Incorporating your business in Maine turns it into an independent entity that can sign contracts, open a bank account, and exist after you. The decisions you make during this process can reshape the way your business operates, so it’s important to get it right.

Below, we’ll explain how to incorporate in Maine, including the benefits, costs, and legal requirements.

What’s in this article?

• What does it mean to incorporate a business in Maine?
  
• What’s the difference between an S corporation and a C corporation?
  
• What are the advantages of forming a corporation in Maine?
  
• What are the steps to incorporate your business in Maine?
  
• How much does it cost to incorporate in Maine?
  
• What are the legal requirements to incorporate in Maine?
  
• How Stripe Atlas can help
  

What does it mean to incorporate a business in Maine?

When you incorporate your business in Maine, you create a separate legal entity that can own property, sign contracts, and be sued or taxed in its own name. This limits owners’ personal liability, creates a formal structure, and allows the business to outlast its founders.

Corporations typically start as C corporations (C corps) for tax purposes, but Maine follows the federal S corporation (S corp) election, which typically removes entity-level corporate income tax in Maine.

What’s the difference between an S corporation and a C corporation?

Under Maine law, the default C corp and an elected S corp are formed the same way and follow the same corporate formalities. They differ in tax treatment and ownership rules:

• C corp: A C corp pays Maine corporate income tax at graduated rates of 3.50%–8.93%. Shareholders pay personal tax on any dividends. This flexible ownership structure enables unlimited shareholders, multiple classes of stock, and institutional and foreign investors. It’s useful for businesses that plan to raise capital or scale through equity.

• S corp: If you file with the IRS to elect S corp status, there will typically be no state corporate income tax at the entity level. An S corp passes on profits and losses to shareholders’ personal returns and can have a maximum of 100 shareholders and 1 class of stock. All shareholders must be US residents (or certain kinds of trusts). In Maine, S corps might still have filing and withholding duties for nonresident owners.

What are the advantages of forming a corporation in Maine?

In Maine, incorporating your business offers several advantages beyond the usual benefits of limited liability and continuity.

Here are the most notable ones:

• Single-sales-factor apportionment: Maine taxes corporations based solely on the sales factor when it determines income tax, not on property or payroll. If you do business outside Maine, this can mean a smaller tax base and lower exposure to state tax.

• Business Equipment Tax Exemption: Eligible equipment put in service in Maine is fully exempt from local property tax. This can lower the cost of capital-intensive investments and expansion.

• Manufacturing sales tax exemptions: Machinery, equipment, consumables, and repair parts used in manufacturing are exempt from sales tax. Many manufacturers also receive a 95% exemption on fuel and electricity used in production.

• Seed Capital Tax Credit Program: Through the Finance Authority of Maine, investors can obtain tax credits equal to 40% of their investments in qualified Maine businesses. This can stimulate earlier-stage fundraising and make your corporation more attractive to angel or venture capital investors.

• Dirigo Business Incentives program: Maine’s Dirigo program offers multiyear tax credits to businesses that make qualifying capital investments or provide approved employee training in targeted sectors. This state-backed lever reduces the tax burdens of growing corporations.

Each of these incentives helps corporations in Maine operate with lower tax exposure, lower capital expenses, and stronger access to growth capital.

What are the steps to incorporate your business in Maine?

Maine’s system is designed to make it easier for founders to form a legal entity that’s recognized nationwide. Completing these steps in order helps you avoid delays, rejected filings, or gaps in your corporate record that could cause problems later.

Here’s how to incorporate in Maine:

• Check and reserve your name: Pick a unique name that’s distinguishable from existing entities. Use the Corporate Name Search to check availability. If you need more time, you can reserve the name with Form MBCA-1.

• Appoint your Maine clerk: List a clerk (the state’s term for a registered agent) with a physical street address in Maine (no PO Boxes). The clerk can be a commercial provider or an individual resident. The role requires consent and weekday availability to receive legal documents.

• Prepare articles of incorporation: Maine’s articles of incorporation (Form MBCA-6) require your name, professional or benefit corporation status (if applicable), clerk details, share structure (single class or multiple classes), and management structure (board of directors or a shareholder-managed corporation). Optional provisions let you limit director liability and provide indemnification.

• File with the secretary of state and pay the fee: Processing times for articles of incorporation vary; the office posts current estimates and lets you check on the filing once it’s processed. If speed matters, you can pay another fee for 24-hour or immediate, same-day expedited service.

• Receive approval and record it: When the filing is accepted, your corporation will appear in a public database. Keep the stamped articles and state confirmation with your records.

• Finish setup and corporate governance: Hold an organizational meeting to adopt bylaws, elect or confirm directors and officers, authorize and issue shares, record minutes, and approve banking resolutions. Maine doesn’t ask you to file bylaws or minutes, but you must keep them.

• Register for taxes and payroll: Register with Maine Revenue Services for services such as employer withholding, unemployment, and sales or use tax.

• File your annual report: Annual reports are due by June 1 for corporations in Maine. File online to stay in good standing.

How much does it cost to incorporate in Maine?

Incorporation in Maine incurs some one-time fees at the beginning and fees for annual filings and optional services. The secretary of state keeps a public, up-to-date Forms and Fees list you can use to confirm numbers before you file.

Here’s what to expect:

• Articles of incorporation: You’ll pay $145, payable to the secretary of state when you file.

• Expedited service: If you need a faster turnaround for your articles, 24-hour processing costs $50, and same-day immediate service costs $100.

• Name reservation: If you need more time before you file your articles, you can reserve a name for 120 days for $20.

• Clerk (registered agent): The market rate for commercial clerks varies, but you can expect to pay at least $100 per year.

• Annual report: Filing with the secretary of state costs $85 for domestic corporations.

What are the legal requirements to incorporate in Maine?

After you found your corporation, you must meet ongoing legal requirements to keep your business transparent, well governed, and properly registered.

These are the legal obligations you must be aware of to stay compliant:

• Maintain a Maine clerk: Keep an active, consenting clerk with a physical address in Maine. Update the state promptly if your clerk or their address changes. Losing your clerk can jeopardize your good standing.

• Keep internal records in order: Adopt bylaws, maintain a stock ledger, record minutes for board and shareholder actions, and keep these with your corporate records.

• File annual reports and handle taxes: File the annual report by June 1. C corps pay corporate income tax on income earned in Maine. S corps typically don’t pay entity-level tax, but they might have nonresident owner withholding and informational obligations. Missing filings can lead to penalties and loss of good standing.

• Amend when facts change: If you change your name, share structure, or other core facts, file the appropriate amendment form, and pay the filing fee.

¿Cómo puede ayudar Stripe Atlas?

Stripe Atlas establece las bases legales de tu empresa para que puedas recaudar fondos, abrir una cuenta bancaria y aceptar pagos dentro de dos días hábiles desde cualquier parte del mundo.

Únete a más de 75,000 empresas constituidas mediante Atlas, incluidas Startups respaldadas por importantes inversores como Y Combinator, a16z y General Catalyst.

Solicitud de ingreso a Atlas

Solicitar la creación de una empresa con Atlas toma menos de 10 minutos. Elegirás la estructura de tu empresa, confirmarás al instante si el nombre de tu empresa está disponible y añadirás hasta cuatro cofundadores. También decidirás cómo dividir el capital, reservar un fondo común para futuros inversores y empleados, nombrar directivos y, finalmente, firmar de forma electrónica todos tus documentos. Los cofundadores también recibirán correos electrónicos invitándolos a firmar de manera electrónica sus documentos.

Aceptación de pagos y operaciones bancarias antes de que llegue tu EIN

Después de constituir tu empresa, Atlas solicita tu Número de Identificación del Empleador (EIN). Los fundadores con número de Seguro Social de EE. UU., dirección y número de teléfono celular pueden optar por el trámite acelerado del IRS (Servicio de Impuestos Internos de los Estados Unidos), mientras que otros recibirán el trámite estándar, que puede tardar un poco más. Además, Atlas permite realizar pagos y operaciones bancarias antes de obtener tu EIN para que puedas empezar a aceptar pagos y realizar transacciones antes de recibir tu EIN.

Compra de acciones para fundadores sin desembolso en efectivo

Los fundadores pueden adquirir acciones iniciales utilizando su propiedad intelectual (por ejemplo, derechos de autor o patentes) en lugar de efectivo, con el comprobante de compra almacenado en tu Dashboard Atlas. Tu propiedad intelectual debe tener un valor de $100 o menos para usar esta funcionalidad; si posees una propiedad intelectual por encima de ese valor, consulta con un abogado antes de proceder.

Declaración automática de la elección de impuestos 83(b)

Los fundadores pueden presentar una solicitud de elección fiscal 83(b) para reducir el impuesto sobre la renta personal. Atlas la presentará por ti, ya seas un fundador estadounidense o extranjero, con correo certificado de USPS y seguimiento. Recibirás una solicitud de elección 83(b) firmada y un comprobante de presentación directamente en tu Dashboard de Stripe.

Documentos legales de empresas de primer nivel

Atlas proporciona todos los documentos legales que necesitas para empezar a gestionar tu empresa. Los documentos de la corporación Atlas C se elaboran en colaboración con Cooley, uno de los estudios jurídicos de capital de riesgo más importantes del mundo. Estos documentos están diseñados para ayudarte a recaudar fondos de inmediato y garantizar la protección legal de tu empresa, que cubren aspectos como la estructura de titularidad, la distribución del capital y el cumplimiento de la normativa fiscal.

Un año gratis de Stripe Payments, más $50,000 en créditos y descuentos para socios

Atlas colabora con socios de primer nivel para ofrecer a los fundadores descuentos y créditos no incluidos. Estos incluyen descuentos en herramientas esenciales para ingeniería, impuestos, finanzas, cumplimiento de la normativa y operaciones de líderes del sector como AWS, Carta y Perplexity. También te proporcionamos el agente registrado de Delaware que necesitas gratis durante el primer año. Además, como usuario de Atlas, accederás a beneficios adicionales de Stripe, lo que incluye hasta un año de procesamiento de pagos gratuito para un volumen de pagos de hasta $100,000.

Obtén más información sobre cómo Atlas puede ayudarte a preparar tu nueva empresa de forma rápida y sencilla, o empieza hoy mismo.