A lot depends on which state you’re incorporated in. So the steps listed below may or may not apply to you. Generally, you’ll have to complete these formalities as a C-Corp:
- File a certificate of incorporation
- Obtain a federal employer identification number (EIN) for tax purposes
- Hold an organizational meeting
- Adopt your bylaws (internal rules for running and governing your corp)
- Authorize initial shares (a temporary board will issue the share)
- Hold your first shareholder meeting
- Elect directors (who will then select officers to run day-to-day activities)
- Hold an annual shareholder meeting
- Pay the corp’s annual report and franchise tax. Pay your federal and state taxes.
- ALWAYS maintain a duty of care and duty of loyalty as a director. In short, you need to act like a reasonably prudent person would under the same circumstances by putting the corporation’s interests ahead of personal interests. When a director fails to fulfill his / her duties then a court may “pierce the corporate veil” thereby exposing that director to personal liability. This can happen if a director commingles company funds with his / her personal money.
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