What a state charges to form and keep an LLC: filing fee, annual report and minimum tax
Estimates only, not financial advice. What you type stays on your device. Checked against sources on 7 Oct 2026.Forming an LLC costs $35 to $500 in state filing fees, depending on the state, and keeping it costs nothing to about $810 a year in annual reports and minimum taxes. California charges $890 in the first year with its $800 annual tax; Montana charges $35. Choose a state to see each fee and its source.
2026 · Rates and rules read from the sources listed on this page (the earliest on 7 Oct 2026); they may have changed since.
Choose your state from the State list; each option shows its filing fee.
Read "First year", "Each year after" and the total for the years you plan, all from the state’s own fee pages.
Enter "Registered agent, a year" if you pay one, and "Newspaper publication" where the state requires it.
Open "All states" to compare, or press a fee’s source link to read it on the state’s page.
A state charges an LLC twice: once to form it, and then to keep it in good standing. Forming costs from $35 in Montana to $500 in Massachusetts. Keeping it ranges from nothing in Arizona, Missouri, Ohio and South Carolina to $810 a year in California, where the $800 annual LLC tax is due from the first year.
What is counted. The filing fee for the articles or certificate of organization; each annual or biennial report, statement or renewal; and fixed taxes every LLC pays whatever it earns, such as Delaware's $400 annual tax, Nevada's $200 state business license, Tennessee's $100 minimum franchise tax and Rhode Island's $400 minimum fee. Where newspaper publication is required (New York, Nebraska, Arizona), the state's own filing fee is counted and you enter the newspaper's quote. A registered agent's fee is yours to enter; acting as your own agent costs nothing.
First year and after. The first year is the filing fee, plus every tax owed for the formation year and every report always due within 12 months. A report due on a set date in the following year is counted from year two. Each year after is the yearly average, with two-yearly fees halved.
Where the figures come from. Every fee was read on the Secretary of State's, revenue department's or legislature's own page on 7 October 2026, by two separate passes that were then compared; the source link sits next to each figure. A figure that could not be confirmed is marked check source and left out or flagged, never guessed.
What this does not include: income-based taxes (California's LLC fee from $250,000 of California income, Texas franchise tax above $2,650,000 of revenue, Tennessee excise tax), city and county business licences, federal taxes, an EIN (free from the IRS), name reservations, expedited service and card processing charges. Fees change, often on 1 July: check the state's page before filing.
State filing fees for a new LLC run from $35 in Montana to $500 in Massachusetts; most states charge $50 to $150. Some add costs in the first year: California's $800 annual tax, Nevada's $150 initial list and $200 business licence, and New York's publication in two newspapers plus a $50 certificate. A registered agent, if you pay one, comes on top.
Montana has the lowest filing fee at $35, and its on-time annual report fee is currently waived. Arizona, Missouri, Ohio and South Carolina charge no annual fee at all after filing. Forming in another state does not avoid your home state's fees: an LLC doing business at home must usually register there as a foreign LLC as well.
Yes. The first-year exemption covered only tax years 2021 to 2023, so a California LLC now owes the $800 annual tax from its first year, due by the 15th day of the fourth month after filing with the Secretary of State. An LLC with $250,000 or more of California income also pays an LLC fee of $900 to $11,790.
New York requires every new LLC to publish a notice in two newspapers, chosen by the county clerk, once a week for six weeks within 120 days of forming, then file a $50 Certificate of Publication. Newspaper prices vary widely by county. Skipping it suspends the LLC's authority to do business until the publication is done.
Every Texas LLC files a franchise tax report by 15 May, but one with total revenue at or below $2,650,000 for report years 2026 and 2027 owes no tax; it files a Public Information Report or Ownership Information Report instead. Texas has no separate annual report fee, so a small Texas LLC pays only the $300 formation fee to the state.
Income-based taxes, such as California's LLC fee and franchise tax above the Texas threshold, are named but not added because they depend on revenue. City and county licences, federal taxes, name reservations, expedited service, card processing charges and any lawyer or filing service are left out. The free EIN from the IRS costs nothing.
Rates and rules change; check the source before you rely on a figure.
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