LLC annual reports and fees: what your state charges every year, and what happens if you miss it

Forming an LLC is a one-time job. Keeping it is a yearly one. Most states require a short report, every year or every two years, confirming the LLC's address, registered agent and managers, with a fee. Some also charge a yearly tax just for the LLC to exist. Miss either, and the state can eventually dissolve your LLC, taking its liability protection with it.

The filings themselves are usually quick. The risk is forgetting them, so this guide covers what's due, when, what it costs in the main states, and how to make sure it never slips.

What an annual report is

An annual report, sometimes called an annual statement, statement of information or biennial statement, is a short form filed with the Secretary of State. It confirms or updates the LLC's basic public details:

• its principal office and mailing address,
• its registered agent and that agent's address,
• the names of its managers or members, in states that ask, and
• sometimes its business activity.

It isn't a financial report and it isn't a tax return. In most states it takes a few minutes online. Its purpose is to keep the state's records current and to confirm the LLC is still active.

What the main states charge

Here's the yearly cost to keep an LLC in good standing in the largest states and the two most often discussed, alongside what it cost to form.

State	To form	Every year after	Watch out for
California	$70	$800 franchise tax every year, plus a $20 Statement of Information every two years	The $800 is due every year, even in a year with no income, until the LLC is canceled.
Texas	$300	No franchise tax below $2.65 million in revenue (2026 reports), but a Public Information Report every year	Nothing unusual
Florida	$125	$138.75 annual report, filed between January 1 and May 1	A $400 late fee is added after May 1.
New York	$200	$9 biennial statement every two years	A notice must run in two newspapers for six weeks, then a $50 certificate of publication is filed. Newspaper costs vary widely by county.
Pennsylvania	$125	$7 annual report, due by September 30	Nothing unusual
Delaware	$110	$400 annual LLC tax, due June 1	Paying late adds a $200 penalty and 1.5% interest a month.
Wyoming	$100	$60 minimum annual report license tax, due in the month the LLC was formed	Nothing unusual

A few other states for comparison, among those we checked: Pennsylvania's annual report is $7 and due by September 30. Kentucky's is $15 and due by June 30. Montana's is $20 if filed by April 15, and $35 after. New Mexico doesn't require annual reports from LLCs at all.

Reports versus yearly taxes

Two kinds of yearly cost are easy to confuse.

The annual report fee is a filing fee paid to the Secretary of State with the report. It's usually small and flat.

A yearly franchise or privilege tax is a separate tax for the right to exist or do business in the state, usually paid to the state's tax agency. It can be much larger. The three you're most likely to meet:

• California charges every LLC formed or doing business there an $800 annual tax, due by the 15th day of the fourth month of its tax year, every year until the LLC is canceled. It's owed even in a year with no income.
• Delaware charges a flat $400 annual tax on every LLC, due June 1, with a $200 penalty and 1.5% monthly interest if late.
• Texas has a franchise tax, but an LLC with annualized revenue at or below $2.65 million (for 2026 reports) owes nothing and no longer files the No Tax Due Report. It must still file a Public Information Report every year.

When it's due

Due dates follow one of three patterns, and your state picks one.

• A fixed date for everyone. Florida's annual report is due between January 1 and May 1. Delaware's LLC tax is due June 1.
• Your formation anniversary. Wyoming's report is due on the first day of the month the LLC was formed. California's Statement of Information is due every two years, in a filing window that ends in the month the LLC was formed, after an initial filing within 90 days of forming.
• Every other year. New York's biennial statement is due every two years, in the month the LLC was formed.

Your first report is often due in the calendar year after you form, but not always, and a few states want an initial report within weeks or months. Check the date on the state's site the day your LLC is approved.

What happens if you miss it

States escalate slowly, but they do escalate.

1. A late fee. Florida adds $400 if the annual report is filed after May 1. Delaware adds a $200 penalty plus interest on the LLC tax.
2. Loss of good standing. The state's records show the LLC as delinquent or not in good standing. Banks, lenders, landlords and some clients check this, and a certificate of good standing is often needed to register in another state, open accounts or close a deal.
3. Administrative dissolution. After a period set by the state, it can dissolve the LLC. Wyoming, for example, says an LLC that hasn't paid its annual report license tax within 60 days of the due date is subject to dissolution.

A dissolved LLC may lose its name to another business and, more seriously, its liability protection for the period it was dissolved. Getting it back means filing for reinstatement, paying every missed report and penalty, and a reinstatement fee. It's always cheaper to file on time.

How to file

1. Find your state's filing page, usually on the Secretary of State's website. Search for "[your state] LLC annual report."
2. Look up your LLC by name or file number.
3. Confirm or update the details: address, registered agent, managers.
4. Pay the fee online by card.
5. Save the confirmation with your LLC's records.

For a yearly tax, such as California's $800 or Delaware's $400, pay it through the tax agency or the state's own payment system. The annual report filing doesn't cover it.

Should you pay a service to file it?

Most annual reports take a few minutes, so paying someone to fill one in is rarely worth much on its own. What you're paying for is not forgetting.

Formation and registered agent services sell compliance tracking that files the report for you or reminds you before it's due. ZenBusiness includes its Worry-Free Compliance service free for the first year on its Starter plan and in its Pro plan, and sells annual report filing for about $100 per report otherwise. A registered agent such as Northwest Registered Agent receives the state's reminder notices on your behalf and forwards them.

If you'll reliably act on a calendar reminder, file it yourself. If you already know you won't, the fee is cheap insurance against dissolution.

Other yearly filings that aren't the annual report

The annual report is easy to confuse with other filings that also come around every year. These are separate, and each has its own deadline:

• Federal and state income tax returns for the LLC or its owners.
• Payroll filings, if the LLC has employees.
• Sales tax returns, monthly, quarterly or yearly, if you collect it.
• Local business license renewals, often on the date the license was issued.
• Foreign LLC reports in every other state where your LLC is registered.

One filing you can cross off: since FinCEN's final rule took effect on August 14, 2026, LLCs formed in the United States no longer file beneficial ownership information reports.

If your LLC has already been dissolved

It happens more often than you'd think, usually after a move or a lapsed registered agent meant the state's reminders went nowhere. Most states let you reinstate.

1. Check the LLC's status on the Secretary of State's website, and note when and why it was dissolved.
2. File every missed report and pay the fees and penalties.
3. File the reinstatement form and pay the reinstatement fee. Some states also want a tax clearance from the state's tax agency.
4. Confirm the name is still yours. If another business took it while yours was dissolved, you may need to reinstate under a new name.
5. Ask an accountant or attorney whether anything the LLC did while dissolved needs attention, such as contracts signed in that period.

Closing an LLC you no longer use

If the business has stopped, don't just stop filing. An LLC that stops filing keeps owing fees and, in states like California and Delaware, its yearly tax, until the state dissolves it or you close it formally. File the state's articles of dissolution or certificate of cancellation, file a final tax return, and close the bank account.

Timing can matter. California, for example, lets an LLC that cancels within 12 months of organizing file a short-form cancellation and avoid the $800 annual tax for its first year. If you formed an LLC and never used it, act before that first year is out.

A simple yearly routine

1. The day your LLC is approved, find the annual report due date and fee, and any yearly tax.
2. Put each on your calendar with a reminder 30 days before.
3. Keep your registered agent current, so state notices reach you.
4. When the reminder fires, file online and save the confirmation.
5. Once a year, check your LLC's status on the state's website to confirm it shows as active and in good standing.

That's ten minutes a year to protect the thing the LLC exists for. If you're just starting out, our guide to starting an LLC covers the full setup, and our guide to business licenses covers the local renewals that also come around every year.