Why form a Missouri Corporation?
Corporations are generally formed by individuals who want to protect themselves from liability for their growing company. As companies grow, the risk of running a business grows as well. In order to protect your personal assets, many are looking into forming a corporation. A corporation creates an entity separate from that of the individual. This separation will protect your personal assets from any lawsuit that might arise from the day to day operations of your company. Forming a Missouri Corporation is governed by the Revised Statues of Missouri under section 351.055.
Types of Corporations
There are generally three types of corporations. Which type of corporation is going to be right for you is best answered by a professional CPA or a lawyer. The three classes of a corporation are as follows: For-profit corporation, non profit corporation and a professional corporation. The for-profit corporation is the most common and in most cases this is the type of corporation that most business will form. Once you know what type of corporation you wish to file, we can do all the work for you.
Helpful guidelines in naming your corporation
The next step after deciding on a corporation is to name your corporation. Company names are very abundant and like domain names for the internet, a lot of good company names are taken. First, the corporation name must end in either Corporation, Incorporated, Company or Limited - an abbreviation of the company designations are also permitted. The name of the Corporation must be distinguishable upon the records of the Secretary of State. This means that a company can't be similar to that of another company. For instance, there is no distinction for using prepositions, articles, or conjunctions in a company name. Also, the use of spaces, plurals, or special characters does not provide distinction. For more information and rules governing name availability, refer to the Missouri Statutes section 351.584.
Incorporator vs. Owner
Missouri statutes state that each corporation officers can be served by one individual. Most states do require a minimum of one individual. The incorporator who forms the company is not necessarily considered the owner of the company. This individual is merely the person who is submitting the articles of incorporation to the Secretary of State. Owners of the corporation are the share holders of the corporation. In most cases the incorporator is at least one of the share holders.
How do I set up a company as a subchapter S corporation?
There is a separate tax classification provided by the IRS that allows the corporation to change its tax status from a C Corp to a S corp. This change in status allows for "pass through" taxation. This means that all the taxes on profits are passed through the corporation and reported on the individuals' tax returns. There are limits to the corporation with this tax status. Filing Form 2553 (PDF), Election by a Small Business Corporation will change your tax status. Consult a CPA to see what is best for your corporation.
| 
