LLC cost calculator by state

Calculate your LLC's real cost by state

State fees verified against each state's Secretary of State (or equivalent filing office). "Ongoing annual cost" and "first-year total" annualize biennial and triennial report fees (divide by 2 or 3) so states compare on the same footing, and include the flat mandatory annual franchise tax where a state charges one (California $800, Delaware $400, Rhode Island $400, Vermont $250, Arkansas $150, each due regardless of income). Four states set their franchise tax by revenue rather than a flat amount (Texas, DC, Kentucky, Tennessee); those are shown as a note rather than folded in, since a single number there would be a guess.

What does it actually cost to form an LLC?

Forming an LLC costs a one-time state filing fee, paid when you submit your Articles of Organization (or your state's equivalent formation document) to the Secretary of State. That fee alone ranges from $35 (Montana) to $500 (Massachusetts) depending on the state. A "$0 LLC" ad from a formation service never means the state fee is waived. It means the service is not charging its own markup on top of the state fee you still owe, or it is using the state fee as a loss-leader hook before upselling registered-agent service, an operating agreement template, or expedited filing.

Formation is only step one. Nearly every state also charges a recurring fee, called an annual report, biennial report, or statement of information, to keep the LLC in good standing. Miss it and the state can administratively dissolve the LLC, which ends its liability protection. Nine states go further and levy a franchise tax, a fee charged just for existing as a business entity in that state, regardless of profit.

What is the real cost of an LLC, beyond the formation-service ad price?

The real cost is the state filing fee plus every recurring obligation added up over the years you keep the LLC open, not the headline price a formation service advertises. A service that charges "$0 + state fees" for formation still bills you later for registered-agent renewal, and a service that charges $150 for formation is not automatically worse if it bundles a year of registered-agent service you would have paid for separately anyway. Compare the state's own numbers first (the table above), then compare what any service adds on top, if you use one at all.

The cost that trips people up most is the franchise tax. California's is the sharpest example: a $70 filing fee looks cheap next to Massachusetts' $500, but California also charges every LLC an $800 minimum franchise tax every year, with no exception for a business that made no money. Run that LLC for five years and the state has collected at least $4,070 ($70 to form plus $800 a year for five years, ignoring the biennial report fee), regardless of what a $0-formation ad implied.

Can you be your own registered agent to save money?

Yes, in nearly every state. A registered agent is the person or company at a physical in-state address who accepts lawsuits and official state mail for the LLC. Most states let an owner who lives in the state and keeps normal business hours act as their own agent, for free. The tradeoff is that your address becomes part of the public record and you have to actually be there to receive documents. Paying a service instead typically runs $100 to $300 a year. See do you need a registered agent, and can you be your own for the full rules, including the states (Delaware among them) where an out-of-state owner cannot act as their own agent and must hire one.

Which states are cheapest and most expensive to form and maintain an LLC?

Ranked by state filing fee plus the annualized recurring report fee plus any flat mandatory annual franchise tax (the five states that charge one, led by California's $800). Revenue-based franchise taxes in Texas, DC, Kentucky, and Tennessee are not in this figure, since they are not a single flat number:

"Combined" is the filing fee plus annualized report fee plus any flat mandatory franchise tax (California, Delaware, Rhode Island, Vermont, Arkansas). Revenue-based franchise taxes (Texas, DC, Kentucky, Tennessee) are not included and can still change a state's real cost. Each state name links to its Secretary of State filing site. Reviewed August 30, 2026.

Does my state charge a franchise tax on top of these fees?

Nine states charge a franchise tax, or an equivalent flat/minimum business tax, on top of the filing fee and report fee: Arkansas, California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont. Some of these (Vermont's Business Entity Income Tax, DC's Unincorporated Business Franchise Tax) go by a different legal name than "franchise tax," but function the same way: a state charge tied to existing or doing business there, separate from net income tax. It is not based on profit the way personal or corporate income tax is; several of these states charge it just for the entity existing, or scale it to gross revenue rather than net income. California's is the one to know by name: $800 a year, minimum, for every LLC, due even if the business made nothing. Texas only charges its franchise tax above a revenue threshold most small LLCs never cross, and Delaware charges a flat $400 a year regardless of size. Where the tax is a flat mandatory amount (California $800, Delaware $400, Rhode Island $400, Vermont $250, Arkansas $150), the calculator folds it into your totals automatically. Where it varies by revenue instead (Texas, DC, Kentucky, Tennessee), it is shown as a note rather than folded in, so nothing here is a guessed number. California also adds extra tiers above $250,000 in gross income on top of the $800 minimum.

Worked example: your real first-year and ongoing LLC cost

Take a new Texas LLC that stays below the state's franchise-tax, no-tax-due threshold of $2,650,000 in total revenue (the 2026 to 2027 figure), so it owes $0 in franchise tax. Texas charges a $300 filing fee and has no separate annual report fee. Skip the registered-agent service and file yourself: first-year total is $300, and the ongoing annual cost is $0 in state fees. Add a $125-a-year registered-agent service instead of doing it yourself, and the ongoing annual cost becomes $125, with a first-year total of $425.

Now compare a California LLC. The $70 filing fee and $10-a-year annualized report fee ($20 every two years) look cheap next to Texas, but California's $800 minimum franchise tax is due annually regardless of income. Because that $800 is flat and mandatory, the calculator folds it straight into the totals: California's ongoing annual cost is $810 ($800 franchise tax plus $10 annualized report fee) and its first-year total is $880 (the $70 filing fee on top), not the $80 you would get from the filing and report fees alone. That is the number that actually matters when you compare California against a state like Texas or Wyoming.

The flat truth

A formation service's advertised price is not the cost of an LLC. The state filing fee is unavoidable and fixed by law, the recurring report fee comes due whether or not the business makes money, and in nine states a franchise tax comes due too. You can eliminate the registered-agent cost entirely by acting as your own agent in the state where you live, and you can eliminate the formation-service fee entirely by filing the paperwork yourself directly with the state, since none of the actual steps require a paid intermediary. What you cannot eliminate is the state's own fee schedule. Know it before you pick a state to form in, especially if you are choosing between your home state and a state like Delaware or Wyoming purely for its reputation.

For the full formation walkthrough and the by-state comparison table, see how to form an LLC: cost and steps by state. Before you file anything, confirm an LLC is the right structure at all: see LLC vs S-corp vs sole proprietorship. And before you decide whether to hire a registered-agent service, read do you need a registered agent, and can you be your own.