Corporation Formation

Florida doesn’t charge corporations a franchise tax the way Delaware, Texas or California do. A Florida corporation pays a $150 annual report fee to stay in good standing and, if it’s a profitable C corporation, a 5.5% corporate income tax. There’s no tax based on your authorized shares, net worth or revenue. Florida repealed itsContinue reading “Franchise Tax vs Corporate Tax: Florida’s Approach”

The main Florida S-Corp tax advantage is that you pay the 15.3% self-employment tax only on your salary, not on all of your profit. Add Florida’s lack of a personal income tax, and a profitable owner can keep several thousand dollars a year that would otherwise go to payroll taxes. The catch is that youContinue reading “S-Corp Tax Advantages for Florida Small Business Owners”

Florida corporate income tax is 5.5% of a C corporation’s adjusted federal taxable income, and the first $50,000 is exempt. So a corporation that earns $50,000 or less in Florida taxable income owes nothing. Florida has no personal income tax, but that doesn’t extend to C corporations, and the return is due earlier than manyContinue reading “Florida Corporate Income Tax: What You Need to Know”

Miss your Florida corporation’s May 1 annual report deadline and you owe a $400 late fee on top of the $150 filing fee. Still haven’t filed by the third Friday in September, and the state administratively dissolves the corporation. Those are the main Florida corporation penalties for late filing, and the dissolution is the oneContinue reading “Penalties for Florida Corporate Non-Compliance”

You can get a Florida certificate of good standing online at Sunbiz.org in a few minutes. The short form costs $8.75 and the long form costs $52.50, and if you choose the PDF you can download it right after you pay. The catch is that the state will only issue one if your business isContinue reading “Florida Certificate of Good Standing: How to Get One”

Florida courts don’t pierce the corporate veil lightly. They do it when an owner uses the corporation improperly, usually to commit fraud or dodge obligations, and that misuse causes someone’s loss. To avoid piercing the corporate veil in Florida, keep the company’s money separate from yours, document decisions and deals between you and the corporation,Continue reading “How to Avoid Piercing the Corporate Veil in Florida”

A Florida corporate resolution is the written record of a decision made by your board of directors or your shareholders. You need one any time a bank, lender, landlord or other outside party wants proof that the corporation approved something. You also want them for your own records, because a file of signed resolutions isContinue reading “Corporate Resolutions in Florida: When You Need Them”

Florida law doesn’t set a minimum number of board meetings. Your bylaws decide how often the board meets, and the only meeting the statute requires every year is the annual shareholder meeting. That’s the short answer on Florida corporation board meeting requirements. The longer answer is that skipping board meetings and records entirely is aContinue reading “How Often Must a Florida Corporation Hold Board Meetings?”

Florida corporation name requirements come down to two rules: the name has to include a corporate designator like “Inc.” or “Corp.,” and it has to be distinguishable from every other name on the Division of Corporations’ records. Get those right, avoid a short list of restricted words, and your name will clear. Most rejections comeContinue reading “Florida Corporate Name Requirements & Reservations”

To reinstate a Florida corporation, you file for reinstatement with the Florida Division of Corporations, file every annual report you missed, and pay the $600 reinstatement fee plus $150 for each of those reports. If you file online through Sunbiz, it’s usually processed within 24-48 hours. Most corporations end up here for one reason: anContinue reading “How to Reinstate a Dissolved Florida Corporation”