How Much Does an LLC Cost in 2026? Fees in All 50 States

The cost of an LLC is not one filing fee plus one annual fee. In 2026, a reliable budget has to separate formation filing, mandatory formation-stage extras, recurring entity filings, taxes or licenses, conditional costs, and optional private services.

That distinction changes the answer materially. A Nevada LLC has a $75 Articles fee but a $425 mandatory initial state package. New York adds publication and a $50 Certificate of Publication. Nebraska adds publication and proof filing. California separates a $20 Statement of Information from its $800 annual tax. Tennessee's filing and annual-report fees depend on member count.

*Kentucky example: $40 Secretary of State Articles filing + $33 county-clerk recording for a typical filed copy of five pages or fewer. Taxes and optional services are separate.

The six cost buckets that determine what an LLC really costs

This is also why a national “average annual LLC fee” is not very useful without a methodology. A biennial filing, Delaware's annual tax, Nevada's license, Tennessee's member-count fee and a state with no periodic report are not directly comparable numbers.

If you are still deciding where to form, use the LLC for $50 guide only for low-cost formation options, then compare the full state obligations here before choosing.

Mandatory LLC costs that can exist beyond the Articles filing

Alabama: the filing is not the only formation-stage requirement

Alabama currently charges $200 at the Secretary of State for a domestic LLC, but the state also requires a Certificate of Name Reservation before formation documents are filed. That makes “only the filing fee is mandatory” false as a national rule.

New York: publication can dominate the first-year budget

Most New York LLCs must publish notice in two newspapers for six successive weeks. The newspapers set their own prices, so there is no honest statewide publication estimate. After publication, the LLC files a Certificate of Publication with a $50 state fee. The $200 Articles fee is therefore only one part of the mandatory setup.

Nebraska: publication plus proof filing

Nebraska requires publication for three successive weeks in a qualifying newspaper near the designated office. The newspaper price varies, and the current Secretary of State fee for Affidavit/Proof of Publication is $25 online or $30 in-office. See our Nebraska LLC guide for the corrected publication rule.

Nevada: the real initial state package is $425

The $75 Articles of Organization fee is not the full mandatory state cost. A new Nevada LLC also pays a $150 Initial List and $200 State Business License, bringing the initial package to $425 before optional services.

Tennessee: member count changes the fee

Tennessee does not have one universal $300 LLC filing price. The filing fee is $50 per member, with a $300 minimum and $3,000 maximum; the annual report uses the same member-count structure. A simple one-number table loses that rule.

Kentucky: the $40 state filing is not the full formation stack

Kentucky charges $40 for the Articles of Organization, but a domestic LLC also has a separate county-clerk step. A file-stamped copy of the filed Articles must be recorded in the county of the registered office; the current county-clerk fee is $33 for a document of five pages or fewer. That makes $73 the basic mandatory formation-filing stack for a typical short filing, before taxes, licenses or optional services. The $15 annual report begins in the calendar year after formation, while many for-profit LLCs subject to LLET should separately budget for the $175 minimum LLET. See the Kentucky LLC cost breakdown for the complete state-specific budget.

LLC costs by state in 2026: government charges separated correctly

The table separates the formation filing from mandatory initial extras and recurring government costs instead of forcing every state into one “annual fee” column. An official state source is linked in each row, but fees and tax rules can change, so state-specific guides should be checked before filing.

Alabama through Georgia

Hawaii through Maryland

Massachusetts through New Jersey

New Mexico through South Carolina

South Dakota through Wyoming

Five-year LLC budgeting without fake state rankings

The old five-year table mixed a private registered-agent price into “state cost” and used Northwest's $39 formation price as though it were a $39 annual registered-agent renewal. That makes the rankings unusable. The corrected approach keeps two scenarios separate.

Scenario A: mandatory government cost only

The examples below use a five-year ownership window from formation through the day before the fifth anniversary. They assume on-time filing, no late fees and no conditional income/member/asset/local charges unless explicitly included.

*The Kentucky example assumes the LLC is subject to the $175 minimum LLET in each of five taxable years. Exemptions, sliding-scale calculations and different tax facts can change that result.

The California example assumes five California tax years and excludes the income-based LLC fee, which can apply when total income from California sources reaches $250,000 or more. Exact timing can also change if a business forms, cancels or qualifies partway through a year.

Scenario B: add an optional formation/registered-agent service

Northwest currently charges $39 + state fees for formation, includes registered-agent service for the first year, and renews registered-agent service at $125/year after that. If the service is retained for five years, the private-service layer in this scenario is $39 + four $125 renewals = $539.

These are budgeting examples, not “best state” rankings. Forming outside the state where your activities require registration can add a second set of government fees and registered-agent obligations.

DIY vs formation services: comparing private-service costs

Affiliate disclosure: LLCStarters may earn a commission if you purchase through the sponsored Northwest link below, at no additional cost to you. Government-fee information and the state comparisons above do not depend on using a paid service.

For the role of a registered agent itself, use our registered agent guide. A professional service is not a government formation fee.

How much does an EIN cost?

$0 when you obtain it directly from the IRS. The part that changes is the application method and timing.

So the correct cost claim is “EIN direct from IRS = $0,” not “everyone gets it online in 10 minutes.” If your principal place of business is outside the United States, follow the international EIN route instead.

Can LLC formation and maintenance costs be tax-deductible?

Some can be, but the old “everything is a $5,000 startup deduction” model is not accurate. Federal tax treatment depends on what the expense is, when the business begins, and the entity's tax classification.

Startup costs and organizational costs are separate categories

IRS Publication 583 explains that a taxpayer can generally elect to deduct up to $5,000 of qualifying business startup costs and, where the organizational-cost rules apply, up to $5,000 of qualifying organizational costs. Each $5,000 amount has its own reduction when that category exceeds $50,000. Remaining qualifying amounts are generally amortized over 180 months.

Do not automatically label every state filing fee, legal bill, operating-agreement cost and formation-service fee as one startup-cost bucket. Organizational-cost rules differ for partnership- and corporation-classified entities, and a disregarded single-member LLC should not assume it gets a second organizational-cost deduction merely because state law calls it an LLC.

Recurring costs may be deductible when the tax rules allow

Annual reports, registered-agent fees, licenses and certain state charges can be ordinary and necessary business expenses in an appropriate case. But “100% deductible for every LLC” and fixed after-tax arithmetic such as “a $500 fee really costs $380” are too broad. A deduction is not a guaranteed cash refund, and timing or limitations can depend on the taxpayer and classification.

For broader tax treatment, see how LLC taxes work and our LLC tax benefits guide.

The out-of-state formation cost trap

It is useful to warn against forming in Delaware, Wyoming or Nevada solely because a headline fee looks attractive. The legal trigger, however, is not simply where the owner lives. If your activities constitute doing business or otherwise require foreign qualification in another state, you may need to register there as well.

That can create a second formation/qualification fee, another recurring filing, another registered-agent requirement and additional taxes or licenses. Use the LLC Formation Tool to organize the decision, then verify the foreign-qualification test in the state where the business actually operates.

Five LLC cost mistakes to avoid

• Comparing states only by the Articles filing fee.
• Treating an optional registered-agent or formation-service price as a mandatory state charge.
• Annualizing biennial filings or flattening member/asset/income-based costs into one number.
• Using stale 2025 prices for states that changed fees during 2026.
• Assuming a tax deduction reduces a cost dollar-for-dollar.

LLC cost FAQ

Government costs and state fees

Services, EIN and tax treatment