Читать книгу Kickstart Your Corporation - Andrew Feindel - Страница 12

Setting up your professional corporation using a lawyer should cost you less than $2,000—and less than $1,000 if you take a do-it-yourself approach. Organizing the corporation—issuing shares and creating by-laws and shareholder agreements, for example—can drive up costs, but keep in mind that you can deduct up to $3,000 of costs related to incorporation. And while it's possible to incorporate using a DIY approach, consulting with a professional can help ensure that you're set up appropriately from the get-go.¹

To be frank, however, I view the cost of incorporation essentially as a “sunk cost” (a cost you have already incurred and cannot recover), as you will likely incur these organizational costs at some point in your career—the only question is when.

Also, in my conversations I always stress that you shouldn't be fooled by the myth that higher legal costs will produce better outcomes for your corporation. Incorporating is simple. The only “trick” to watch out for is ensuring you create enough classes of shareholders at the outset so your spouse (or future spouse) and/or your kids (or future kids) can all have shares—they each need to have a letter in front of their shares (Class A, Class B, and so on) so the corporation can pay them different amounts, if you like. That's the (only) “secret sauce” for your Articles of Incorporation. (With that said, if this issue has to be fixed later on, it can be, but your legal costs may be much higher.)

In general, your yearly corporate accounting fees might be in the range of $1,000–2,500/year, and ongoing maintenance fees could be as high as $500 (with a lawyer) or $150 (if you file yourself). These fees can be much higher if there is significant active and passive income. Additionally, each year, you'll need to renew the certificate of authorization, and you'll also need to keep the corporation's minute book up to date.