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Incorporate in South Carolina
What makes incorporation in South Carolina another step towards achieving high business growth? The state is home to two of the most dynamic aerospace and advanced manufacturing industries, both growing at a rapid pace. The manufacturing industry has witnessed 16% employment growth since 2011 while the aerospace industry has witnessed 12% increase in export sales of aircrafts in the period between 2016 and 2017. There are over 400 aerospace-related companies in South Carolina including Boeing, Carolina Turbine Support Inc., Lockheed Martin, Legends Aircraft LLC, RBC bearings, Zeus Industrial Products Inc., BGF Industries Inc., Curtis-Wright Surface Technologies, and LPA Group among others.
Why Choose South Carolina for Incorporation?
The “Palmetto State” as South Carolina is often known as, has one of the most business-friendly climates and this is one of the reasons why company incorporation in South Carolina has crossed the 400,000 mark. Some of the other aspects that make this state worth forming your business in include overall cost of doing business, a variety of business incentive programs, and ease of access to capital and project funding.
Now let’s take a look at some of the salient benefits that are responsible for fuelling growth of small businesses:
- South Carolina Opportunity Zone Program: If you set up a company in South Carolina opportunity zone then your business can benefit from tax credits. These zones comprise of low-income communities and the program objective is to encourage long-term private investments. There are in total 538 designated opportunity zone tracts where you can establish your business. Some of the benefits include:
– A 5-year holding that can increase the rolled-over capital gains basis by almost 10%
– A 7-year holding that can increase the rolled-over capital gain investment basis by 5% for a total of almost 15%
– As an investor, you can defer your original tax bill till December 31, 2026
List of OZ Tracts - Business Incentive Programs: There are a variety of business incentive programs that you can benefit from. They can be categorized under:
– Incentives for Manufacturing
– Incentives for Services
– Business Incentives
– State Discretionary Incentives
– Corporate Income Tax Incentives
– Sales and Use Tax Incentives
How do you incorporate in South Carolina?
What is the process of company incorporation in South Carolina? Do you require any specific documents? How can you submit or file these documents? These are some of the questions that you will be confronted with and hence the following steps will provide you with information on how incorporation works in South Carolina:
Type of Business
The first step towards incorporation in South Carolina is choosing the type of business you want to form. You can choose to form an LLC or a Corporation. The type of business entity you want to form can be either domestic or foreign entity. The forms and fee will be different for each type of entity.
Business Entity Name
What is the next step towards incorporation in South Carolina? The next step is to identify and reserve a name and this can be done as follows:
- Naming Requirements: The naming requirements in the state of South Carolina are governed by SC Code § 33-44-105 (2012) for an LLC and SC Code § 33-4-101 (2012) for a Corporation. The name of each limited liability company must contain words like “Limited Liability Company” or abbreviations like “L.L.C.” or “LLC”. A corporate name must contain words like “corporation”, or “incorporated” or abbreviations like “corp.” or “inc.
- Business name search: You need to search for a business name that is not in use currently. You can conduct name search here.
- Name Reservation: Once you have identified a business entity name, and ensured that the name is available, you can reserve the name with the office of the Secretary of State, Attn: Corporate Filings Division. You can reserve a name for a period of 120 days according to the provisions given in SC Code § 33-4-102 (2012) for corporations and SC Code § 33-44-106 (2012) for an LLC.
- Name Registration: If you are a foreign entity planning to set up a company in South Carolina, you will be required to register the business name with the Secretary of State pursuant to Sections 33-4-103 and 33-15-106 of the 1976 S.C. Code of Laws for a corporation and Section 33-44-1005 of the 1976 S.C. Code of Laws for an LLC.
Choose a Registered Agent
Each Business or Professional Corporation and Limited Liability Company in the state of South Carolina is required to maintain a registered agent pursuant to SC Code § 33-5-101 (2012) for Corporations and SC Code § 33-44-108 (2012) for a Limited Liability Company.
We are one of the respected registered agents in South Carolina and will be responsible towards initiating company incorporation in South Carolina through processing of all your documents including “Articles of Organization” and “Articles of Incorporation” for domestic business entities and “Certificate of Authority” for foreign entities.
Articles of Incorporation and Certificate of Authority
If you are planning to form a domestic corporation (For profit), then you will have to file “Articles of Incorporation” pursuant to SC Code § 33-2-102 (2012). If you are planning foreign business incorporation in South Carolina then you will be required to file a “Certificate of Authority” pursuant to SC Code § 33-15-103 (2012). In order to streamline the process we can file documents on your behalf through the online process or through an expedited process.
Date Stamped Copies
As a part of the process of company incorporation in South Carolina, we will ensure, you receive date-stamped and filed copies that verifies that the state has filed as well as formed your corporation.
Costs and Fees associated with South Carolina Incorporation
What would it cost to set up a company in South Carolina? Check Fees here!