Incorporate Your Business: A 50-State Legal Guide to Forming a Corporation

Incorporate Your Business lays out everything you need to know about corporate laws and regulations in your state, clearly explaining: *why and when to incorporate *what you need to know about corporate taxation *whether to elect S corporation tax status *how to incorporate an existing business Plus, you can save thousands of dollars in attorneys' fees by incorporating a business yourself -- Incorporate Your Business guides you through each step. In the end, your business will enjoy a number of advantages, including: Limited Liability Incorporating your business limits personal liability for business debts -- this means owners are not normally financially liable for business debts and court judgments. Tax Advantages You can split business income between yourself and your corporation, thereby lowering income taxes. Access to Capital Corporations have better access to private venture capital than any other type of business. They are also well positioned to raise capital by selling shares to the public. Employee Perks The owners of a corporation who work for the business are treated as employees. They can take advantage of tax-deductible, corporate-paid benefits such as: *pension plans *stock-option and stock bonus plans *medical expense reimbursement *term life insurance coverage *and more Incorporate Your Business provides the forms you need as tear-outs and on CD-ROM, including articles of incorporation, bylaws, minutes, stock certificates and resolutions. The 2nd edition includes a special supplement about the latest federal tax changes that benefit small and large corporations. It also provides the latest corporate laws, rules and procedures for each state. Team DDU......Page 1 Table of Contents......Page 10 Introduction......Page 14 1 Choosing the Right Legal Structure for Your Business......Page 18 A. The Different Ways of Doing Business......Page 19 B. Comparing Business Entities at a Glance......Page 39 C. Nolo's Small Business Resources......Page 43 A. Kinds of Corporations......Page 48 B. Corporate Statutes......Page 53 C. Corporate Filing Offices......Page 54 D. Corporate Documents......Page 55 F. Corporate People......Page 57 G. Capitalization of the Corporation......Page 73 H. Sale and Issuance of Stock......Page 75 I. Stock Issuance and the Securities Laws......Page 79 3 Understanding Corporate Taxes......Page 94 A. Federal Corporate Income Tax Treatment......Page 96 B. Corporate Accounting Period and Tax Year......Page 101 C. Tax Treatment of Employee Compensation and Benefits......Page 102 D. Employee Equity Sharing Plans......Page 105 E. Tax Concerns When Stock Is Sold......Page 118 F. Tax Treatment When Incorporating an Existing Business......Page 120 4 Seven Steps to Incorporation......Page 128 Step 1. Choose a Corporate Name......Page 130 Step 2. Prepare and File Articles of Incorporation......Page 137 Step 4. Prepare Your Bylaws......Page 145 Step 5. Appoint Initial Corporate Directors......Page 160 Step 6. Prepare Minutes of the First Board Meeting......Page 161 Step 7. Issue Shares of Stock......Page 175 5 After You Form Your Corporation......Page 192 A. Postincorporation Tasks......Page 193 C. Ongoing Corporate Meetings......Page 199 6 Lawyers and Accountants......Page 202 A. Lawyers......Page 203 B. How to Look Up the Law Yourself......Page 206 C. Accountants and Tax Advisers......Page 207 Appendix A......Page 208 Appendix B......Page 422 Appendix C......Page 432 Appendix D......Page 436 Index......Page 512 Set up a corporation, skip the lawyer, save money!Incorporate Your Business lays out everything you need to know about corporate laws and regulations in your state, clearly explaining:why and when to incorporatewhat you need to know about corporate taxationwhether to elect S corporation tax statushow to incorporate an existing businessPlus, you can save thousands of dollars in attorneys' fees by incorporating a business yourself -- Incorporate Your Business guides you through each step. In the end, your business will enjoy a number of advantages, including:Limited LiabilityIncorporating your business limits personal liability for business debts -- this means owners are not normally financially liable for business debts and court judgments.Tax AdvantagesYou can split business income between yourself and your corporation, thereby lowering income taxes.Access to CapitalCorporations have better access to private venture capital than any other type of business. They are also well positioned to raise capital by selling shares to the public.Employee PerksThe owners of a corporation who work for the business are treated as employees. They can take advantage of tax-deductible, corporate-paid benefits such as:pension plansstock-option and stock bonus plansmedical expense reimbursementterm life insurance coverageand moreIncorporate Your Business provides the forms you need as tear-outs and on CD-ROM, including articles of incorporation, bylaws, minutes, stock certificates and resolutions.The 4th edition provides the latest federal laws, plus the current laws, rules and procedures of your state. Forms from the CD-Rom, are available under the Appendix C of this EBOOK.*The CD-ROM is not included with the digital version of this book.