For businesses seeking identification as separate legal entities, Nebraska law allows them to undergo the process of incorporation. As a separate entity from the owners, the business is then considered to be acting on its own when it buys and sells property, assents to contracts and exercises legal rights. The office of the Secretary of State is the agency that receives applications for incorporation in Nebraska, and they must be completed in conformity with specific guidelines.

Benefits of Incorporation in Nebraska

A corporation enjoys advantages that unincorporated companies do not. Primarily, it cannot be held accountable for an amount of debt greater than the value of the assets that the owners have invested in it. Without incorporation, the personal property of business owners is at stake should the company become unable to pay its debts. A corporation might also find it easier to finance itself through loans, allowing creditors in the Blair area to evaluate their investment by assessing the corporation rather than the individual credit-worthiness of its owners. Finally, the ownership stake in a corporation can be apportioned into uniform slices, known as "shares" of stock. This makes it possible to sell ownership investments in more manageable slices.

Costs of Incorporation

Along with a possible fee to apply for incorporation in Nebraska, there are other costs that corporations incur. The most important is that a corporation is taxed as its own entity. Disbursements to the owners of the corporation are also taxed as individual income, so this means earnings might be taxed twice. But this double taxation can be avoided with proper planning and help from a local Blair lawyer.