LLC Cost Calculator: Startup & Annual Fees
Estimate how much it costs to form and maintain a Limited Liability Company. Adjust your state, service tier, and add-ons to see the true first-year and ongoing price.
Wondering how much does it cost for an LLC in 2026? The short answer: state filing fees alone range from $35 in Montana to $500 in Massachusetts, with most states landing between $50 and $200. But the sticker price on the Articles of Organization is just the beginning — once you add a registered agent ($0–$300/year), an EIN service ($0–$75), an operating agreement ($0–$200), and expedited processing ($25–$200), a realistic first-year total for most founders falls between $250 and $900 depending on state and service mix.
Beyond formation, LLCs carry recurring obligations. Annual or biennial report fees range from $0 (Arizona, Missouri, New Mexico) to $300 (Delaware) to $800 (California's franchise tax minimum). A solo founder in Kentucky filing DIY pays roughly $40 to start and $15/year to maintain. A two-member tech LLC in California using a premium formation service might spend $900 upfront and $1,000+ annually. This calculator estimates both your formation cost and your ongoing maintenance so you can budget realistically before clicking 'file'.
How it works: Pick your state, choose DIY vs. a formation service, decide whether you need a registered agent and expedited filing, then review the first-year total and annual maintenance estimate.
This calculator estimates statutory and service costs only. It does not include income tax, self-employment tax (15.3% on net earnings), local business license fees, or industry-specific licensing — those can easily double your real annual cost. California's $800 minimum franchise tax is owed by every CA LLC annually regardless of revenue or activity. Forming a California LLC without a clear business plan can cost you $800/yr even if you never make a sale. Forming an LLC in Delaware, Wyoming, or Nevada while actually operating in another state typically requires foreign-LLC registration in your home state — adding $100–$300/yr per state and negating most perceived tax benefits. Consult a CPA before forming out-of-state.
The Real Cost of Starting and Running an LLC
Filing fees are only one line on the LLC budget. To know the true cost, you need to add up state fees, recurring obligations, registered agent costs, and the time-vs-money tradeoff of DIY versus a formation service.
2026 LLC Filing Fees and Annual Costs by State (Selected)
| State | Filing Fee | Annual/Biennial Report | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | $35 | $20/yr | Lowest combined cost in the US |
| Kentucky | $40 | $15/yr | Very founder-friendly fees |
| Texas | $300 | $0 (under $1.23M revenue) | Franchise tax filing required |
| Florida | $125 | $138.75/yr | Higher recurring cost than peers |
| New York | $200 | $9 biennial | Publication requirement adds $300–$1,500 |
| Delaware | $110 | $300 franchise tax | Popular for holding companies |
| California | $70 | $800 franchise tax min. | $800 due even with $0 revenue |
| Massachusetts | $500 | $500/yr | Highest combined cost in the US |
DIY vs. Formation Service vs. Attorney — Cost Comparison
| Approach | Typical Cost | Time Required | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY direct with state | $35–$500 (state fee only) | 2–4 hours | Solo founders, simple single-member LLCs |
| Basic service (Bizee, ZenBusiness) | $0–$50 + state fee | 20 minutes | Founders wanting hand-holding without high cost |
| Premium service (LegalZoom, Northwest) | $200–$350 + state fee | 30 minutes | Bundled EIN, operating agreement, registered agent |
| Business attorney | $500–$1,500 + state fee | 1–2 weeks | Multi-member LLCs, IP holdings, investor-backed startups |
How Much Does It Cost to Form an LLC in 2026?
The bare-minimum cost is your state's filing fee, which ranges from $35 (Montana) to $500 (Massachusetts). Median across all 50 states is around $125. If you act as your own registered agent, skip expedited processing, and get your EIN free from the IRS, that filing fee is your entire formation cost. Most solo founders in mid-tier states like Texas, Florida, or Ohio spend $100–$200 to launch. Add a formation service ($0–$350) and a registered agent ($0–$300/yr) and the realistic all-in first-year budget climbs to $250–$900.
Why Annual Costs Often Exceed Formation Costs
Founders fixate on the upfront filing fee and forget the annual bill. California's $800 franchise tax means a CA LLC costs $3,200 over four years even if you do everything else for free. Delaware charges $300/yr just to keep the LLC in good standing. New York requires biennial filing plus a one-time publication requirement that can cost $300–$1,500 depending on county. As a rule of thumb, budget 1.5x to 4x your filing fee for year-two costs, and check your state's franchise tax minimum before forming.
Do You Really Need a Registered Agent Service?
Legally, every LLC must designate a registered agent with a physical address in the state of formation. You can be your own agent for free if you have a non-PO-box address there and don't mind your address appearing in public records. Services run $100–$300/year and offer privacy, mail scanning, and compliance reminders. The rule of thumb: use a service if you work from home and value privacy, travel often, operate in multiple states, or risk missing legal mail (which can result in default judgments).
Should You Pay for Expedited Filing?
Standard processing takes 1–4 weeks in most states. Expedited usually adds $50–$100 for 1–3 day turnaround; same-day rush in states like Delaware or California can run $150–$200. Pay for expedited only if you have a real deadline: a contract requiring an EIN, a bank account opening, or an investor closing. Otherwise the money is wasted — your business doesn't legally exist any faster after you've signed contracts, and most banks won't even open the account until the state confirms approval.
Hidden Costs Founders Forget
Beyond the obvious fees, common surprises include: business licenses ($50–$400 depending on city/state), DBA filings ($10–$100 if you operate under a trade name), foreign LLC registration ($100–$300 per additional state where you do business), sales tax permits (usually free but time-consuming), and S-corp election fees (free with Form 2553 but typically $500–$1,000 if a CPA files it). Don't forget bookkeeping software ($15–$50/mo), business insurance ($300–$1,500/yr for general liability), and the cost of a separate business bank account (often free but sometimes $10–$25/mo).
Common Mistakes That Cost You More
Three expensive mistakes: (1) Forming in Delaware or Wyoming for 'tax benefits' when you actually operate in California — you'll owe foreign LLC registration plus CA's $800 anyway. (2) Paying $50–$100 for an EIN when the IRS issues them free in 10 minutes online. (3) Skipping the operating agreement to save money, then losing personal liability protection in court because the LLC wasn't 'treated as separate.' Form in the state you live and work in, get your EIN yourself, and write or buy a basic operating agreement (free templates from your state bar are fine for single-member LLCs).
How Inputs Drive the Calculator's Results
Each input changes a specific line. The state tier sets both the upfront filing fee and the annual report fee — these are independent, so a state can be cheap to form (CA at $70) but expensive to maintain ($800/yr). Filing type adds a one-time service fee. Registered agent is a recurring cost that compounds across years. Expedited is a one-time add-on. Members count adjusts the operating agreement budget upward, since multi-member agreements typically cost more whether DIY (more time) or attorney-drafted. The 5-year total surfaces the recurring costs that often dwarf the formation fee.
How This Calculator Works: Methodology & Parameter Explanations
Core formula:
FirstYear = StateFee + ServiceFee + RegisteredAgent + Expedited + EIN + MemberAdj; AnnualMaintenance = StateAnnual + RegisteredAgent; FiveYearTCO = FirstYear + 4 × AnnualMaintenancewhere:
StateFee— One-time Articles of Organization filing fee ($)ServiceFee— Formation service or attorney fee ($)RegisteredAgent— Annual registered agent cost ($/yr)Expedited— Rush processing add-on ($)EIN— Cost of obtaining an EIN ($)MemberAdj— Operating agreement complexity adjustment ($)StateAnnual— Annual or biennial state report / franchise tax ($/yr)
How to apply: Use FirstYear to budget your formation cash outlay; use AnnualMaintenance to plan recurring expenses; use FiveYearTCO when comparing across states (a cheap California filing is expensive over 5 years because of the $800 franchise tax).
Worked example: A solo founder in Texas using a basic formation service with their own registered agent: StateFee $300 + ServiceFee $39 + RA $0 + Expedited $0 + EIN $0 + MemberAdj $0 = $339 first year. Annual maintenance = $0 (TX has no annual report fee below $1.23M revenue) + $0 RA = $0/yr. 5-year TCO: $339. Compare to the same setup in California: $70 filing + $39 service + $800 franchise tax annually = $109 year one, but $3,309 over 5 years.
Alternative formulas
State-only minimum: Cost = StateFee
When to use: If you DIY, act as your own registered agent, get a free EIN, and skip an operating agreement — pure floor cost.
Premium concierge: Cost = StateFee + AttorneyFee + PremiumAgent + Expedited
When to use: Multi-member LLCs with investors or IP; budget $1,500–$2,500 for year one.
Parameter explanations
| Input | Unit | What it means | Impact on results |
|---|---|---|---|
| State filing fee tier | $ | Which fee tier your state of formation belongs to, controlling both the one-time filing fee and the recurring annual report or franchise tax. | Largest single driver of cost — premium states (CA, MA) can cost 10–20x more than low-tier states over 5 years. |
| Filing type | $ | Whether you file directly with the state, use a formation service, or hire an attorney. | Adds $0 (DIY) up to ~$900 (attorney) to the first-year total; does not affect annual cost. |
| Registered agent | $/yr | Who serves as your LLC's registered agent for service of process. | Recurring — $100–$300/yr compounds into the single biggest line on a 5-year budget if you outsource. |
| Expedited processing | $ | Whether you pay the state for faster turnaround on your filing. | One-time add of $0–$200; pure convenience cost with no ongoing impact. |
| EIN service | $ | Whether you get your EIN free from the IRS or pay a third party to do it. | Adds ~$75 if paid; otherwise $0 — easy savings for DIY founders. |
| Number of LLC members | members | How many owners (members) your LLC will have. | Adds a small operating-agreement complexity premium ($25 per extra member); multi-member LLCs benefit from more formal documents. |
Assumptions
State filing fees and annual report fees are modeled as tier midpoints, not exact per-state values — your actual state may be ±$25 from the tier average.
Registered agent pricing assumes market rates — Service-tier registered agents run $100–$150/yr in 2026, and premium tier (Northwest, Harbor Compliance) $200–$300/yr. Discount providers and bundled first-year-free promos can lower this temporarily.
California's $800 franchise tax is folded into the premium-state annual figure — Even with $0 revenue, CA LLCs owe the $800 minimum franchise tax annually after the first year (year-one waiver applies for LLCs formed 2021–2023; assume it applies in 2026 unless legislation changes).
The headline cost figure in the calculator is an estimate; actual costs vary by exact state, county, and chosen vendors.
Operating-agreement adjustment is a rough proxy for the extra complexity of multi-member documents; attorney drafting can run $500–$2,000 for complex arrangements.
How to use this calculator
- Identify your state's tier — Use the state-fee table above to find whether your state is low, mid, high, or premium tier. Form in the state where you actually operate.
- Decide DIY vs. service — DIY saves $200–$900 and takes 2–4 hours. Choose a service only if you value the time savings or want a bundled EIN/operating agreement.
- Plan your registered agent — If you have a stable in-state address and don't mind it being public, be your own agent. Otherwise budget $125/yr for a service.
- Compare first-year vs. 5-year totals — Don't optimize only for the upfront cost — recurring fees can dominate. Use the 5-year TCO metric to make state choices.
- Add hidden costs separately — Local business licenses, sales tax permits, insurance, and bookkeeping software aren't in this calculator. Budget another $500–$2,000/yr for those.