First, IANAL and/or CPA. However, incorporating in DE is fairly straightforward, and compared to other states is inexpensive. You can incorporate for as little as $89 filing fee. Of course, if you are not located in DE you will need a registered agent, so that is an extra $50 a year.

As for board of directors, annual meetings, etc... no matter where you incorporate you will technically need these, even in DE. But it is nothing complex. As a single founder and sole shareholder, you simply elect yourself to the board and write up/record minutes. Max amount of time 30 minutes. You will have to also pay an annual fee for your corporation which is based on assets and total shares. Another simple filing. These requirements are fairly standard across the board in any state. Delaware is probably one of the least expensive out of all from what I understand.

You can also do an LLC which reduces the paperwork and also provides similar protections, while helping with taxes. Annual filing fees can be a little higher, but you can avoid double taxation.

It is best to discuss with an attorney/accountant on the proper structure based on your tax requirements though as each is taxed differently.

Finally, advising that penalties are minor so don't worry about it, is probably the worse advice you can give someone. As someone who missed a quarterly tax payment on a corporation several years ago, I can tell you the headache of getting the penalty reduced far outweighed the cost. While the penalty was not much, it was still costly and ended up costing more in legal/accounting fees to correct the matter.