State Information

While selecting a name for your Maine based corporation or LLC, it should be remembered that the name will be unique and will identify you as a separate entity transacting business in the state. The name of a corporation must end with “Incorporated,” “Corporation,” “Corp” or “Inc.”. When developing a name for a limited liability company it must end with “Limited Liability Company” or “LLC”.
Since the name will be identifying your corporation or LLC as a unique business entity within the state, the name will not be accepted if it is likely to mislead the public or if it too closely resembles the name of another corporation or LLC formed in Maine.
Remember not to use any type of punctuation such as dashes, periods, commas or underscores in name selection. It is advantageous to try to name your corporation or LLC so that it identifies with the goods or services you provide, but this is not required.

A corporation can have several members as director but is only required to have one if there is only one shareholder. If there is more than one shareholder, there must be a corresponding director for each shareholder up to a minimum of three. Since the board is responsible for managing the corporation or LLC, it is suggested that the board be comprised of individuals that are officers or shareholders who have some type of daily involvement with the corporation. Maine has no minimum age requirements for a director.

Corporations formed in Maine are expected to file the Maine Corporate Income/Information Tax return, Form 1120-ME or 1120S-ME annually, whether a “C” or “S” corporation. The amount of tax is dependent on a number of factors and there is no minimum tax.

LLC’s based in Maine is required to file as either a corporation or a partnership dependent on the election made on the SS-4. Maine maintains an individual income tax so employers are expected to withhold state income tax. Maine maintains a sales and use tax ranging from 5% to 10%.

The registered agent must have a physical street address within Maine state. PO boxes are not acceptable, within Maine.