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.

Como o Stripe Atlas pode ajudar

O Stripe Atlas estabelece as bases jurídicas da sua empresa para que você possa captar recursos, abrir uma conta bancária e aceitar pagamentos em até dois dias úteis, de qualquer lugar do mundo.

Junte-se a mais de 75 mil empresas constituídas usando o Atlas, incluindo startups apoiadas por grandes investidores como Y Combinator, a16z e General Catalyst.

Como se inscrever no Atlas

Solicitar a constituição de uma empresa com o Atlas leva menos de 10 minutos. Você escolherá a estrutura societária, confirmará imediatamente se o nome da sua empresa está disponível e adicionará até quatro cofundadores. Você também decidirá como dividir as participações societárias, reservar uma pool de participações para futuros investidores e funcionários, nomear administradores e, então, assinar eletronicamente todos os seus documentos. Qualquer cofundador também receberá e-mails convidando-o a assinar seus documentos eletronicamente.

Aceite pagamentos e opere financeiramente antes da chegada do EIN

Após a formação da empresa, o Atlas solicita o Número de Identificação do Empregador (EIN). Fundadores com número de Seguro Social dos EUA, endereço e telefone local têm direito a processamento acelerado pelo IRS, enquanto os demais seguem o processo padrão, que pode demorar um pouco mais. Além disso, o Atlas permite realizar operações bancárias e aceitar pagamentos antes mesmo da chegada do EIN, possibilitando movimentações financeiras antecipadas.

Compra de ações de fundador sem dinheiro em espécie

Os fundadores podem adquirir ações iniciais utilizando sua propriedade intelectual (por exemplo, direitos autorais ou patentes) em vez de dinheiro, com o comprovante de compra armazenado no seu Dashboard Atlas. Sua propriedade intelectual deve ter um valor igual ou inferior a US$ 100 para utilizar esse recurso; se você possuir propriedade intelectual acima desse valor, consulte um advogado antes de prosseguir.

Declaração automática de opção fiscal 83(b)

Os fundadores podem apresentar uma opção fiscal 83(b) para reduzir os impostos sobre o rendimento pessoal. A Atlas apresentará essa opção por si, quer seja um fundador dos EUA ou de outro país, através de correio certificado USPS com acompanhamento. Receberá uma opção 83(b) assinada e um comprovativo da apresentação diretamente no seu Stripe Dashboard

Documentos legais de empresas de padrão internacional

O Atlas fornece todos os documentos legais de que você precisa para começar a administrar sua empresa. Os documentos de empresa do tipo C do Atlas foram desenvolvidos em colaboração com a Cooley, uma das principais firmas advocatícias de venture capital do mundo. Esses documentos são projetados para ajudar você a captar recursos imediatamente e garantir a proteção legal da sua empresa, abordando aspectos como estrutura societária, distribuição de participação societária e conformidade fiscal.

Um ano gratuito de Stripe Payments e US$ 50 mil em créditos e descontos de parceiros

O Atlas trabalha com parceiros líderes do mercado para oferecer aos fundadores descontos e créditos exclusivos. Isso inclui descontos em ferramentas essenciais para engenharia, impostos, finanças, conformidade e operações de líderes do setor, como AWS, Carta e Perplexity. Também fornecemos gratuitamente o agente registrado em Delaware necessário durante o primeiro ano. Além disso, como usuário da Atlas, você terá acesso a benefícios adicionais do Stripe, incluindo até um ano de processamento de pagamentos gratuito para um volume de pagamentos de até US$ 100 mil.

Saiba mais sobre como o Atlas pode ajudar você a estabelecer sua nova empresa de forma simples e rápida ou comece hoje.