What This Calculator Does
How much does an LLC cost? The honest answer is "it depends on your state," which is not much use when you are staring at a blank filing form. This calculator adds up what an LLC actually costs where you are forming it: the one-time state filing fee, a registered agent, your state's annual or biennial report fee, and any franchise or privilege tax minimum where one applies. Pick your state and your setup above and the totals update as you go, split into a year-one number, what to expect every year after, and a five-year total, with every line item shown.
This tool is scoped to entity costs. For the rest of getting a business off the ground, equipment, inventory, a website, our business startup cost calculator covers that wider picture.
Why Your Year-One Cost and Recurring Cost Are Different
Year one includes what you pay once: the state filing fee, a formation service fee if you use one, and any one-time extras like an operating agreement, plus your first year of registered agent and report costs. The recurring total is only what repeats: your registered agent renewal and your state's annual or biennial report fee.
That split matters because two states with the same filing fee can look very different by year three. A state with a low filing fee but a steep annual report can pass a state with a higher filing fee and a light or nonexistent one, sometimes within two years, which is why the five-year total on this page exists: to make that crossover visible instead of hiding it behind a single sticker price.
Five LLC Costs People Forget to Budget For
The filing fee is the number everyone searches for. It is rarely the full number. Five costs are easy to miss when budgeting for year one:
- The annual or biennial report fee, charged in most states to keep your LLC in good standing, separate from the one-time filing fee.
- Registered agent renewal, which comes back every year if you use a service, not just at formation.
- Franchise or privilege tax minimums. California's $800 and Delaware's $400 annual tax apply regardless of income; a few other states scale in above a revenue threshold.
- A local business license, required by many cities and counties on top of state-level formation, often renewing annually.
- Professional review. An attorney or CPA reviewing your operating agreement once, early, is designed to help catch a costly mistake, not to replace ongoing advice.
Do You Need a Registered Agent?
Every state requires an LLC to keep a registered agent on file: a person or service with a physical address in the state who is designed to be available during business hours to accept legal and state documents for the LLC. You can serve as your own agent at no cost if you have a qualifying address, but that address becomes part of the public record, and you need to be reliably reachable there during business hours, which is a real constraint if you travel or would rather not have your home address searchable.
A professional registered agent service, commonly $100 to $300 a year, is designed to keep your home address off public filings and forward documents to you promptly. Whether it is worth the annual cost usually comes down to how much you value privacy, how often you are at a fixed address, and whether you are forming in a state where you do not otherwise live, in which case a service tends to be the only practical option.
A Worked Example: Forming an LLC in Wyoming
Say you form a single-member LLC in Wyoming: registered agent service at the calculator's default of $125 a year, filing it yourself, no extras. Wyoming's state filing fee is $100, verified against the Secretary of State's fee schedule (sos.wyo.gov). Its annual report carries a $60 minimum license tax, verified the same way. Year one: $100 plus $125 plus $60, or $285. Every year after: $125 plus $60, or $185. Over five years: $285 plus four more years at $185, for $1,025. Change the state, the registered agent cost, or the formation route above and the same math runs on your own numbers.
An LLC changes how you get paid. It does not change whether you owe tax on what you make. If you are self-employed inside the LLC, our self-employed tax estimator and quarterly tax calculator show what to set aside before a bill shows up. If the LLC's profit stays strong, the S-corp savings calculator shows whether that election is worth the added payroll and filing complexity.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does an LLC cost?
It depends almost entirely on your state. State filing fees for a domestic LLC run from roughly $35 to $500, and that is before a registered agent, an annual or biennial report fee, and, in a handful of states, a franchise or privilege tax minimum. Enter your state above for a year-one total, what to expect every year after, and a five-year total.
Why is my year-one cost higher than what I'll pay every year after?
Year one includes one-time costs, the state filing fee, a formation service fee if you use one, and any extras like an operating agreement, on top of your first year of ongoing costs. The recurring total only counts what repeats: your registered agent renewal and your state's annual or biennial report fee.
Do I need a registered agent?
Every state requires one. You can serve as your own agent at no cost if you have a qualifying in-state address you are willing to make public and can staff during business hours. A professional service, typically $100 to $300 a year, is designed to keep that address private and handle the paperwork for you.
What is a BOI report, and do I need to file one?
The Beneficial Ownership Information report is a federal filing with FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act. Requirements have shifted with court rulings, so check current rules directly at fincen.gov before treating any figure here as final. Filing directly with FinCEN is designed to be free; some services charge a fee to file it for you.
Is a formation service worth the extra cost?
It depends on what your time and paperwork tolerance are worth to you. Filing yourself keeps the cost to the state fee alone. A service bundles the steps into one fee designed to reduce errors, which can matter more for a first LLC than a second or third.
Which states are cheapest to form an LLC in?
The cheapest states usually pair a low one-time filing fee with a low or no annual report fee, not just a low sticker price at formation. The compare strip on this page ranks the three cheapest and three priciest states by five-year total, using the same fee data behind the calculator.
Is this calculator legal or tax advice?
No. It is an educational estimation tool built from state fee data we verify against official sources where we can. State fees and service pricing change. Confirm current figures with your state's Secretary of State or equivalent office, and talk with a licensed attorney or CPA before you form an entity.
When to Use a Formation Service (and Our Disclosure)
Filing it yourself keeps your one-time cost to the state filing fee alone, and means navigating your state's portal, requesting an EIN from the IRS yourself (free, directly through irs.gov), and tracking your own renewal dates. A formation service bundles the filing, and often a registered agent and EIN request, into one fee, designed to reduce paperwork errors and save you time rather than money. It tends to make the most sense for a first-time founder who wants one predictable step, and the least sense for someone comfortable with the state's own process.
We link to a small number of formation and registered agent services on this page because their products fit what this calculator is showing you. We may earn a commission if you sign up through one of those links, at no extra cost to you. That relationship does not change the fee data or the totals above. We do not provide legal, tax, or financial advice; consult a professional for guidance specific to your situation.