Anthony Mancuso 
How to Form Your Own California Corporation 

Incorporate your business in California

Protect your personal assets



By incorporating your business, you separate your personal and business assets—and shield your house, investments, and other personal assets from business creditors. There are other advantages as well, including easier access to capital, employee perks, and certain tax benefits.



How to Form Your Own California Corporation offers step-by-step instructions on how to incorporate your small business in California.

It shows you how to:



file articles of incorporation

prepare bylaws

issue shares of stock, and

set up a corporate records book.



How to Form Your Own California Corporation makes the entire incorporation process easy. Like tens of thousands of California entrepreneurs have done over the last 30 years, you really can complete and file all the paperwork yourself.



This edition is completely updated and revised to provide current regulations, tax requirements, contact information for relevant agencies, helpful resources, and the most up-to-date forms available.

Table of Content

Your Incorporation Companion

1. Choosing the Right Legal Structure for Your Business

2. How California Corporations Work

3. Issuing and Selling Stock

4. Corporate Taxation

5. Steps to Form Your Corporation

6. After You Incorporate

7. Lawyers and Accountants

A. Appendix A: How to Use the Interactive Forms

B. Appendix B: Contact Information and Incorporation Forms

Index

About the author

Anthony Mancuso is a corporations and limited liability company expert. He graduated from Hastings College of Law in San Francisco, is a member of the California State Bar, and studied advanced business taxation at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. He has also been a consultant for Silicon Valley EDA (Electronic Design Automation) companies. He is the author of several Nolo books on forming and operating corporations (both profit and nonprofit) and limited liability companies. His titles include Incorporate Your Business, How to Form a Nonprofit Corporation (national and California editions), Form Your Own Limited Liability Company, The Corporate Records Handbook, and LLC or Corporation? His books have shown over a quarter of a million businesses and organizations how to form a corporation or LLC.