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Frequently Asked Questions

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What is a Aged (Shelf) Corporation?

A Shelf Corporation, Shelf Company, or Aged Corporation, is a company or corporation that has had no activity. It was put on the “shelf” to “age”. The company can then be sold to a person or group of persons who wish to start a company without going through all the procedures of creating a new one.

Why Buy a Shelf Corporation?

Common reasons for buying a Shelf Corporation include:

1. Instantly obtain the necessary “Time in Business” and Credibility required to be approved for Corporate Credit and Financing.
2. Create a solid Corporate Credit Profile as an alternative to Personal Credit Repair.
3. Protect Assets from Creditors and facilitate Estate Planning.
4. Instantly Qualify to Bid on Government Contracts.
5. Instantly obtain Credibility with prospective Clients, Partners, and Suppliers.
6. Expand your International Business into the United States instantly and without the typical red tape.

What are the Major Mistakes Most Buyers Make?

Most Shelf Corporation Buyers will make the following very expensive mistakes if they are not careful:

Do I Need to Obtain Business Licenses for the Aged Corporation in My Home State?

Assuming you followed our recommendation and did a Foreign Entity Registration in your Home State, then yes, you will need to obtain Business Licenses. We can find and complete the Business License Applications for you for $250 + City/County/State Fees.

Should I purchase any Credit Building Services from Dun & Bradstreet?

No, this is not only unnecessary, but could possibly hurt you. After you have your Aged Corporation, if you contact Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) for any reason, they will attempt to sell you services such as Corporate Credit Building Services. These Services, although they appear to be helpful at your initial analysis, are actually NOT helpful at all in our opinion and can hurt your Business instead of help it because the purchase of such Services may trigger an immediate AUDIT of the Corporate Entity, and during this Audit, D&B may identify ownership changes and other movements you make with the Corporate Entity, which is something you typically do not want exposed. You do NOT need to purchase anything from D&B, no matter how convincing they may be.

What is a Federal Tax ID # and why do I need one?

An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is also known as a Federal Tax Identification Number, and is used to identify a business entity, just like a Social Security Number identifies an Individual. If you want to open a Business Bank Account and/or hire any Employees, then you need one. All of our Aged Corporations come with a valid EIN # included for FREE.

What is a Registered Agent, and can I be my own Registered Agent?

A Registered Agent is a business or individual designated to receive service of process (SOP) when a business entity is a party in a legal action such as a lawsuit or summons. The registered agent’s address may also be where the state will send the paperwork for the yearly renewal of the business entity’s charter. The registered agent for a business entity may be an individual member of the company, or (more often) a third party, such as the organization’s lawyer or a service company.

Do I Need a Registered Agent in the State of Incorporation?

Yes, you do – That is Required. We provide Free Registered Agent Service for 30 Days after your Purchase, but then you will need to either purchase the on-going Registered Agent Service from us for $350 per Year, or find another provider online and purchase from them.

Can I change the name of my Shelf Corporation? What are the Pros and Cons?

While you are free to change the name of your Shelf Corporation, we don’t advise it as a name change goes against the concept of a Shelf Corporation.  The best advice we can give you is to simply file a Trade Name for the Brand Name you would like to use for your Business. For example, “ABC Enterprises Inc” could do Business using the Trade Name “Super Consulting Group” if that is the name they want to be recognized by.

Where are You Located?

We are located at 4845 Pearl East Cir Ste 118, Boulder, Colorado 80301. Our Team Members work remotely from various parts of the Country.

What forms of Payment do you accept?

We currently accept Wire Transfers, ACH Deposits, Counter Deposits, Chase QuickPay, eChecks and Credit Cards.

What is the Difference Between an S-Corporation and a C-Corporation?

The main difference between S-Corps and C-Corps is that S-Corps are Flow-Through Entities – This means they are not taxed in the State of Incorporation like C-Corps would be, and the Net Income flows through to the Shareholders and is taxed at the Shareholder’s Personal Income Tax Rate. For 90% of our Clients, S-Corp is the way to go, because being taxed as a C-Corp in the State of Incorporation creates additional costs and headaches that divert from the main Goal which is building Corporate Credit. If an S-Corp is what will work best for you, then we will need to file IRS Form 2553 to elect S-Corporation Status. This is an easy process and can be done in one day.

Do Shelf Corps come with Tax Returns?

No, Shelf Corps do not come with Tax Returns and do not have the EIN # (Tax ID #) issued until the Shelf Corp is purchased by the Client. There are several reasons for this:

1. EIN #’s are NOT sequential numbers. This means there is no way to tell when an EIN # was issued by looking at the number.
2. EIN # must be attached to a “Responsible Party”, who is an Officer or Owner of the Business. We as incorporators, cannot be attached to hundreds or thousands of Entities at the same time.
3. Having an EIN # issued to a Corporate Entity means the Entity must file Tax Returns each year and depending on the State, pay some amount of tax even if the Income is $0. This would add significant costs to each Shelf Corp, which would be passed on to you in the form of higher prices. However, as explained in # 2 above, this is not even possible.
4. Shelf Corps with EIN #’s and with the filed yearly $0 Tax Returns present a problem in obtaining stated income financing, since the Returns have all already been filed showing $0 Income, you would then not be able to apply for Funding with any other amount of Income on the Application. This means your Funding Applications would all be denied, or if approved, approved for very minimal amounts. Even worse, if you were to state a different income on the Funding Applications, you may find yourself committing bank fraud.

Which States have No Income Tax?

NO Personal Income Tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. For a complete list of Personal Income Tax Rates, click here.

NO Corporate Income Tax: Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. For a complete list of Corporate Income Tax Rates, click here.

No Personal Income Tax AND No Corporate Income Tax: Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.

Want to avoid State Corporate Income Taxes? Just select S-Corporation Status and you will be taxed at the Personal Level instead of the Corporate Level, thus completely avoiding State Corporate Income Taxes and benefiting from lower Personal Income Tax Rates, regardless of the State where the Aged Corporation comes from.

Can I Use a Trade Name with the Aged Corp? How Can That be Done and How Much Does it Cost?

Yes, you can use a Trade Name (Fictitious Name) with your Aged Corporation and it costs $250 + State Fees, depending on the State you want to operate the Corporation out of.

Do I Need to do a Foreign Registration of the Aged Corp in My Home State? What are the Pros and Cons?

No, it’s not Required, however, we strongly recommend that assuming you don’t live in the same State the Aged Corp is registered,  that you do a Foreign Entity Registration in your Home State because for Financing Purposes, it is not a good idea to use a Virtual Office Address as your Business Address. So, we recommend you do the Foreign Entity Registration in your Home State using your real Home or Business Address so that your Credit Applications are not denied simply because your Address is a Virtual Office Service. This also makes it easier to open Business Bank Accounts for your Aged Corp, since you would no longer be limited to Banks that allow Bank Accounts to be opened Online only – You will now be able to use ANY Bank in your Home State for both Banking and Financing.

Do I Need a Nominee Officer?

The only situation where you would need a Nominee Officer is if you are purchasing an Aged Corp primarily for reasons other than Corporate Credit and Financing. Our Nominee Officer Service is designed to keep your Name out of the Public Records, so that no one can find out about your involvement with the Aged Corp by doing Asset Searches. If you are purchasing the Aged Corp primarily because you want to obtain Corporate Credit and Financing, then using a Nominee Officer is not a good idea because the Nominee Officer will not be able to sign on Credit Applications for you, and Creditors will often require the person listed on the Secretary of State to sign on the Applications.

If I want to use my Existing Business, is it OK if the Business was previously Dissolved by the Secretary of State because I did not pay the Renewal Fees?

It depends. Some Creditors do not like that at all, but it varies. If you have had that Problem in the past, we recommend you use an Aged Corp, unless your Existing Business has been in existence for several years AND you have Profitable Tax Returns and Financials to show for it.

How does a Virtual Office work? Can I receive Mail and operate my Business from another State in the Country without having to travel back and forth?

A Virtual Office is a Mail Forwarding Service that usually includes Receptionist Services and acts as the Physical Address and Location of a Business. A Virtual Office makes it possible for a Business Owner to operate a Business from anywhere in the World without being physically present in the State where the Business is incorporated. We offer Virtual Office Service as an Optional Feature and it is really only necessary if you plan to operate the Aged Corporation straight out of the State of Incorporation, which is typically only needed for Asset Protection purposes.

What are the Most Common Shelf Corp Scams?

Shelf Corps & Unsecured Financing: How can I obtain Unsecured Financing using my Shelf Corporation?

Although Shelf Corporations can and will allow you to obtain more Unsecured Financing, and obtain it much faster, if you lie on your Loan Applications you could find yourself in murky waters.  So, can Shelf Corporations be used to obtain Unsecured Financing?  Yes they can, and we can help you get Funded through our reliable Funding Program, however, you must build and operate a Real and Legitimate Business that has a purpose other than simply obtaining financing.  After all, what are you planning on doing with the Loans Proceeds?  Hopefully you are planning on building a successful business and not using the money as retirement funds or gambling chips. Just be honest and you will obtain the financing you need safely and legally.

Shelf Corps & Business Credit: There are Companies out there offering Shelf Corporations with existing Cash Lines of Credit and/or Tax Returns and/or Financials. Are these offers real or are they scams?

A Shelf Corporation by definition is a Business Entity with no Assets and no Liabilities – It is a blank slate.  We are well aware of Companies out there selling Shelf Corporations at very high price points along with Fraudulent Tax Returns and Financials, and even worse, Bogus Credit Lines that either do not exist or that they are unable to obtain after you pay them for the Shelf Corp.  If you buy a Shelf Corporation with any existing Credit Lines, Tax Returns, or Financials, you are guaranteed to lose your money and if you actually use the Fake Tax Returns on Loan Applications, you may end up losing your liberty too, so please don’t fall for these scams.  If it looks too good to be true, it’s probably a scam.

What is the difference between purchasing a 2 Year-Old Aged Corp Vs. an older Aged Corp?

The only difference is that about 20% of the Creditors will require more than 2 Years in Business, and as such, these Creditors will only be available to the older Aged Corporations. However, the 2 Year-Old Aged Corps will qualify for 80% of the Creditors available.

Why don’t you offer Aged Corporations in Nevada?

The reasons we do not use Nevada are:

Nevada:
Expensive State to operate out of (High State Fees).
Currently on many Lender’s High-Risk or Restricted List due to a Reputation for Privacy and as a result, a higher concentration of Fraud.

Other Corporate Credit Building Programs don’t use Aged Corporations – Why do I need an Aged Corporation for your Program?

It is not necessarily required that you use an Aged Corporation, however, the Aged Corporation gives you INSTANT “Time in Business” to meet the Minimum Time in Business Requirements of the majority of Creditors, so you can make the most out of your Credit Building Program. If you don’t have at least 2 Years in Business, most Creditors will not even want to accept your Credit Application – That’s why the Aged Corporation, when setup correctly with all the Credit-Ready Features we offer, is such a powerful tool.

Do I have to pay Dunn & Bradstreet to get “Rated” or to obtain my DUNS # in the 1st place?

No, you don’t. That is one of the biggest confusions when it comes to building Corporate Credit. D&B is REQUIRED to assign you a DUNS # as Creditors start reporting your Payment Activity, and they are also required to “Rate” your Credit Profile once you have enough Tradelines and Financials. D&B will try to sell you various Products and Services at various points in the Credit Building Process, but you do not need to buy them, and we do not recommend that you buy them either.

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