First, there is no federal incorporation in the USA, incorporation is handled at the state level.
Second, you can go to service providers such as legalzoom.com and incorporate for as little as $100 to $300 (plus state filing fees). Lawyers will cost more but should be under $1000.
All that said, IMO, the one-time cost of incorporating should not be a major factor in which state you decide to incorporate in. Moreover, remember that incorporating in another state does not mean anything wrt taxes or franchise fees. And you may even have to pay a foreign corporation fee (foreign state, not foreign country).
1. Depends on what the OPs goals are. Most scalable startups register C corps in Delaware. Of course if he's not planning to raise, scale a large size startup, etc.. this may not apply.
2. If the above is true, I would highly recommend against using services such as LegalZoom. Nothing against them, but to get stocks issued, all the paperwork done correctly, bylaws written, etc etc etc... Is not something I would rely on LegalZoom to get done. You need a proper attorney for that. Again, depends on what exactly he's trying to do.
Comments
First, there is no federal incorporation in the USA, incorporation is handled at the state level.
Second, you can go to service providers such as legalzoom.com and incorporate for as little as $100 to $300 (plus state filing fees). Lawyers will cost more but should be under $1000.
State filling fees range from $50 to $400, with most in the $100 to $200 range. Here's a list: http://www.incorporatefast.com/filingfee.asp
All that said, IMO, the one-time cost of incorporating should not be a major factor in which state you decide to incorporate in. Moreover, remember that incorporating in another state does not mean anything wrt taxes or franchise fees. And you may even have to pay a foreign corporation fee (foreign state, not foreign country).
1. Depends on what the OPs goals are. Most scalable startups register C corps in Delaware. Of course if he's not planning to raise, scale a large size startup, etc.. this may not apply.
2. If the above is true, I would highly recommend against using services such as LegalZoom. Nothing against them, but to get stocks issued, all the paperwork done correctly, bylaws written, etc etc etc... Is not something I would rely on LegalZoom to get done. You need a proper attorney for that. Again, depends on what exactly he's trying to do.