If you’re interested in establishing your company as a corporation through corporation filing, you’ll first need to decide whether to file as an S-corporation or C-corporation. An S-corporation must have 100 shareholders or fewer, and is not required to pay federal income taxes. Rather, shareholders receive dividends from the S-corporation, which is then taxed as income. C-corporations, on the other hand, can have any number of shareholders, and are taxed on both company profits and dividends.

There are many advantages of corporate filings regardless of the type of corporation you choose. Corporations enjoy liability protection, minimized IRS examination, tax benefits, identity development, anonymity, share and stock flexibility and more. Virtually any individual can start a corporation, so long as the necessary paperwork and documentation is completed.

Another major advantage of filing a business as a corporation is that you, the owner, will maintain independence from your company. If you are sued, your personal property, credit and bank account assets will maintain immunity. Regardless of whether your corporation is filed as an S-corp, C-corp or LLC, you will only be required to pay income taxes based on your salary, bonuses and dividends as opposed to your company’s revenue.

Generally, corporate filings should be done in the state in which your business is located. Many successful corporations, however, choose to file in Nevada, where there are no franchise taxes, state income taxes, corporate income taxes, no taxation on shares, minimal disclosure requirements and only small annual fees. Delaware has a similarly lenient approach to corporations.

A high quality business filing service will allow you to incorporate your business for less than a hundred dollars. Some of the services provided in corporation filing packages include name reservation, application review, filing and receiving of corporation documents with the state, federal tax ID number provisions, and full documentation of the procedure.