Indiana civil and business lawyer Sam Hasler recently expressed his view that the place to incorporate your business is generally in your home state.

I agree with Sam. 

Delaware or Nevada may offer viable options for some companies but in general most Iowa small businesses are probably wise to incorporate here in Iowa.  First, Iowa has very low fees when it comes to incorporating your business.  It is a $50.00 fee to file Articles of Incorporation for a domestic corporation in the state of Iowa.  Further, it only a $30.00 fee every two years for a biennial report if you file online.  These fees are extremely low compared to other states.

Second, you won’t avoid Iowa taxes by incorporating your Iowa small business in Nevada or Delaware if you are doing business here in Iowa.  The tax and corporation laws of Iowa will require you to register your company and pay fees as a foreign corporation in Iowa and you will be required to pay Iowa state income taxes for any income earned.  (You also do not avoid federal income taxes by incorporating in Nevada despite the lack of an information sharing agreement with the IRS).

And the perceived court advantages in Delaware?  That might be fine for a large business that is actually going to litigate a case in Delaware but it is probably not cost effective for most Iowa small businesses to litigate their cases in Delaware.  Besides unless you have well-written forum selection clause in contracts your Iowa small business will likely end up in Iowa courts anyway.