The state filing fee is the number every guide leads with, and the least useful one on the page. It runs from $50 in New Mexico to $425 in Nevada, and you pay it once. What you pay every year after that, and what you must file to stay in good standing, is the real decision. California charges $70 to form an LLC and then $800 a year minimum, from year one. New Mexico charges $50 and then, as far as we can confirm, nothing.
The table covers the eight states we have verified in depth, every figure taken from our own state guide. It does not cover the other 42 yet; we would rather publish eight checked rows than fifty copied ones.
The table
| State | Filing fee | Recurring filing & cost | Due | State income tax on LLC income | What most guides skip |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | $100 by mail / $102 online | Annual Report: $60 minimum, or 0.02% of Wyoming assets if greater | 1st day of anniversary month | None | $60 is a floor, not a flat fee |
| Delaware | $110 | Franchise tax: $400 flat (raised from $300); no report filed | June 1 (2026 formations: June 1, 2027) | None on non-Delaware-source income | Which payment cycle the $400 first hits is disputed |
| Florida | $125 ($100 + $25 agent designation) | Annual Report: $138.75 | May 1 | None for a pass-through LLC | Separate county/city Local Business Tax Receipt |
| Texas | $300 (about $308 by card) | Public Information Report; $0 franchise tax at or below $2,650,000 revenue | May 15 | None | $0 tax due still means a mandatory PIR |
| Nevada | $425 (three filings) | Annual List $150 + Business License $200 = $350 | Last day of anniversary month | None | The advertised “$75 filing fee” covers the Articles only |
| California | $70 (+ $20 initial Statement of Information) | $800 minimum franchise tax yearly + $20 Statement of Information every two years | $800: 15th day of the 4th month after approval, then every year (see guide) | not stated | First-year $800 exemption expired; owed in year one since 2024 |
| Georgia | $105 online / $110 by mail | Annual Registration: $60 | January 1 to April 1 | 4.99% flat | Cheap fees, real income tax on pass-through profit |
| New Mexico | $50 | None confirmed; possible triennial report with a “modest fee” | not stated | Up to 5.9% for residents or real NM activity | “Never files again” may be outdated since HB0281 |
How to read this table
A floor is not a flat fee. Wyoming’s $60 annual report is the minimum of a license tax set at 0.02% of assets located and employed in Wyoming. You need $300,000 of in-state assets before the fee moves above $60; $1 million in Wyoming assets owes $200, $5 million owes $1,000. If your LLC holds assets in Wyoming above that line, budget on the formula, not the floor. Our Wyoming annual report guide walks through the calculation.
No tax due is not the same as nothing to file. Texas LLCs with annualized revenue at or below $2,650,000 owe $0 franchise tax for 2026 and 2027, but the Public Information Report (Form 05-102) is still due to the Comptroller every May 15, even at zero revenue. Florida works the same way: no franchise tax, no state income tax, and still a $138.75 annual report with a $400 non-waivable late fee from May 2.
Year one is not free in California. Assembly Bill 85 waived the $800 minimum franchise tax for LLCs formed between 2021 and 2023. That exemption expired, so since 2024 the $800 is owed in year one, by the 15th day of the fourth month after approval, whether or not the LLC does business. Older guides still say year one is free. Once California-source gross receipts reach $250,000, a second fee of $900 to $11,790 is added on top of the $800.
Delaware’s number is disputed. House Bill 400, signed May 21, 2026, raised the flat LLC franchise tax from $300 to $400, retroactive to January 1, 2026. Compliance firms read that as first hitting the June 2027 payment; at least one major Delaware registered agent says it already applied on June 1, 2026. The state portal just says $400, so that is what the table shows.
Cheapest to keep alive
Ranked by recurring state cost, before a registered agent or tax on profit:
- New Mexico: arguably $0; the triennial report is unconfirmed from a primary source.
- Texas: $0 franchise tax at or below $2,650,000 revenue; the PIR is still due May 15.
- Wyoming: $60 floor, rising with in-state assets above $300,000.
- Georgia: $60 annual registration.
- Florida: $138.75 annual report.
- Nevada: $350 for the Annual List and Business License renewal.
- Delaware: $400 flat franchise tax.
- California: $800 minimum, plus the scaled fee once receipts reach $250,000.
The cheapest state to maintain is not the right state if you live and operate somewhere else. Forming out of state does not exempt you from your home state’s rules; our Delaware guide spells this out. If you actually run the business from another state, it will typically require you to register the LLC as a foreign LLC: a second filing fee, a second registered agent, and in many states a second round of annual fees. Those costs sit on top of the figures in the table, not in place of them.
Where the fee stops mattering
Privacy is not a cost line, but it decides the state for many readers. Wyoming, Delaware and New Mexico do not ask for member or manager names on the formation document. Nevada is partial: a manager or managing member is named on the public Initial List and every Annual List after it; non-managing members stay off. Florida, Texas and California put names on a public filing; our Georgia guide does not address privacy.
Tax follows where you operate, not where you filed. Georgia’s flat 4.99% applies to your share of a pass-through LLC’s profit on your personal Georgia return. New Mexico’s income tax runs up to 5.9%, and its gross receipts tax can approach 9% with local rates, but only if you are a resident or have real activity there: an office, employees, inventory.
The registered agent is the recurring line everyone forgets. Every state in the table requires one with a physical street address there. A commercial agent commonly runs $50 to $150 a year in Wyoming, Delaware and Nevada, which is why our Wyoming guide puts real maintenance at $110 to $210 rather than $60. If you live in the state, Florida, Texas, Georgia and California let you serve as your own agent; in Florida, Texas and California that puts your address on the public record. For a non-resident the fee is unavoidable, and for a Wyoming LLC it can exceed the state’s own annual charge.
Frequently asked questions
Which state has the lowest LLC filing fee?
New Mexico, at $50. California is next at $70, and then charges $800 a year minimum from year one, which is why the filing fee is the wrong number to sort by. Compare the recurring column first.
Do I owe anything in the first year?
California: yes, the $800 is due in year one. Delaware: no, an LLC formed in 2026 first pays on June 1, 2027. Georgia: no annual registration in your first calendar year. Florida: no separate initial report, so $125 is the entire state formation cost. Wyoming: the first annual report is due on the first day of your anniversary month the following year. Nevada: the Initial List and State Business License are part of the $425 paid at formation. New Mexico: not stated.
If I form in a state with no income tax, do I stop paying state income tax?
Not if you operate somewhere else. Your home state can require you to register the LLC as a foreign LLC and pay its fees and taxes on top. The same logic runs in reverse: New Mexico’s own income tax only matters if you are a resident or have real activity there.
What happens if I miss the annual deadline?
Florida adds a flat, non-waivable $400 from May 2. Delaware adds $200 plus 1.5% interest per month. Nevada adds $75 on the Annual List and $100 on the Business License. Texas charges $50 even at $0 tax. Georgia adds $25 after April 1. California can assess $250 for a late Statement of Information. Wyoming’s figures are cited at $25 to $100 and flagged as approximate in our guide. New Mexico: not stated.
Every figure here was checked against our own state guide using the method on our How we test page. Each state page carries its own verification date; when the two disagree, trust the state page.