Michigan C Corporation Formation
When you incorporate a Michigan C Corporation, you must draft Articles of Incorporation and file
them with the Department of Labor & Economic Growth of the Secretary of State. These
Articles of Incorporation will provide important information about your business
to the Secretary of State. If you’d like, you can take a look at our sample Articles
of Incorporation to model your own after.
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Steps to Forming an Michigan C Corporation
It’s easy for form a C Corporation in Michigan—the “C” tax status is the default
status. Your Articles of Incorporation will set forth the following:
- Name: You will select a name for your C Corporation, which must be distinguishable
from the names of other businesses already on file with the Department of Labor
& Economic Development. ClickandInc.com can run a business name search for your
chosen name to determine availability.
- Purpose: You should briefly outline your business purpose in one or two sentences.
- Stock/Nonstock: You will identify whether this is a stock (for-profit) or nonstock
company. A C corporation is a stock company.
- Registered Agent: This is the contact person on file for your corporation, and he
or she must have a physical address in Michigan.
- Incorporator: The person who fills out the document should insert his or her name
and address. This person will sign the document.
If your information changes, you should file an Article amendment with the state.
If the state does not have current information for your business at all times, they
may be unable to reach you with important renewal notifications or other correspondence,
which may lead to late fees or termination of your business registration.
Let ClickAndInc.com register your C Corporation in Michigan.
Further Responsibilities of an Michigan C Corporation
You are required to file an Annual Report, which should be returned to the Secretary
of State. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in a loss of status
with the state and fees.
Additional Information about an Michigan C Corporation
Your C Corporation:
- Can sell stock and raise capital
- May deduct the cost of benefits provided to employers (such as parking permits,
health insurance, and so on)
- Has a board of directors, which oversees the policies of the corporation
- Issues limited liability for owners
- Can be owned by non-US citizens or non-resident aliens
- Can own other business entities
- Can be owned by other business entities
- Is taxed separately from the owners’ income
Shareholders of a Michigan C Corporation cannot be held liable in a judgment against the
corporation for an amount greater than the amount of stock they hold. (This does
not include any personal liabilities, such as fraud, failure to pay taxes, and so
on.)
Michigan Startup Quicklinks
For information on other types of businesses in Michigan, please explore the links
below.