Lori,

This can be a little tricky, depending on the type of business you are conducting.

For example, if your contract work was for, say, painting houses, you may need to be registered in each state you would be physically conducting your business, either as separate entities or by filing a foreign entity, respectively. This would also apply if you had offices or employees in various states.

In regards to the best states to incorporate in, Nevada can be rather expensive, so in many cases it only makes sense to register there if you have a physical presence, such as a property located there, employees, etc. Typically, Wyoming or Delaware are the top preferred states to register in when the option is available (depending on your business plans). We have a research article titled ‘Choosing Where to Incorporate‘, which I believe you will find very helpful.