LLC fees by state: what it costs to form and keep an LLC in 2026

LLC fees by state: the full table

These are the fees a state charges a domestic LLC for standard online filing, without expedite fees, name reservations or card processing charges. Where a state also charges a franchise, privilege or minimum tax that a small LLC pays every year, it is listed in the annual column. Fees were checked against each state’s business filing office, revenue department or statute in November 2026.

How to read the table

The formation fee is paid once, when you file articles or a certificate of organization. The annual column is what you pay again and again, and over a few years it matters far more. A $50 formation fee followed by $400 a year is not a cheap state.

"Every 2 years" means a biennial report: the fee is paid half as often. "None" means the state has no recurring report for an ordinary LLC. A $0 report still has to be filed; skip it and the state can dissolve your LLC.

Some states bill through two offices. California’s $800 goes to the Franchise Tax Board, not the Secretary of State. Kentucky, Rhode Island, Tennessee and New York collect their LLC taxes through the revenue department, on a tax return rather than a report.

Kansas cut its LLC fees in 2026 and moved most entities to a report every two years. We could not confirm the new report fee on an official page, so check with the Kansas Secretary of State. Nebraska’s online report fee is also unconfirmed; its paper form shows $30.

Cheapest and most expensive states for an LLC

Year one is the formation fee, plus California’s $800 tax and $20 Statement of Information, which fall due in the first year. Five years adds four years of recurring report fees and LLC taxes. Kansas and Nebraska are left out of the five-year ranking because their report fees are unconfirmed, and newspaper publication costs are not included.

• Kentucky looks cheap in year one at $40, but its $175 minimum entity tax brings five years to $800.
• Texas costs $300 up front, then nothing a year for most small LLCs, so it ends at $300 over five years.
• Delaware’s $110 filing fee hides a $400 tax every June, which makes five years $1,710.
• Arizona’s $50 total assumes your statutory agent is in Maricopa or Pima county. Elsewhere you must pay to publish a notice in a newspaper.

Worked example: five years in Texas, Florida and California

Three freelancers each form a single-member LLC in the state where they live and work, and keep it for five years. The table shows state fees only.

• The Texas LLC pays most up front and nothing after, as long as revenue stays under the $2.65 million franchise tax threshold. It still files a franchise tax report and information report each May.
• Florida’s report is cheap, but file late and the state adds a $400 late fee.
• In California the $800 tax is $4,000 of the $4,130, or 97% of the five-year cost. If you form in 2027, 2028 or 2029, the first year’s tax drops to $400, so year one would be $490.
• Spread the five-year cost over 60 months: $5 a month in Texas, about $11 in Florida and about $69 in California. Add it to your fixed costs when you work out your break-even point.

The foreign registration trap

You can form an LLC in any state, so it is tempting to pick Wyoming or New Mexico and skip your home state’s fees. That rarely works. If your LLC does business where you live, such as working from home there or having clients and staff there, your home state treats it as a "foreign" LLC that must register with it. You then pay your home state’s registration fee, its annual reports and its LLC taxes, on top of everything the formation state charges.

California makes the point clearly. Its Franchise Tax Board charges the $800 annual tax to every LLC organized in California or doing business there, wherever it was formed. A California freelancer who forms in Wyoming pays $340 to Wyoming over five years and at least $4,060 to California, so at least $4,400, before California’s foreign registration fee and a Wyoming registered agent. Forming in California would have cost $4,130.

Skipping the registration is worse. States can charge back fees and penalties, and an unregistered LLC may be barred from suing in that state’s courts until it registers. For a one-person business, form in the state where you live unless a lawyer gives you a specific reason not to.

Hidden costs the fee table does not show

The state fee is only part of the bill.

• Publication in New York: within 120 days of forming, you must publish a notice in two newspapers chosen by the county clerk for six weeks in a row, then file a certificate of publication with a $50 fee. Newspaper charges vary by county and are not set by the state. Miss it and the LLC’s authority to do business is suspended.
• Publication in Arizona: a notice must appear three times within 60 days of approval, unless your statutory agent is in Maricopa or Pima county, where the Corporation Commission posts it online instead.
• Publication in Nebraska: a notice must run in a legal newspaper for three weeks in a row, with proof filed with the Secretary of State.
• Registered agent: every LLC needs an agent with a physical address in the state. You can act as your own if you live there; if you form elsewhere, you will usually pay someone every year.
• Late fees: Florida adds $400, Delaware a $200 penalty plus interest, and many states dissolve an LLC that stops filing.
• Local licenses: cities and counties often require their own business license, separate from the state fees above.

How to budget for LLC fees

Treat state LLC fees as a fixed cost, like software subscriptions. Put the formation fee in your startup budget, then set aside the yearly amount from the table, divided by 12, each month. For biennial states, halve the fee.

Put the due dates in your calendar now. Many are tied to your formation date, not a fixed day, and some states send no paper reminder.

Remember the fees do not change your federal tax. A single-member LLC still pays income tax and self-employment tax on its profit exactly as a sole proprietor does, and state LLC fees are generally deductible as business expenses. Budget for those taxes separately with quarterly estimated payments.

Frequently asked questions