How to Incorporate, Copyright, File a
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How to Incorporate Your Small Business Incorporating has several benefits. Besides protecting your personal assets, you can get lots of tax advantages too. If you have never incorporated a business before, you may be surprised at how easy it can be to incorporate - with online incorporation forms that take minutes to complete. Why Incorporate? Reduce Your Personal Risk & Protect Your Assets Get Tax Advantages & Cut Your Taxes Establish Credibility: Boost Your Business Growth & Attract Investors There are also different ways you can incorporate your business. Form a C Corporation, Limited Liability Company, a Non-Profit Corporation or an S Corporation. You can either incorporate in your own state or form a Nevada or Delaware corporation, as these states have several tax advantages. American Incorporators offers the easiest, most convenient afforadable incorporation method we've found. They'll answer all of your questions before you incorporate. Save! Find out how to incorporate for as little as $149. Click here >> Incorporate Online How to Form an LLC Incorporating Your Small Business Click & Inc offers a more personal, customized approach. They charge a little more for their work, but they do the research for you, and they include everything in their flat-fee cost. Get your incorporation documents filed in 24 hours. Click here >> Incorporation Kit Incorporate in Nevada Incorporate in Delaware Incorporate in California Deciding Which State to Incorporate Your Small Business In Once you’ve decided to incorporate your small business the next step is deciding which state to incorporate in. A common misconception is that businesses must incorporate in their state of operation. You can, in fact, incorporate in any one of the 50 states and the District of Columbia regardless of where your business currently operates. It is perfectly acceptable to incorporate in a state other than your current area of operation, but it is not always a good idea to do so. If your company chooses to incorporate in a state outside its area of operation life becomes a little more complicated. Your business becomes a “foreign corporation” in any state outside of the state it is incorporated in. If a corporation is "transacting business" in a state other than where it is incorporated, it must register for a certificate of authority to transact business in the other state or possibly lose access to that state's courts and face fines. Registering for a certificate of authority, of course, costs money and is only one step in the process of qualifying to do business as a “foreign corporation” in another state. There are advantages to incorporating in different states with regard to corporate laws and tax structure. Delaware is by far the most popular state for incorporation. Most of the fortune 500 companies are incorporated in Delaware. Some of the most attractive features of incorporating in Delaware include: Lack of corporate income tax for corporations incorporated in Delaware but not transacting business in the state. Delaware has a separate corporate law system that uses judges appointed for their knowledge of corporate law as opposed to juries, whose knowledge of corporate law is limited at best. Shares of stock owned by persons outside of Delaware are not subject to Delaware taxes. For a small business deciding weather or not to incorporate in Delaware it is necessary to measure the cost of qualifying as a “foreign corporation” in the state of operation versus the amount that will be saved by incorporating a small business in Delaware. Typically it is not advantageous for small businesses to incorporate outside of their home state as even small businesses are usually required to pay corporate taxes in both the state of foreign operation and the state of incorporation. If you’re not sure where to incorporate, visit www.small-business-assistance.com. We can help you decide if the cost of local incorporation will be less than incorporating in another state. Jacob Wren operates Small Business Assistance ( http://www.small-business-assistance.com ) - a resource site for entrepreneurs that offers advice on incorporating and an array of other small business topics. | Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com For a complete legal guide to starting your business, we recommend: Nolo's Legal Guide for Starting and Running a Small Business. You'll learn how to: Buy a business or franchise Get required licenses and permits Understand business taxes Borrow money Write commercial leases & contracts Hire and fire Choose a business structure (benefits to corporations, partnerships and sole proprietorships) Find insurance Resolve legal disputes. Click here >> Small Business Legal Guide How to Copyright Your Work How to copyright your work for just $149 This includes creating the application, filing the copyright application and the US Government application fee (required) - you save $561 in traditional lawyer fees! File for a Patent or Trademark with the US Patent & Trademark Office Have questions? Get answers to over 50 frequently asked questions about copyrights - directly from the US Copyright Office. How to Get a Trademark How trademarks differ from patents and copyrights TrademarkMyName.com provides comprehensive and cost effective trademark search, registration and monitoring. These services are managed by a major intellectual property law firm and backed by PatentCafe.com, the leading inventor and entrepreneur resource. Click here >> File a Trademark How to get a business license How to register your business name Do I need a business license? Where to get business licenses online. Obtaining a business license and the application process. Is Your Business Legally Prepared? It is imperative to have your business legally prepared. How you ask? You need to have a business license, a home occupation license, if running your business from home, a city or county license, (depending on what State you live) plus you need to register your business as fictious if you are not using your name as a business. For instance, If John Doe has a business name as John Doe's Grooming Parlor, a fictious name isn't necessary. When opening a business in your residence, additional information is required. Some businesses require more than a city license to be fully licensed. Please check with your local city & state office for detailed information. While it is my understanding that there are many businesses who are operating "under the table", so to speak, I highly advise against this practice. If you are just interested in selling a few things out of your home, don't worry about this section, as you should not have any form of tax liability for selling your own belongings. However, if you start a business to make some money, you need to look at the legal aspects of running a business. Eventually, those who operate under the table will be caught. If you are running an internet business it is not as anonymous as some people may believe. Keep in mind, the government designed the Internet in the first place! They know how it works! Legalize it and you will sleep better at night! It really is simple. This is not as complicated as you think, so don't worry! I know I fussed and fretted over this for a good while and when I actually went "legal", I kicked myself because the process was so simple. Follow the steps below to get you started: Determine the type of home business you want to start. Sole Proprietorship, Partnership or Corporation. * A Sole Proprietorship is the least costly and least complicated way to set up your business. Remember that a Sole Proprietorship is totally dependent upon your ability to work and have good ideas for growth. There is no other person in the business to rely on. * A Partnership happens when two or more entrepreneurs form a company. Legal fees for setting up such an arrangement are usually more costly than those required for a Sole Proprietorship and less costly than a Corporation. The up side of a Partnership is more capital for growth and more ideas for how to grow the business. The downside is getting rid of a bad partner. * A Corporation is the most complicated and most costly of the three options. The ongoing accounting, legal, and tax reporting obligations of a Corporation are much more complicated than for the other two options. Corporations have boards, shareholders, and shared responsibility for the business. It is necessary to keep everyone informed of decisions, the company's financial status, and a host of other actions. It is wise to seek the advise of an attorney in the beginning of your work-from-home situation in order to avoid serious problems later on. An attorney will guide your decision about what legal form your company should take. If using a fictious name for the business, it must be registered first with the state. Call your city & state office to find out their phone number. Usually, you can do this online. Visit their site and fill out a fictious name form. A fee may or may not apply. Is your home located in the city? Some states like Florida require a county license if your busines isn't located in the city. If not sure, contact your local jurisdiction office for licensinig information. Complete the home occupation application and the business license application. You may download the forms from your city hall website. Call your city hall office to find out their website address and fees. Forward your applications and fees to your city hall office either by mail or by visiting the office. They will usually accept cash, checks, debit cards, VISA, MasterCard or American Express credit cards. Again, check with your local city hall office. If you visit in person with your applications and appropriate fees, you will get your business licenses the same day. However, if you do all of this by mail, you would need to wait at least 2 to 3 weeks to receive your licenses. Either way, you are on the right track. Congratulations!! Please click here for more articles about law and legal services... About the author: Sonia Colon is owner of a successful online specialty giftstore "Jimson Products" (http://www.jimsonproducts.com). How to Incorporate Your Business Find out how to save money by incorporating your company or small business using an online incorporation service. Business Incorporation Services for California, Nevada, Delaware incorporation and many other states. Incorporate in Delaware | Incorporate in Nevada | Form an S Corporation