How much will it cost to incorporate my business?

Most entrepreneurs only think about the cost of forming the business at the outset, but there are two major baskets of costs you should consider when incorporating: (1) the initial cost of forming the entity, and (2) the annual cost of maintaining the entity. Depending on what state you’re incorporating in, the initial formation costs may include such things as reserving a name, filing articles of incorporation, filing a statement of information, and preparing ancillary documents like stock certificates, bylaws, organizational minutes, tax documents, etc. For the most part, the legal and accounting fees will run around $1,500 to $2,000 (Our flat charge is $875 including filing fees). The ongoing costs of maintaining an entity may include filing an annual report or statement of information and paying an annual franchise tax. In California, the minimum annual franchise tax (whether or not you did any business in California that year) is $800, compared to a minimum of $225 in Delaware. For more information, read our article How Much Does It Really Cost to Incorporate.