Overview: Corporations Maryland

While incorporation requires more paperwork and expense than sole proprietorship,it does give you one critical benefit - protection from liability.

Local Companies

Navtrak
800-787-2337
2000 Northwood Drive
Salisbury, MD
Neubrain, LLC
301-442-4129
8001 Goodhurst Drive
Gaithersburg, MD
Mid-Atlantic Med Testing
866 376-6107
7305 Baltimore Avenue
College Park, MD
B2Bcorpcredit
(301) 449-8600
6507 Old Branch AVe
Camp Springs, MD
Blanchard Training & Development
(410) 321-8231
1409 Locust Ave
Towson, MD
The Ken Blanchard Company
(301) 854-1718
Dayton, MD
Venture Works Inc
(301) 585-1600
1210 Woodside Pkwy
Silver Spring, MD
U S China Science Park Management
(301) 864-9397
6525 Belcrest Rd
Hyattsville, MD
Computer Education Services Corporation
(410) 715-5100
10420 Little Patuxent Pkwy
Columbia, MD
Orchard Mews Apatments
(301) 729-2338
16116 Orchard Mews Dr
Cumberland, MD



While incorporation requires more paperwork and expense than sole proprietorship, it does give you one critical benefit - protection from liability.

A corporation is a separate legal entity from the person (or people) that owns it. The corporation, not the owner, enters into business deals, owns property, borrows money, and engages in other business activity. Because the corporation is involved in these business deals, you and your personal assets will, in many cases, be protected from liability if something goes wrong.

For businesses with more than one owner, incorporating can often protect you from the actions and misdeeds of your co-owners. This is unlike a partnership, where each partner is personally liable for the business-related actions of all the partners.

There are other benefits to incorporating. You can gain access to benefit plans only available to corporations. It also creates a positive image for your company - when you are trying to raise capital, obtain credit card merchant status, win certain kinds of new customers, or do business in foreign countries, incorporation can be important for appearance's sake.

You should be aware that corporate liability protection is not absolute. If you are interested in incorporation because of the protection it promises, look at the following exceptions:
  • It cannot protect you from your own bad acts. Being a director of a corporation does not protect you from personal liability from the wrongs you personally commit. For example: You run a package delivery service and you fill in for a driver who has called in sick. If, in the process, you run into a busload of people, you are personally liable for the damage.

  • It cannot protect you from things you personally guarantee. Banks and some corporate creditors often require personal guarantees from people in a corporation. So if your business were to fail, you would be personally responsible for repaying these debts. In addition, you don't want to become personally liable inadvertently... so be certain your name, title, and company name are on anything you sign.

  • It cannot protect you from owing governmental trust fund taxes (withholding taxes and sales taxes). When taxes are held in trust, all officers and anyone who has check-signing authority are jointly liable to the government for these taxes. That means that as a principal, you cannot hide behind the corporation and will be personally liable for these taxes if they are not paid.

  • It cannot protect you from some state laws. New York, for example, has a law which says that the ten largest shareholders of a corporation are personally responsible for unpaid employee wages. If a restaurant operates for three years and goes out of business, the owners and principals are personally responsible for any unpaid salaries.

  • It cannot protect people in certain professions. Professionals including doctors, lawyers, and accountants are personally liable in any lawsuit.

Featured Local Company

Navtrak

800-787-2337
2000 Northwood Drive
Salisbury, MD
www.navtrak.net

Regional Articles
- Overview: Corporations Annapolis MD
- Overview: Corporations Baltimore MD
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- Overview: Corporations Brooklyn MD
- Overview: Corporations Capitol Heights MD
- Overview: Corporations Catonsville MD
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- Overview: Corporations Gaithersburg MD
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- Overview: Corporations Greenbelt MD
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