TEXAS BUSINESS LAW
Texas Business Law Articles
Entity formation, contracts, business acquisitions, and the foundations of running a business in Texas.
56 articles
Best State to Form a Real Estate LLC: Delaware vs Nevada
The best state to form an LLC for real estate is almost always the state where the property sits — not Delaware, not Nevada. An LLC that owns property in …
Can a Texas Company Have Unpaid Interns? FLSA Rules
Yes — a Texas company can have unpaid interns, but only if the intern, not the company, is the “primary beneficiary” of the arrangement under the …
Certificate of Incorporation: What It Is in Texas
A certificate of incorporation is the legal document that brings a corporation into existence — the state’s confirmation that your company is now a …
Choosing a Company Name: Legal & Trademark Rules
Choosing a company name is a legal decision, not just a branding one: a name has to clear three separate hurdles — state entity-name availability, trademark …
Founder Stock: Pay Cash or Contribute IP?
Most founders do both, and in a specific order: they buy their founder shares for a small amount of cash at formation, when the stock is nearly worthless, and …
How Many Shares Should You Authorize?
Ten million shares of common stock is the standard answer for a new startup corporation — and in Texas it works cleanly, because authorized shares cost you …
How to Calculate Delaware Franchise Tax (2026 Rates)
Delaware lets corporations calculate their annual franchise tax two ways — the Authorized Shares Method and the Assumed Par Value Capital Method — and you pay …
How to Calculate Texas Franchise Tax: A Plain Guide
To calculate Texas franchise tax, first check whether your annualized total revenue is below the no-tax-due threshold — if it is, you owe no tax (though you …
Is Crowdfunding Legal? Rules for Texas Businesses
Yes, crowdfunding is legal — but how heavily it’s regulated depends entirely on what backers get in return. If you give them a product, a perk, or nothing …
Par Value of Stock: What It Means for Texas Corporations
Par value is the nominal, or face, value assigned to a share of stock in a corporation’s formation documents. It is not what the share is worth, not what …
Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS): 2026 Guide
Qualified small business stock (QSBS) is stock in a small U.S. C corporation that, if you hold it long enough, can let you exclude much or all of your capital …
Should Founder Stock Vest Before a Financing?
In almost every case, yes: founders should put their own stock on a vesting schedule at formation, before they ever raise venture capital. Investors will …
What Are Securities Laws? A Plain-English Guide
Securities laws are the federal and state rules that govern how investments — stocks, bonds, fund interests, and many private deals — are issued, sold, and …
What Is an Accredited Investor? Rules & Thresholds
An accredited investor is a person or entity the SEC treats as financially sophisticated enough to buy securities that are not registered with the government — …
What Makes a Confidentiality Agreement (NDA) Enforceable
A confidentiality agreement — also called a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA — is only as good as five things: how clearly it defines what’s confidential, …
Director & Officer Liability: What's the Risk?
Directors and officers generally are not personally liable for the corporation’s debts — that’s the point of incorporating. What they can be liable …
Texas Shareholder Inspection Rights Explained
A shareholder in a Texas corporation has a statutory right to examine the company’s books and records — but it is a qualified right, not an open door. …
What Are Corporate Bylaws? A Texas Guide
Corporate bylaws are a corporation’s internal rulebook — the document that governs how the company runs itself: how directors and officers are chosen, how …
What Do I Need to Start a Business in Texas?
Starting a business in Texas comes down to a clear sequence: pick the right entity, file the formation paperwork, get the federal and state registrations you …
What Does Fully Diluted Capitalization Mean?
Fully diluted capitalization is the total number of a company’s shares counting everything that could become a share — not just the stock issued today, …
