And by the way just to make this point: If you're a Nevada business? Of course you should incorporate in Nevada. Nevada incorporation, for Nevada firms, is the right state.

Note: Scam #1 and #2 are actually pretty serious problems to get caught up in. Both scams, once you know the law, probably amount to criminal tax evasion.

Scam #3: Paying for Registered Agent Services in your Home State

Scam #3 amounts to only a minor if costly annoyance: paying someone to be your registered agent in your home state.

Here's the deal with registered agents. The state where your corporation operates wants to know the name and contact information for a real person. In other words, the state wants a real human being the state can contact if it has questions and to whom the state can send correspondence. The contact is called a registered agent.

Incorporation services sometimes pitch you the idea they should be your registered agent--often charging $100 to $200 a year for the service. But you don't need this service if you, yourself, live in the state where you're incorporated. You can be your corporation's registered agent.

As the registered agent, you'll be the person to whom the state sends its letters. And your name and address will probably be available online at a state web site as the contact information for the corporation. But if you're in business, you shouldn't have a problem with people (customers, clients, potential customers and clients, and so forth) knowing who you are and where to find you. And you shouldn't pay potentially thousands of dollars in registered agent fees over the life of your business.

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