Expert: Richard Stolp - 7/14/2011

Question
Dear sir,
i have a question about my corporation.
I formed the corporation back in December 2008. I did file taxes for 2008 and i filed 0 for the year 2009 because there was no activity. For the year 2010, there was no activity again and i let it go without filing anything. Now, i want to start using it. What do i have to do? Do i have to pay a penalty for not filing anything for 2010? I know the corporation is still active, but i just dont know if i go ahead and use it again whithout notifying the IRS or pay a penalty. I will appreciate if you let me know what i should do.
thank you
John
New York

Answer
If there was no activity - no profits, 1099's generated, etc. - then technically you don't owe a return. I would suggest that the corporation always file a return - even if it shows no activity - just as a placeholder. Assuming this is not a six/seven figure business, you should be fine and there won't be any penalties.