Journal entry, 17 June 2026, Exordium, Pamirasu VI, School of Applied Knowledge.

A Corporation of My Own

CapsuleDesk. Founded, registered, and mine.

In my wallet, the tax sits right beneath the reward. 350,000 ISK in green, 38,500 ISK in red just below it. Eleven percent, no questions asked, deducted automatically.

Wallet transaction list: mission rewards in green, the corporation tax in red just below. — The statement always reads the same: reward in green, tax in red, right below it.

I understand why Exordium costs more. The region isn't rich in resources: leaner ore veins, smaller rewards. And still it carries a freshly built infrastructure that someone has to maintain. No cause for complaint. Just a reason not to stay longer than necessary.

The corporation tax is different. I don't understand that one. I used to be paid to belong to a corporation and do my work. Now I'm employed by the School of Applied Knowledge and pay for the same thing, without seeing anything in return. At least I can avoid this tax. And I intend to.

A corporation of my own is no small step. I had weighed it for a while; as a Caldari you don't leave your corporation lightly. But nothing binds me to the School of Applied Knowledge. The tax burden only gives the final push.

First I need the knowledge. I buy the skillbook Corporation Management . As usual I don't read it myself. It's injected, and moments later the skill is available. At a university station the book costs just 30,000 ISK, and I only need level 1 with 250 skill points. No trouble.

CapsuleDesk's corporation window: ISK tax rate 0.0 percent and status “Not War Eligible”. — CapsuleDesk's corporation window. Tax rate: 0.0 %.

The larger expense is the corporation registration fee of 1,599,800 ISK. But I scrape that together quickly too. In the NeoCom, under Social → Corporation, I open the founding form.

The hardest part isn't the form, it's the name. I settle on CapsuleDesk: a desk for capsuleers. Analysis and spreadsheets suit me, and New Eden produces more numbers than anyone keeps in their head. Mining, industry, market returns. I may build tools for that myself, and if they prove useful, open them to other capsuleers. As a service. Still, I certainly won't only sit at a desk.

Then there she stands: CapsuleDesk, ticker CDSK, headquarters Pamirasu VI, one member. Enough for now. The tax rate I set myself: 0.0 %. I answer to myself now, and from here on every mission reward stays with me in full.

— Ariane Quell

For new pilots — briefly explained

Corp tax, your own corporation, and the war myth

Where the 11 % comes from: NPC corporations, such as the School of Applied Knowledge, withhold a flat 11 % on payouts above 100,000 ISK: bounties, mission rewards, Project Discovery and AIR daily goals. Loot, salvage and market sales aren't affected. With regular missions, your own corporation pays off quickly: a one-time ~1.6 million ISK plus the skillbook, then 0 %, or whatever rate you set yourself.

A quick start via skillbook: Founding one only needs Corporation Management at level I. That's 250 skill points, learned in minutes. If you'd rather not wait, a referral link grants a one-time 1,000,000 free skill points, even on an existing account: eveonline.com/signup.

The war-declaration myth: You often hear that leaving the NPC corp makes you a target. As things currently stand, that's not the case: a war declaration requires the corporation to own a structure. A one-person corp without one is listed in the corp window as “Not War Eligible”, just like the NPC corp. You only become open to war once you own structures yourself, and an NPC corp can never own those. That path runs through your own corporation either way.

The social alternative: Instead of starting alone, you can join an existing corporation. For beginners it's especially worth finding one that genuinely helps: that shows you the basics, replaces lost ships, and offers a community. Such corps look for new pilots through recruitment ads, for instance in the EVE forums' Recruitment Center. The tax you pay there is well spent, as long as you get something in return.

Before joining, it's always worth a conversation about mutual expectations: what areas is the corp active in, and what involvement does it want from you in turn? Where the two line up, you don't start alone, but with backing.