Questions about incorporating
 

Hey everyone.

I have some questions about incorporating for those of you who have corporations in the United States.

Where are you set up? In your own state, Nevada, Wyoming or somewhere else?

Who do I need to contact to get a corporation set up? How did you get yours set up?

Pahrump NV.

Prostitution is legal there as well as the corporate laws are very friendly in the state.

Hey GunnCat and docholly.

Thanks for the replies.

Would it be better to incorporate in Nevada as opposed to Wyoming since Nevada seems to have no problems with adult entertainment?

According to this site http://www.corporationstoday.com/ , Wyoming corporations are less expensive to run than Nevada corporations.

What do you think about Wyoming corporations?

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer and I don't play one on TV.

First, check with the state you reside in. You may still have to report income earned in that state to the state.

Secondly, if you have a foreign corporation, you are usually required to register it with the state that you conduct your primary business in. Often times this requires a 'Certificate of Good Standing' from the state where you are incorporated which costs money.

Third, if you incorporate in another state, you must have a resident agent in that state to maintain a business presence, forward paperwork, etc. Sometimes the cost of the foreign corporation, certificate of good standing, resident agent, annual filing fees, etc outweighs the tax benefits that you receive.

However, you would be best served to spend a hundred dollars or so and talk with an accountant. When you call looking for accountants, be direct so that you don't waste your time.

Hi, my name is ___, I deal with completely legal adult sites and am in need of some accounting help. Do you have a problem with this?

If they say no, then say: I need an aggressive accountant, how will you help me reduce my tax liability? If they try and skirt this issue, move on.

After about 15 calls, you'll find two or three that might meet your needs. Meet with them, interview them, find one you're happy with.

Having a good accountant is worth its weight in gold. Same with having a good attorney.

Don't hide things from them -- they are the guys that will protect you when you need it most. You don't want to surprise them when you need them.

check your states website, the forms are available online and are pretty easy to fill out, and its cheaper that way.

Delaware has a lot of benefits, part of the reason almost half the corporations on the New York Stock Exchange are incorporated in Delaware.
Nevada is also good, but not quite as good as Delaware and Delaware is half the price.
You may have to register in your home state as an out of state corporation tho.


Benefits of incorporating in Delaware include:

Low incorporation fees, and a low annual franchise tax;
Businesses do not have to identify or provide addresses for their initial board of directors on their articles of incorporation;
All corporate offices may be held by a single person;
Businesses which incorporate in Delaware but do not conduct business in the state are not required to pay Delaware's state corporate income tax;
For shareholders who are not residents of the State of Delaware, their shares of stock are not subject to either Delaware's personal income tax or its state inheritance tax;
Delaware maintains a separate court system, its "Court of Chancery", for businesses;
It is fast and easy to form a corporation.

Call me crazy, but I found an accountant & a lawyer & just let them do everything here in NY :)

I did all mine online at http://www.bizfilings.com. There is a lot to think about before incorporating. If you file out of state you need to pay someone to be a contact person in the state (don't remember what its called). Basiscally they will charge you $X per year just to have their name listed on your corporation paperwork. When it was all said and done for me it was easier, and just as cheap to incorporate in Michigan. There are certain benefits for smaller companies here in Michigan until you break the $250k a year mark.

It just depends on your filing status, what you think your tax liabilities are going to be etc. Thats when you should make your decision, just because companies incorporate in NV, or DE doesn't mean its right for you. I would speak to an accountant to figure out which filing status and such is right for you.

One thing to keep in mind as well as the previous advice - it definitely depends on what type of corporation you are setting up - whether it be a partnership, a LLC, a full corp or a partnership LLC - which way your tax benefits will fall - in my case it happened to be cheaper to maintain a registered agent in DE and report my income in my home state as well as a partnership LLC - and we own a few of them - but being a partnership LLC we also get some big benefits against personal income

Gotta agree that talking to a friendly accountant is your best step - and as mentioned - make sure they are aggresive on tax rules for deductions and types of income.

Thanks for the great information and help on this.

I'll use the advice and find an accountant who can help me get things set up.

All of the above info seems dead-on accurate. I noticed, no one mentioned looking into filing for Subchapter S status...with this you may be able to pay yourself a small salary and then bonus yourself the rest of the money without matching funds on the bonus. This could save you a pretty penny as well.

Filing in a state other than the one that you reside may not always be the best option...check into how much the state taxes are where you live and if there are any benefits/deductions offerred by your state to incorporate there. I found it to be a pain in the ass to keep a registered agent that had to forward our mail, etc. in Nevada plus the state taxes here in La just weren't that bad.

Good luck!

As for me, I hired a corporate attorney in my own state once I found out if what I was doing was legal. Since it is, my attorney created my S Corporation. Definitely worth the cost of an attorney to make sure it's done right.

Good luck!

Linda
Linda's Place