Can You Domesticate an Alaska Corporation in Florida?

How to Relocate, Transfer, Convert, or Domesticate an Alaska Corporation to Florida

Updated: June 24, 2024
Reading Time: 10 Minutes

Objectives:

• Domicile an Alaska corporation to Florida;
• Keep the same EIN and corporate identity; and
• Enjoy tax benefits provided to Florida residents.

Entities:

• Alaska corporations

Table of Contents

• What is a Domestication, Conversion, or Transfer?
• Can Alaska C or S Corporations Move to Another State?
• Do I Need to Get a New EIN After Domesticating My C or S Corporation to Florida?
• How Can FL Patel Law PLLC Help Domesticate an Alaska Corporation to Florida?
• How Long Will It Take for FL Patel Law PLLC to Domesticate an Alaska C or S Corporation?
• How Much Does it Cost to Domesticate an Alaska Corporation to Florida?
• What Are Some of the Dangers of Domesticating a C or S Corporation Without an Attorney’s Assistance?
• Make Your Domestication More Convenient and Secure with FL Patel Law PLLC
• What Are the Benefits of Domesticating an Alaska C or S Corporation to Florida?
• What Tax Implications Can I Expect if I Domesticate an Alaska Corporation to Florida?
• Should I Hire FL Patel Law PLLC to Domesticate My Alaska C or S Corporation?

Warm weather and a change of scenery aren’t the only things that Florida has to offer entrepreneurs from Alaska who are looking to relocate their operations. There are many pro-business policies on the books, too, that could possibly entice you to move your business to the Sunshine State. This can be accomplished by using a type of corporate transaction commonly known as “domestication.”

The complications that can come up when trying to domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida can be disastrous without legal guidance. FL Patel Law PLLC’s experience in this field can be an invaluable asset when it comes to preventing delays and even more serious problems. Our firm has successfully reorganized over 140 businesses into Florida entities, which is why you can trust us to have the knowledge and expertise needed to manage your relocation.

This Insight article will explain the basics of the refined process that our law firm uses to domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida and how that process can even save our clients time and money. It also has some dire warnings for you about what can go wrong if you attempt this project without your own experience or the help of legal counsel.

Don’t discount the serious consequences that can result from a mismanaged domestication. On top of fines and other possible legal issues, you might accidentally dissolve your original entity depending on what goes wrong. Our corporate law firm will help you safely navigate each stage of the process, and can apply our knowledge to everything from helping keep your company in compliance to protecting its corporate identity, and much more.

Eligible corporations can use domestication to change their state of formation, which allows them to relocate to a different state as if it had been formed there to begin with.

This transition is also commonly known as a “conversion” or “transfer” when the company is moved to a new state. These terms can often be used interchangeably.

Unlike some other methods for relocating a business, your business’s continuity won’t be interrupted when you domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida. It can keep the same corporate identity, too. Only its domicile changes, which means that it can keep its pre-existing contracts, relationships, and licenses, rights, assets, privileges, and liabilities.

After completing its domestication, your business will need to follow the rules of the Florida Business Corporation Act (FBCA). Most entities will no longer need to continue following the Alaska Corporations Code (ACC) unless they have a foreign qualification or nexus (taxable connection) in Alaska after moving to Florida. Talk to our attorney about this during your initial consultation together.

Business owners can domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida under Section 10.55.501 of the Alaska Statutes. Alaska LLCs can use a similar method called “statutory conversion” to relocate to Florida as well.

The only way that your entity will be dissolved when you domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida is if mistakes are made with the process’s execution. You don’t need to go through dissolution to relocate your business, either, despite the incorrect instructions found on some non-attorney websites. Even if your company can’t do business in Alaska after moving, that doesn’t mean that the original business no longer exists – it has simply been changed into a Florida company.

While many companies are able to domesticate without acquiring a new EIN, this is ultimately determined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on a situational basis. Generally, for this to be the case, they must consider the business to be the same entity both before and after its relocation. This means that nothing about its corporate identity can be changed besides its new state of formation. Its continuity can’t be broken or interrupted in any way during the move, either.

Further down below you can find a general overview of the process that our legal team uses when relocating a company to Florida from another state. Keep in mind that these are not instructions for how to domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida. This is because every conversion and domestication project comes with its own unique challenges and requirements. For help navigating these challenges, schedule your initial consultation with us now.

Attorney Patel meets with each domestication client for an initial consultation. Then, he leads our legal team through a review of the business that confirms its eligibility for this process. This review is also when we gather the information we need to create a personalized plan for safely moving the business to Florida from Alaska while preventing interruptions and legal issues.

The holistic legal services that you can benefit from by hiring our firm to domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida include:

• Drafting all documents required to domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida, including the Plan of Domestication;
• Ensuring compliance with the laws, regulations, and other legal requirements present in both Alaska and Florida;
• Handling all filings and correspondence with Alaska and Florida state agencies;
• Updating the C or S corporation’s bylaws and other corporate documents to reflect its domestication to Florida; and
• A final consultation at the end of the project where our corporate lawyer will answer any questions you have left about your company’s relocation.

Another advantage of choosing our firm to domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida is that we can complete your company’s relocation as quickly as possible. This efficiency comes from our experience with these transitions. Most companies can be moved to Florida in about two or three months, but more time might be needed depending on the size of the business and its assets.

A lot of this timeframe comes from waiting on state agencies to process the necessary paperwork. The offices in both Florida and Alaska will each need at least several weeks each to accomplish this. As a result, mistakes that require you to file a second (or worse, third) time can lead to major setbacks and delays when trying to domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida.

Filing fees are one of the first expenses that you’ll need to factor for when you domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida, as each state gets to set its own fee. Alaska charges $175.00 and Florida charges $128.75, so it’s going to cost at least $303.75 just to have your initial filings reviewed. That total can be increased if there are any mistakes made with your documents that require subsequent filings or lead to other legal issues.

Our corporate law firm gives all of our domestication clients flat fee quotes based on the specific demands of their entity’s relocation. Schedule your initial consultation with us now to get your quote to domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida.

Safely navigating interstate law can be a significant challenge for any business owner. Hiring a law firm is the best way to make sure that you’re equipped with the knowledge, expertise, and vigilant attention to detail necessary to domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida without encountering expensive and painful legal problems.

Working with legal counsel to domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida can help prevent problems that include, but aren’t limited to:

• Noncompliance with state laws
• Revocation of the Alaska C or S corporation’s operating authority
• Damaged credit standing
• Damaged relationships with clients and vendors
• Disrupted contracts
• Loss of continuity
• Piercing the corporate veil
• Loss of liability protections
• Tax implications and increased tax liabilities
• Legal disputes
• Dissolution or liquidation
• Missed opportunities
• Expensive fines
• Painful delays
• Taxes on Appreciated Assets – The gained value of your company’s appreciated assets could pass on to its shareholders if you make a mistake when domesticating it to Florida. In other words, if something that was valued at $500,000 when the business was incorporated is now valued at $5,000,000, then you and your fellow business owners could be responsible for that increase.
• Title of Asset Problems – Without us around to make sure that everything is done correctly, then your company’s asset titles might not automatically transfer over to your Florida entity. If that happens, it can be difficult or even impossible to prove that your C or S corporation owns those assets. In addition to other problems, this can be a major roadblock if you ever try to sell your business.

As you move forward, be aware that this isn’t a comprehensive list of the dangers that you and your company could be exposed to if you domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida without an attorney’s oversight.

FL Patel Law PLLC has helped bring over 140 companies to Florida with their corporate identities intact. A track record of this caliber means that we know how to domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida securely, efficiently, and with everyone’s interests protected at every stage of the project.

Attempting to move a business across state lines without a lawyer’s guidance means that there’s no guarantee that your relocation will even be successful in the first place. Working with us to domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida isn’t just a huge convenience – it’s also a part of avoiding interruptions and other unwanted surprises during the course of this project.

1. If domestication removes your business’s nexus (taxable connection) in its original state of incorporation, then you’ll never have to file with the State of Alaska again after you domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida with our firm’s help.

2. Moving your corporation from Alaska to Florida allows you to collaborate with Florida professional accountants, attorneys, and other service providers.

3. Unlike some other methods for relocating businesses from one state to another, domestication facilitates a smooth transition from Alaska to Florida without interruptions or delays.

4. Your Alaska corporation’s Articles of Incorporation will be seamlessly replaced by the Florida Articles of Incorporation that our firm will draft and file on your behalf. Your company will also retain all corporate powers, rights, benefits, exemptions, privileges, and principles.

5. The shareholder’s stock in the company, and the value of that stock will not be changed when our legal team domesticates an Alaska corporation to Florida on your behalf. During this process, real estate and other property rights will automatically transfer to the Florida entity. This is also true for any liabilities or lawsuits faced by the corporation. The Florida corporation’s name may be substituted in place of the Alaska entity’s name for any pending legal procedures or actions.

6. Shareholders don’t need to be Florida residents to domesticate an Alaska corporation to our state.

7. Your Florida entity won’t be required to keep a taxable connection (nexus) in Alaska after its domestication. Removing this connection can potentially reduce your tax burden at the state level. Talk to your tax professional about this, as tax implications will vary from business to business.

8. You can continue to use your entity’s original EIN after you domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida. Because only its domicile has changed, it’s still considered to be the same entity that existed previously, and will continue reporting taxes as before.

9. Your domesticated Florida corporation can also keep using the same bank accounts, taxpayer ID, operations, and contracts that it did as an Alaska entity. However, this might not be the case without careful planning, research, and legal counsel.

Preparing for the tax consequences of moving a business from one state to another is no small task due to the different laws in each jurisdiction. Our legal team can only give general information regarding these matters, so it’s critical that you also work with a reliable tax professional when you domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida. Some common items that you might want to bring up when consulting with them could include:

• State Income Tax: Florida, just like Alaska, doesn’t have a state income tax. Of course, you’ll still need to satisfy your responsibilities at the federal level.

• Franchise Tax: Florida businesses aren’t required to pay any sort of state franchise tax, either. This is another tax that you don’t need to worry about burdening you or your company after you domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida.

• Nexus: A business must follow the tax laws in any state where it has a nexus (taxable connection), no matter what its official state of incorporation or domicile might be. This connection is established by having a physical presence, employees, or otherwise engaging in substantial activities in a specific state.

A final comprehensive consultation is held at the end of the project so that Attorney Patel can answer any of the client’s remaining questions and review the project together. At this time, the client is also given a post-domestication checklist with instructions to help guide them through some of their new responsibilities as Florida business owners.

The advantages of working with our legal team don’t have to end after we finish helping you domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida. Our corporate law firm provides a full suite of services that could be vital to your business’s future success. Attorney Patel’s experience as both an entrepreneur and a lawyer also give him a unique perspective that can be especially useful during consultations.

Invest in your company’s future by hiring an attorney to help domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida. Teaming up with our corporate law firm means that you can move forward with confidence, security, and more time to focus on what matters most: actually running your business. Schedule now to get started.

Moving cross-country is going to take up enough of your time. Spare yourself the stress by trusting our firm to domesticate an Alaska corporation to Florida. Don’t risk breaking your business’s stride — get assistance from an experienced corporate domestication attorney by calling (727) 279-5037 or by scheduling your consultation through our online calendar.

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