Hans Kasper, MS-CPA, PS

How To Incorporate Your Business
 

Incorporating your business is very easy to do and very easy to do wrong.

There are two ways to do it.

• Pay a competent attorney to do it.

• Do it yourself through the above web link to the Corporations Division of the Secretary of State.

What you need to know and do.

• What type of corporation best fits you and your type of business?

• How to file with the state the Articles of Incorporation and how to prepare the Bylaws and Minutes of First Meeting.

• How to prepare the minutes for the annual meeting.

• How to obtain numerous tax ID numbers for the corporation from the State of Washington, county and city governments, and the IRS.

• What to put in the minutes and what not to put in the minutes.

If you are electing to be a Subchapter S corporation, you need to file Form 2553.  Most attorneys will miss this step.

NOLO Press also has a number of books and software that can be used to incorporate your business.

See the above links for more details.  I believe that it is best to have an attorney prepare all of the initial paperwork and have you learn how to prepare the annual minutes and annual corporate filings with the state. 

Top of Page This page was last updated on 09/02/2004