You might be asking whether you need to register your company in Florida if you own a foreign corporation and want to conduct business there. You do, is the answer. Any foreign corporation conducting business in Florida is required by law to register with the Florida Department of State. If you don’t, you risk fines and other sanctions.
But what exactly does “transacting business” entail in Florida? A foreign corporation is deemed to be conducting business in Florida, in accordance with state statutes, if it engages in any of the following activities:
– Keeping a physical presence in the state, such as a workplace, shop, or warehouse
– Hiring employees or agents in the state
– Regularly carrying out sales or other business operations in the state
– Owning or renting real estate in the state
Any of these actions carried out by your foreign firm in Florida require registration with the state. Although there are a few steps, the registration procedure is quite simple. You must first select a name for your firm that is available in Florida and isn’t in use by another company. On the website of the Florida Department of State, you can determine whether a name is available.
After the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has authorized your articles of incorporation, you must request an Employer Identification Number (EIN). Your corporation is identified by this number for tax purposes.
It can be reasonably affordable to register a foreign corporation in Florida from a financial standpoint. It costs $70 to file articles of incorporation, and $150 to file an annual report. It costs nothing to get an EIN from the IRS.
In conclusion, you must register your company with the state of Florida if you own a foreign firm and wish to conduct business there. This calls for the annual filing of an Annual Report, an EIN application, and articles of incorporation. Even while these procedures have a cost, it is minimal compared to the possible fines and penalties for failing to register.