Formation Costs and Minimum Franchise Taxes – State by State
For most steps in your incorporation procedure, there will be filing fees associated with the required formalities. This is often a concern for startups with minimal funding who are looking for the cheapest way to get up and running. Here are the basic costs of filing your incorporation documents, and minimum franchise tax costs on a state-by-state basis:
This chart should only be used as a guide in finding the best state and should not be relied on as law or binding in any way.
| STATE | Fee to Form Corporation | Corporate Income Tax | Fee to Form LLC | Fee to Register as a Foreign Entity (Corp/LLC) | Annual Report Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $155 | 6.5% of Taxable Income,$100 min. | $155 | $150* | $1500 for all 1099’s. |
| Alaska | $250 | 1-9.4% in increments of $10k of taxable income | $250 | Corp: $350LLC: | Biennial Report: $100($200 for foreign corps) |
| Arizona** | $60 | 6.5%(5.5% for 2015) | $50** | LLC: $150Corp: $175 | $45 |
| Arkansas | $40 | 1% on first $3,000 of net income; 2% next $3,000; 3% next $5,000; 5% next $14,000; $940 + 6% of net income $25,000 – $100,000;$5,440 + 6.5% of net income in excess of $100,000. | $50 | $275* | $150 Minimum annual franchise report |
| California | $100 | Minimum $800 Annually * | $70 | $70* | $20 Annual Filing |
| Colorado | $50 | 4.63% | $50 | $100 | $10 Periodic Report due Annually |
| Connecticut | $250 | $250 min.*Greater of net income tax or capital stock tax | $120 | Corp: $385LLC: $120 | $150 Domestic Corps$435 Foreign |
| Delaware | $90 | 8.7% | $90 | Corp: $245LLC: $200 | Domestic Corps: $50 + Annual Franchise feesForeign Corp: $125
|
| District of Columbia | $220-550 | 9.975%, min. $100 | $220 | $220 | $300 Biannually |
| Florida | $70 | 5.5% | $125 | Corp: $70LLC: $125 | $150 |
| Georgia | $100 | 6% | $100 | $225* | $50 |
| Hawaii | $50 | 4.4% on first $25k of taxable income; 5.4% on next $75k, and 6.4% over $100k + 4% on capital gains | $50 | $50* | $15 |
| Idaho | $100 | 7.6%, $20 min. | $100 | Corp: $120LLC: $100 | $0 – LLC |
| Illinois | $150 +$1.50 x $1000 paid-in capital represented (min. $25) | 7% | $500 | Corp: $150LLC: $500 | Corp: $75LLC: $250 |
| Indiana | $90 | 8.5% | $90 | $90* | $30 Biannually* |
| Iowa | $50 | 6% on 1st $25,000;8% on next $75,000; 10% on next$150,000; and 12% over $250,000. Alternative minimum tax imposed atrate of 7.2% based on Federal AMT income | $50 | $100* | Corp: $30LLC: $100 |
| Kansas | $85 | 7% on taxable income over $50,000 | $160 | Corp: $115LLC: $165 | $55 |
| Kentucky | $40 | 4% of the 1st $50,000, 5% of the next $50,000 and 6% of taxable net income above $100,000 | $40 | $90 | $15 |
| Louisiana | $60 | 4% of the 1st $25,000 of net income; 5% of next $25,000; 6%of next $50,000; 7% of next $100,000; and 8% of net income in excess of$200,000. | $100 | Corp: $100LLC: $150 | Corp: $25LLC: $30 |
| Maine | $145 | 3.5% on 1st $25,000 of net income; 7.93% on next $50,000;8.33% on next $175,000; and 8.93%over $250,000 | $175 | Corp: $75LLC: $250-290 | Domestic Entities: $85Foreign: $150 |
| Maryland | $120 | 7% | $100 | $300 | $100 |
| Massachusetts | $275 | (a) 8% on net income and (b) $2.60 per $1,000 value of corporation’s taxable tangible property or net worth. Min. $456 | $500 | Corp: $275 for up to 275k shares + $100 for each addt’l 100k sharesLLC: $500 | Corp: $125LLC: $500 |
| Michigan | $60 | 6% | $50 | Corp: $25LLC: $50 | Corp: $60 for 60k SharesLLC: $25 |
| Minnesota | $160 | 9.8 % (min. 5.8%) | $160 | Corp: $200LLC: $185 | $35 |
| Mississippi | $50 | 3% of the 1st $5,000 of taxable income; 4% of next$5,000, and 5% on taxable income in excess of $10,000 | $50 | Corp: $500LLC: $25 | Corp: $22LLC: $250 |
| Missouri | $58 | 6.25% with $250 threshold | $50 | Corp: $155LLC: $105 | $0 |
| Montana | $70 | 6.75%, $50 min. | $70 | $70 | $15 |
| Nebraska | $65 | 5.58% of the first $50,000 of taxable income and 7.81% inexcess of $50,000 | $100 | Corp: $130LLC: $115 | Corp: $25 BiannuallyLLC: Custom based, biannual |
| Nevada | $75 | No Corporate Income Tax | $75 | $75 | $125 |
| New Hampshire | $100 | 8.5%, $200 threshold | $100 | $150 | $100 |
| New Jersey | $125 | 7.5% | $125 | $125 | $50+LLC: Min $125 per member |
| New Mexico | $100 | 4.8% of net income not over $500,000; $24,000 plus 6.4% of net income over $500,000 but not over $1 million; and $56,000 plus 7.6% of net income over $1 million | $50 | Corp: $200LLC: $100 | $25 Biannually |
| New York** | $170 | 9%, Min. $325 | $235** | Corp: $225LLC: $250 | Corp: $9 BiannuallyLLC: $25-4,500 Depending on LLC’s income |
| North Carolina | $125 | 6.9%, $500 threshold | $125 | Corp: $135LLC: $250 | $202 |
| North Dakota | $100 | 1.68% for the first $25,000 of taxable income, 4.23% for taxable income between $25,000and $50,000 and 5.15% for taxable income over $50,000 | $135 | $135 | $50 |
| Ohio | $125 | See Website | $125 | $125 | — |
| Oklahoma | $50 | 6% | $100 | Corp: $1 x every $1000 of authorized capital. Min. $300LLC: $300 | LLC: $25 |
| Oregon | $100 | 6.6% | $100 | $275 | Dom. LLC: $100Foreign LLC: $275 |
| Pennsylvania | $125 | 9.99% | $125 | $250 | LLC Annual Registration Filing: $500 per member |
| Rhode Island | $230 | 9%, $250 min. | $150 | Corp: $310 (Under 3Mil Shares)LLC: $150 | $50 |
| South Carolina | $210 | 5%, $100 threshold | $110 | Corp: $135LLC: $110 | — |
| South Dakota | $150 | No Corporate Income Tax | $150 | $750 | $50 |
| Tennessee | $124.50 | 6.5% of net income. | $300 | Corp: $600LLC: $50 x member (min $300, max $3000) | Corp: $20LLC: $50 x member (min $300, max $3000) |
| Texas | $300 | See State Website | $300 | $750 | — |
| Utah | $70 | 5%, $100 threshold | $70 | $70 | $15 |
| Vermont | $75 | 6% of first $10k taxable net income; 7% on next $15k; income exceeding$25,000 is taxed at 8.5% | $100 | Corp: $100LLC: $125 | Dom. Corp: $35For. Corp: $175Dom. LLC: $25
For. LLC $125 |
| Virginia | $103 | 6% | $103 | Corp: $75/shareLLC: $100 | $50 Annual Reg. Fee for all LLCs |
| Washington | $180 | 6.5% | $180 | $180 | $70* |
| West Virginia | $50 | 6.5% | $100 | Corp: $100LLC: $150 | $25 |
| Wisconsin | $100 | 7.9% | $130 | $100 | Corp: $65Dom. LLC: $20 For. LLC: $80 |
| Wyoming | $100 | No Corporate Income Tax | $100 | $100 | $50 OR $.0002x Assets in WY |
*Applies to both Corporate and LLC forms in any given state.
**Implies a state with a publication requirement for formation (NY, AZ)