LLC Cost Calculator – Updated Fees for All 50 States

Select your state to see the real total cost of forming an LLC this year. State filing fee, first-year and ongoing annual/biennial fees, and what you’d pay with or without a registered agent service.

📅 Fee data verified June 2026 🗺️ All 50 states included ⚖️ Attorney reviewed

Select your state to see the real total cost of forming an LLC — state filing fee, first-year cost, and ongoing annual/biennial fees.

Select your state

Registered agent

Formation fee data verified against official Secretary of State sources as of June 2026.

Estimated first-year cost

State filing fee $0

Registered agent (year 1) $0

Northwest formation service $0

Year 2 and beyond, every year

Annual/biennial state fee $0

Registered agent renewal $0

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How this LLC cost calculator works

Every state charges a one-time filing fee to create your LLC, plus most states also charge an ongoing annual or biennial fee to keep it in good standing. This calculator uses verified 2026 filing and renewal fee data for all 50 states, cross-checked against Persuasion Nation and official state Secretary of State sources, and shows you both numbers together, not just the headline filing fee most calculators stop at.

Add a registered agent to see the real difference: serving as your own agent is free but puts your home address on public record, while a service like Northwest is free for year one and then renews at a flat $125/year with a privacy address included.

Cheapest and most expensive states to form an LLC

💰 Cheapest to form (filing fee)

Montana	$35
Kentucky	$40
Arkansas	$45
Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico	$50

💸 Most expensive to form (filing fee)

Massachusetts	$500
Nevada	$425
Tennessee, Texas	$300
Alaska	$250

Filing fee alone doesn’t tell the whole story; California’s $70 filing fee looks cheap until you factor in the $800/year franchise tax that applies regardless of income. Always check the annual fee column in the full table below, not just the upfront cost.

Full state-by-state fee table

State	Filing fee	Annual/biennial fee
Alabama	$200	$50 /yr
Alaska	$250	$100 /2yr
Arizona	$50	$0
Arkansas	$45	$150 /yr
California	$70	$820 /yr
Colorado	$50	$25 /yr
Connecticut	$120	$80 /yr
Delaware	$110	$300 /yr
Florida	$125	$139 /yr
Georgia	$110	$60 /yr
Hawaii	$50	$15 /yr
Idaho	$100	$0 (report only)
Illinois	$150	$75 /yr
Indiana	$95	$31 /2yr
Iowa	$50	$30 /2yr
Kansas	$160	$50 /yr
Kentucky	$40	$15 /yr
Louisiana	$100	$35 /yr
Maine	$175	$85 /yr
Maryland	$100	$300 /yr
Massachusetts	$500	$500 /yr
Michigan	$50	$25 /yr
Minnesota	$155	$0 (report only)
Mississippi	$50	$0 (report only)
Missouri	$50	$0
Montana	$35	$20 /yr
Nebraska	$100	$13 /2yr
Nevada	$425	$350 /yr
New Hampshire	$100	$100 /yr
New Jersey	$125	$75 /yr
New Mexico	$50	$0
New York	$200	$9 /2yr
North Carolina	$125	$200 /yr
North Dakota	$135	$50 /yr
Ohio	$99	$0
Oklahoma	$100	$25 /yr
Oregon	$100	$100 /yr
Pennsylvania	$125	$7 /yr
Rhode Island	$150	$50 /yr
South Carolina	$110	$0
South Dakota	$150	$55 /yr
Tennessee	$300	$300 /yr
Texas	$300	$0 (report only)
Utah	$59	$18 /yr
Vermont	$155	$45 /yr
Virginia	$100	$50 /yr
Washington	$200	$60 /yr
West Virginia	$100	$25 /yr
Wisconsin	$130	$25 /yr
Wyoming	$100	$60 /yr

Hidden costs most LLC cost calculators don’t show you

New York’s publication requirement

Beyond the $200 filing fee, New York requires new LLCs to publish notice in two local newspapers for six consecutive weeks — $300 to $1,500+ depending on the county, plus a $50 Certificate of Publication fee. This alone can double your first-year cost.

California’s $800 franchise tax

Charged every year regardless of whether your LLC made a profit, on top of the $70 filing fee and $20 biennial statement fee. This is the single biggest recurring LLC cost in the country.

Nevada’s business license fee

Beyond the $425 filing fee, Nevada charges a $200 annual state business license fee plus $350 for the Annual List — pushing total annual costs to $350/year even though Nevada has no state income tax.

Paying for a free EIN

Getting an EIN from the IRS is completely free and takes about 15 minutes online. Some formation services charge $50–$100 to do this for you — money you don’t need to spend.

Forming in a “cheap” state you don’t live in

Wyoming and Montana look attractive for their low fees, but if you don’t live or do business there, you’ll need to register as a foreign LLC in your actual home state too — doubling your filing fees, annual fees, and potentially registered agent costs.

How we calculated these numbers

Official sources first

Every fee is cross-checked against the official Secretary of State website for that state before being added to this calculator.

Real registered agent pricing

Northwest’s $125/year renewal is their actual flat rate, verified at checkout — not a promotional rate that expires.

Quarterly re-verification

State fees change. We re-check all 50 states every quarter and update this tool immediately when a fee changes.

Frequently asked questions

Yes — this is the main thing that sets this calculator apart from most others online. Select your state and you’ll see both your first-year cost and your ongoing annual or biennial fee, including states with a franchise tax like California’s $800/year.

State fees change periodically, and some sites don’t update their numbers regularly. We re-verify all 50 states quarterly against official Secretary of State sources. If you spot a fee that looks outdated, let us know through our contact page and we’ll verify it immediately.

Yes — Northwest charges a flat $125/year regardless of which state your LLC is in. What varies by state is the state filing fee and annual report fee, not the registered agent cost.

Arizona, Missouri, and New Mexico charge no annual or biennial fee and no information report — your only ongoing cost in these states is a registered agent if you choose to use one. Idaho, Minnesota, and Mississippi require an annual information report but charge no fee for it.

Usually no. If you live and do business in one state but form your LLC in another (like Wyoming for its low fees), you’ll likely need to register as a foreign LLC in your home state anyway — meaning you pay filing fees, annual fees, and possibly registered agent costs in both states. For most small business owners, forming in your home state is cheaper overall.

Ready to form your LLC?

Northwest Registered Agent: $39 + your state’s filing fee. Registered agent and privacy address included for year one.

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Sources

Persuasion Nation (filing and annual fee data, updated August 2026) · Official Secretary of State websites for all 50 states · Northwest Registered Agent pricing verified at checkout, July 2026