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Why Should I Incorporate My Business? | |
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What a Corporation Is, and What It Is Not | |
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Who Starts and Who Owns a Corporation? | |
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Reasons to Incorporate Your Business | |
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Limiting Your Liability for Business Debts | |
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Liability of Stockholders Who Are Also Employees of Small Corporations | |
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Save Payroll Cash by Incorporating | |
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Tax Savings | |
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Prestige of a Corporation | |
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Ease of Transferring Ownership | |
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Reasons Not to Incorporate Your Business | |
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Corporations and Other Business Forms Are Too Complicated | |
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Corporations Cost Too Much to Set Up and Operate | |
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My Business Is Too Small to Incorporate | |
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A Corporate Form Does Not Entirely Protect Professionals | |
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How Incorporating Can Result In Tax Savings | |
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Tax Savings In a Corporation? Maybe | |
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The Organization of this Chapter | |
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An Example of Tax Saving from a Corporation | |
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Some Background, Concepts, and Explanations | |
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How Your Business Tax Picture Changes When You Incorporate | |
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How a Sole Proprietorship Is Taxed | |
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How a Corporation Is Taxed | |
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Double Taxation of Corporate Profits | |
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How to Cope with Double Taxation of Your Corporation | |
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Pay Dividends Between May 6, 2003 and December 31, 2008 | |
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Keep Earnings in the Corporation | |
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Pay Salaries to Stockholders/Employees | |
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The IRS Position on Salary Levels for Stockholder/Employees | |
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Pay Interest to Stockholders | |
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Alternative Minimum Tax on Corporations | |
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What If the Corporation Has a Net Loss Instead of Net Taxable Income? | |
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S Corporations | |
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How Stockholders Take Profits out of an S Corporation | |
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The Disadvantages of an S Corporation | |
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Type of Stockholders | |
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Number of Stockholders | |
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Use of the Corporation's Loss, If It Has a Bad Year | |
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Flow-through of Certain Tax Attributes to the Stockholder | |
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S Corporations Are Limited to One Class of Stock | |
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When to Use an S Corporation | |
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The Alternatives to Forming a Corporation | |
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Sole Proprietorship | |
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General Partnership | |
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Limited Partnership | |
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Limited Liability Company (LLC) | |
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Other Entities With Limited Liability of the Owners | |
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Passive Losses | |
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Which Business Form Best Attracts Investors to Your Enterprise? | |
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How to Structure a Corporation | |
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The Basic Corporation | |
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Assets, Liabilities, and Equity | |
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How to Invest In Your Corporation | |
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Debt versus Equity | |
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The IRS Position on Debt versus Equity | |
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How to Invest In Your S Corporation | |
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Keep Control of Your Corporation If Possible | |
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Planning Your Corporation | |
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Do-It-Yourself Incorporation | |
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Using Professionals | |
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Choosing an Attorney | |
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Choosing an Accountant | |
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Planning the Specifics of Your Corporation | |
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Decide on the Size of the Initial Investment in the Corporation | |
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Size Your Investment to Qualify for Treatment as a Small-business Corporation | |
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Who Will Be the Owners (Stockholders) of Your New Corporation? | |
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Determine How Many Shares of Stock Will Be Authorized and Issued | |
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Determine What the Price per Share of Stock Will Be | |
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Determine Who Will Be the Directors and Officers, and Assign Duties | |
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Prepare a Pre-incorporation Agreement | |
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Determine Who Will Be the Incorporator(s) | |
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Select a Resident Agent for Your Corporation | |
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Have All Prospective Stockholders Sign a Stock Subscription | |
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Determine the State in Which You Will Incorporate | |
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Choose a Name for Your Corporation | |
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Determine If You Can Use a Simplified Procedure | |
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Prepare a Pre-incorporation Agreement | |
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Prepare a Stockholders' Agreement | |
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Steps to Create and Run Your Corporation | |
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Steps to Forming Your Corporation | |
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Initial Action the Incorporator(s) Should Take | |
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Hold Organizational Meetings | |
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Organizational Meeting of the Stockholders | |
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Organizational Meeting of the Board of Directors | |
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Register Your Corporation with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) | |
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Register Your Corporation with Your State's (and Any Foreign State's) Tax Authorities | |
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Elect S Status for Your Corporation If That Is Your Decision | |
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Pay Particular Attention to the Initial Corporate Income Tax Return | |
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Steps to Keep Your Corporation Alive | |
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Hold the Annual Stockholders Meeting Every Year | |
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Hold an Annual Board of Directors Meeting Every Year | |
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Special Meetings of the Board of Directors (or of Stockholders If There Is No Board of Directors) | |
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Live Your Corporate Life as If You Meant It | |
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Nonprofit Charitable Organizations | |
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Useful Forms | |
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Useful Addresses | |
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Short Course in Corporate Finance Terms | |
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Glossary | |
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Index | |