Form a Rhode Island Corporation

Forming a Rhode Island corporation is easy with the Rhode Island incorporation experts at LawInc.com. Form an Rhode Island corporation easily by clicking on “Order Now.” Please feel free to call us, anytime, with any questions. Incorporate Rhode Island today.

Incorporate in Rhode Island

Incorporating a Rhode Island corporation can be vital to businesses based of Rhode Island. At LawInc, we prepare your Rhode Island corporation Articles of Incorporation, bylaws, stock certificates, stock ledger and more. We can even obtain your Rhode Island corporation Tax ID number and file your Rhode Island S corporation election with the IRS.

Rhode Island Incorporation Information

The following Rhode Island incorporation information will likely be helpful when deciding to incorporate in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island Corporation Name

The first step in forming a Rhode Island corporation is selecting the business name. Rhode Island corporation names:

• Must contain “Corporation”, “Incorporated”, “Company”, “Limited”, “Corp.”, “Inc.”, “Co.” or “Ltd.”.
• Must be distinguishable upon the records of the Rhode Island Secretary of State from any other formally organized entity registered with the Rhode Island Secretary of State’s office, such as corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships.

An available Rhode Island corporation name may be reserved with the Rhode Island Secretary of State for a 120 day period.

LawInc.com permits you to choose up to three names and will conduct a name search for your Rhode Island corporation, prior to filing. Create a Rhode Island corporation with confidence that your Rhode Island corporation name is available.

Rhode Island Corporation Formation

Rhode Island Filing Procedure: To incorporate in Rhode Island, you must file Rhode Island Articles of Incorporation with the Rhode Island Secretary of State.

Rhode Island Corporation Articles of Incorporation: The Rhode Island Articles of Incorporation should include:

• Name of the Rhode Island corporation.
• Number of shares the Rhode Island corporation is authorized to issue.
• Address of initial registered office.
• Name and address of the incorporator.

Rhode Island Corporation Authorized Shares: The minimum filing and license fee is $230 for less than 75,000,000 shares of authorized stock. The fee is prorated at 75,000,000 shares.

Rhode Island Corporation Incorporator: Minimum number of incorporators is one (1) (a natural person over 18 years of age) and there is no requirement that the incorporator be a resident of Rhode Island.

Rhode Island Corporation Directors: The minimum number of Rhode Island directors is one (1).

Rhode Island Corporation 1244 Stock: Election to have stock classified as IRC Section 1244 stock allows for a substantially larger application of the deduction from business losses to ordinary income than regular stock. With regular stock, you can only offset $3,000 against ordinary income. With the issuance of Section 1244 Stock, the corporation can claim an ordinary loss deduction of as much $100,000.

Rhode Island Registered Agent: When you incorporate in Rhode Island, a Rhode Island corporation must maintain a registered agent and office to receive service of process in Rhode Island. The Rhode Island registered agent should be available, at a Rhode Island physical address, during normal business hours to accept important legal and tax documents on behalf of the Rhode Island corporation. The registered agent can either be (1) an individual with a physical Rhode Island address or (2) a corporation authorized to serve as registered agent.

Rhode Island Corporation Post-Filing Requirements

Rhode Island Corporation Annual Report: Rhode Island corporations are responsible for filing an annual report each calendar year between January 1 and March 1, beginning with the year following the year of incorporation. A notification will be mailed to the registered agent prior to January 1 each year. Failure to file the Annual Report within the statutory time period will result in a penalty fee of $25.

Rhode Island Corporate Minutes: Rhode Island corporations should hold and document annual shareholder and director meetings.

Rhode Island Corporation Taxes

Rhode Island Corporation Taxes: For information on Rhode Island income tax ,visit: http://www.tax.state.ri.us/

Rhode Island C Corporation: When incorporating in Rhode Island, all Rhode Island corporations formed by default are “C” corporations. A Rhode Island C corporation is a Rhode Island corporation that has not made an election to be an “S” corporation. The term C corporation is specifically used because the entity is taxed under subsection C of the IRS code. Rhode Island C corporations are taxed at two levels (“double taxation”). This means that the corporation itself pays its own tax when it makes money (the first tax). The owners or shareholders are then taxed again when they are paid a salary or dividend by the corporation (the second tax). Despite double taxation, Rhode Island C corporations offer many planning and benefit opportunities.

Rhode Island S Corporation: A Rhode Island S corporation is a corporation that has made an election with the IRS to be treated for tax purposes as a “pass-through entity.” This means that corporate profits and losses are passed through to the shareholders (owners) who report them on their own personal tax returns and pay the tax at the individual level. The corporation pays no federal income tax at the corporate level. Rhode Island S corporations are not subject to the double taxation C corporations encounter. The State of Rhode Island recognizes federal S corporation status.

These are the 3 main advantages of forming a Rhode Island S corporation:

1. No double taxation: One of the main advantages of Rhode Island S corporation status is that it avoids the double taxation that occurs with a regular Rhode Island C corporation. In a Rhode Island C corporation, the corporation pays income tax on its profits and, if those profits are distributed to shareholders, the shareholders pay income tax on the distribution.
2. Loss deductions: The availability of losses. Shareholders of a Rhode Island S corporation generally may deduct their share of the corporation’s net operating loss on their individual tax returns in the year the loss occurs. Losses of a Rhode Island C corporation, however, may offset only the corporation’s earnings.
3. Self-employment tax savings: By electing S corporation status, only the earnings actually paid out to you as salary are subject to payroll taxes; money left in the business is not subject to payroll taxes or self-employment tax. All income passes through, but its tax status depends on whether it is classified as salary or ordinary income.

Federal Tax Identification Number/Employer Identification Number (EIN): The Federal Tax Identification Number, also known as the Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a number that is assigned to a business by the Internal Revenue Service. An EIN is like a Social Security Number for a business. It is a requisite for certain business functions such as opening bank accounts or hiring employees. When incorporating in Rhode Island, Rhode Island corporations should obtain an EIN.

Rhode Island Incorporation Summary

Rhode Island Incorporation Summary: Feel free to contact us with any questions regarding Rhode Island incorporation. We are standing by to assist.