporation you will need to file them with the Secretary of State. When filing the articles of incorporation you will need to pay the filing fee. The good news about the initial filing fees is that if you decide to increase the shares of stock that you are authorized to issue or increase the par value of the stock it will not affect your filing fees.

Once you have filed your articles of incorporation you will want to have a board meeting so that you can adopt the corporation’s bylaws. At the board meeting, you should also decide if you would be making a custom corporate seal. Custom corporate seals are often needed for doing business in other countries, but they can also be useful for daily business. For example, when issuing a stock certificate stamping it with a corporate seal makes it authentic.

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