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.
How to incorporate in Illinois
If you are thinking about incorporating in Illinois one way to go about doing it is to hire a corporate law firm. A corporate law firm will complete everything for you, including an operating agreement if one is needed. The one thing that you need to think about when using a corporate law firm to form your corporation is that they are going to charge you by the hour, which can get rather expensive.
Another option that you have is to hire a business that specializes in forming corporations. These businesses often charge you a flat fee to prepare the required paperwork. The flat fee is usually much less than what you would have to pay with a corporate law firm. If you do not want to pay any extra fees, you can form the corporation yourself. If that is the case, he only fees that you would need to pay are the filing fees that are required by the state of Illinois.
The first thing that you will need to do to incorporate your business in Illinois yourself is to go to the Illinois Department of State website, which is http://business.illinois.gov/default.cfm. Here you will want to download the forms that you need for a corporation, non-profit corporations require different forms so be sure you get the right ones. You can also call the Secretary of State’s office at (217) 782-6961 to have the forms mailed to you.
The second thing you will need to do is to choose a name for your corporation. Once you have decided on a name you will want to use the “Electronic Corporate name Database” link on the state’s website to search for the current corporations in Illinois. Your corporation cannot have the same name or a similar name as any other corporation that is already in business in the state. Once you have done this you will need to reserve your corporation’s name, which is going to require a small fee. Reserving your business name is not required, but is a good idea to ensure that nobody else can use that name either.
The third thing that you will have to do is fill out the articles of incorporation and file them with the Secretary of State’s office. The articles of incorporation will contain the basic information that you need to start your business, such as the name of your corporation, the names of the directors, how much stock you plan on issuing, if you will be issuing a registered stock certificate or if you will issue a bearer stock certificate, among many other things. The articles of incorporation will also contain your corporation’s bylaws, which are what will govern your corporation, so it is important that you fill them out completely.
Once you are done filling out the articles of incorporation you will need to file them with Secretary of State’s office and pay the required filing fee. Once you have paid the filing fee, it can take up to six weeks for your business to become incorporated. Once the process has been completed and your business has been incorporated, you will receive a copy of your corporation’s article of incorporation in the mail. You will also receive a confirmation of your corporation’s registration and an employer identification number. If you plan to sell alcohol or firearms, you will need to obtain additional licenses to do business.
