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.

Hoe Stripe Atlas kan helpen

Stripe Atlas zet de juridische basis voor je onderneming, zodat je geld kunt inzamelen, een bankrekening kunt openen en binnen twee werkdagen overal ter wereld betalingen kunt ontvangen.

Sluit je aan bij de meer dan 75.000 bedrijven die zijn opgericht met behulp van Atlas, waaronder start-ups die worden ondersteund door topinvesteerders zoals Y Combinator, a16z en General Catalyst.

Aanmelden bij Atlas

Het aanvragen van het opzetten van een bedrijf met Atlas duurt minder dan 10 minuten. Je kiest je bedrijfsstructuur, bevestigt onmiddellijk of je bedrijfsnaam beschikbaar is en voegt maximaal vier medeoprichters toe. Je beslist ook hoe je het eigen vermogen splitst, een aandelenpool reserveert voor toekomstige investeerders en werknemers, functionarissen aanstelt en vervolgens al je documenten elektronisch ondertekent. Alle medeoprichters ontvangen een e-mail met een uitnodiging om hun documenten ook elektronisch te ondertekenen.

Betalingen accepteren en bankieren voordat je EIN-nummer arriveert

Na het oprichten van je onderneming vraagt Atlas je EIN-nummer (Employer Identification Number) aan. Oprichters met een Amerikaans socialezekerheidsnummer, adres en mobiel telefoonnummer komen in aanmerking voor versnelde verwerking door de Amerikaanse belastingdienst (IRS), terwijl anderen de standaardverwerking krijgen, die iets langer kan duren. Bovendien maakt Atlas pre-EIN-betalingen en -bankieren mogelijk, zodat je al kunt beginnen met het ontvangen van betalingen en het uitvoeren van transacties voordat je je EIN hebt ontvangen.

Aankoop van aandelen door de oprichter zonder contant geld

Oprichters kunnen initiële aandelen kopen met behulp van hun intellectuele eigendom (IE; bijvoorbeeld auteursrechten of patenten) in plaats van contant geld, met een aankoopbewijs opgeslagen op je Atlas-dashboard. Je IE moet een waarde hebben van 100 dollar of minder om hiervan gebruik te kunnen maken; wanneer je IE bezit met een hogere waarde, raadpleeg dan een advocaat voordat je verder gaat.

Automatische indiening van belastingkeuzeformulier 83(b)

Oprichters kunnen een zogenoemd belastingkeuzeformulier 83(b) indienen om de persoonlijke inkomstenbelasting te verlagen. Atlas dient die voor je in, ongeacht of je een Amerikaanse of niet-Amerikaanse oprichter bent, met behulp van USPS Certified Mail (aangetekende verzending) en tracking. Je ontvangt een ondertekend belastingkeuzeformulier 83(b) en een bewijs van indiening rechtstreeks op je Stripe-dashboard.

Juridische bedrijfsdocumenten van wereldklasse

Atlas heeft alle juridische documenten die je nodig hebt om je bedrijf te starten. De documenten van Atlas C corp zijn gemaakt in samenwerking met Cooley, een van de toonaangevende advocatenkantoren op het gebied van durfkapitaal. Deze documenten zijn ontworpen om je te helpen direct geld in te zamelen en ervoor te zorgen dat je onderneming juridisch beschermd is, met aandacht voor aspecten als eigendomsstructuur, aandelenverdeling en fiscale compliance.

Een gratis jaar Stripe Payments, plus $ 50.000 aan partnervoordelen en kortingen

Atlas werkt samen met top-tier partners om oprichters exclusieve kortingen en credits te geven. Dit zijn onder andere kortingen op belangrijke tools voor engineering, belastingen, financiën, compliance en ondernemingsvoering van marktleiders zoals AWS, Carta en Perplexity. We zorgen ook gratis voor je vereiste geregistreerde agent in Delaware tijdens je eerste jaar. Bovendien krijg je als Atlas-gebruiker toegang tot extra Stripe-voordelen, waaronder maximaal een jaar gratis betalingsverwerking voor betalingen tot $ 100.000.

Lees meer over hoe Atlas je kan helpen bij het snel en eenvoudig opzetten van je nieuwe bedrijf of ga vandaag nog aan de slag.