Category
Guides
Step-by-step how-to articles on U.S. entity formation, state by state.
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West Virginia LLC formation: the Mountain State guide
A $100 filing, a cheap $25 annual report, and a simplified 2022 tax overhaul — why West Virginia is quietly getting easier for small founders.
West Virginia is not a destination formation state, and it does not try to be. What it is, in 2026, is a cleanly run small state with a $100 filing fee, a $25 annual report, and;…
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How to form an LLC in Pennsylvania
The $125 certificate, the new $7 annual report, and the once-a-decade filing you cannot miss.
Pennsylvania's entity rules changed meaningfully in 2024. The formation fee is $125, and, new as of the 2023 amendments to Title 15, every domestic LLC now files a $7 annual…
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How to form a Kansas LLC
Filing an LLC in the Sunflower State: fees, annual report, registered agent rules.
Kansas is a middleoftheroad state for LLC formation: moderate filing fees, a simple annual report, and a tax system that was meaningfully simplified when the state repealed its…
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How to Form an LLC in Utah
$54 to form, $18 annual — Utah is one of the cheapest states in the country to run a compliant LLC, and one of the fastest to file.
Utah has quietly become one of the bestpriced LLC jurisdictions in the United States. The $54 Certificate of Organization is a fraction of what neighboring states charge, the…
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How to Form an LLC in Vermont
$125 filing, $35 annual — Vermont's LLC fees are reasonable, but its corporate income tax and compliance surface earn it a middle-of-the-pack ranking.
Vermont is a small state with a compact filing process. The $125 Articles of Organization fee and $35 annual report are well under the national median, and the Vermont Secretary…
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Virginia LLC formation: the Old Dominion guide
Modest fees, a corporate income tax, and a business-friendly SCC — what founders actually need to know about Virginia.
Virginia sits in the comfortable middle of the fifty states for entity formation: a $100 LLC filing fee, a $50 annual registration fee, and the Virginia State Corporation…
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Ohio LLC: to file, no annual report, and the CAT to understand
One of the cheapest LLCs to maintain in the country — a $99 filing fee and no annual report — balanced against the Commercial Activity Tax on gross receipts over $3M.
Ohio is genuinely one of the cheapest states in the country to form and maintain an LLC: $99 to file Articles of Organization and no annual report — a onetime fee and then silence…
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How to Form an LLC in Texas
$300 filing, no state income tax, and a franchise tax that doesn't apply until revenue crosses $1.23 million. For most new LLCs, Texas is effectively a zero-tax state.
Texas is the secondmostpopulous state in the country and; for small and midsized entities; one of the bestpriced. The $300 Certificate of Formation is a onetime cost, there's no…
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How to form an LLC in South Carolina
A $110 filing and one of the few states with no LLC annual report.
South Carolina is quietly one of the more costefficient states for a plainvanilla LLC. The Articles of Organization cost $110 to file and, unusually, there is no annual report for…
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North Dakota LLC: a low-friction home-state filing
$135 to file, $50 annual report, some of the lowest individual income tax rates in the country, and a well-designed Secretary of State portal. Why North Dakota works for residents.
North Dakota is a small, competently run state for formation: $135 to file an LLC, a $50 annual report due on the anniversary month, a responsive Secretary of State, and a…
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How to Form an LLC in South Dakota
No corporate or personal income tax, $150 filing, and the country's strongest asset-protection trust regime — why SD punches above its population.
South Dakota is a quiet compliance haven. There is no corporate income tax, no personal income tax, a flat $150 formation fee, and; most distinctively; a dynastytrust statute that…
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How to Form an LLC in Iowa (2026 Guide)
Filing the Certificate of Organization with the Iowa Secretary of State, paying the $50 fee, and filing the $60 biennial report.
Iowa is one of the cheapest states in the country to form an LLC: $50 to file the Certificate of Organization, and the ongoing compliance is a $60 biennial report — once every two…
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How to Form an LLC in Tennessee
$300 filing, no state wage tax — but franchise and excise tax hit entities from dollar one. Plan for that before you file.
Tennessee is often sold as a "no income tax" state, and for individual wage earners that's true. For entities, it is not. Every LLC, corporation, and LP in Tennessee owes both a…
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How to form an LLC in Rhode Island
A $150 filing, a $50 annual report, and a $400 minimum franchise floor.
Rhode Island is the smallest state and, at least for LLC formation, one of the more expensive on an ongoing basis. The Articles of Organization cost $150 to file and the annual…
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How to form an LLC in Georgia
A $100 filing fee, a $50 annual report, and an online portal that works. Georgia is a quietly good state in which to form — predictable, cheap, and without gotchas.
Georgia doesn't make most "best states to form an LLC" lists, which is its own kind of recommendation. The state isn't trying to sell you on franchisetaxfree anything. It just…
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How to form an LLC in Florida
A $125 filing fee, no state income tax on individuals, and Sunbiz — one of the better state filing portals in the country. Florida is the canonical business-friendly sunbelt state, and for residents, it delivers.
Florida is one of the few states where the marketing matches the reality. There is no personal income tax. The Sunbiz filing portal works the way a 2020s government website should…
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How to form an LLC in Connecticut
A $120 filing fee, an $80 annual report, and one of the country's stricter pass-through tax regimes. Connecticut is a fine home state to form in — and a bad choice for anyone who isn't from here.
Connecticut's formation process is unremarkable in the way you want your formation process to be unremarkable: the Secretary of the State's business portal takes filings online,…
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How to form an LLC in Oklahoma
Filing fees, Articles of Organization, and the $25 annual certificate.
Oklahoma is a midcost, middlefriendliness state for forming a limited liability company. The Secretary of State charges a $100 filing fee for Articles of Organization and a $25…
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How to form a Maryland LLC
$100 filing, $300 annual report — and the personal property tax that makes Maryland expensive.
Maryland is one of the more expensive states to keep an LLC alive year after year. The filing fee is a reasonable $100, but the annual report fee is $300; the highest flat rate in…
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How to form a Kentucky LLC
Low $40 filing fee, $15 annual report, and the LLET that catches every founder off guard.
Kentucky is one of the cheapest states in the country to form an LLC; the filing fee is $40, and the annual report is $15. That makes it attractive for instate founders, small…
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How to form an LLC in Oregon
A $100 filing, a $100 annual report, and no state sales tax.
Oregon is one of the more founderfriendly West Coast states. Formation costs $100 and the annual report runs $100; flat, predictable, and filed online. Oregon is also one of only…
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How to form a Louisiana LLC
$100 filing, $35 annual report, and the civil-law subtleties no other state has.
Louisiana is the only U.S. state governed by a civillaw legal system (inherited from the French and Spanish). Every other state follows the English commonlaw tradition. For most…
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How to form an LLC in Colorado
A $50 filing fee and an online-only Secretary of State. The cheapest flagship state in the country — and one of the most pleasant to work with.
Colorado is one of the few states where forming an LLC feels more like signing up for a website than filing a legal document. The Colorado Secretary of State accepts filings only…
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How to form a Maine LLC
$175 filing, $85 annual report, and the compliance items Pine Tree State founders miss.
Maine is on the higher end of formation friction: $175 to file, $85 annual report, and a Secretary of State system that is functional but slower than peer states. For Mainebased…
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Form an LLC in California (2026)
The $70 Articles of Organization, the $800 annual franchise tax, the gross-receipts fee tiers, and the AB 85 exemption that already expired.
California is not a cheap state. The sticker price looks reasonable, to file the Articles of Organization online through bizfile Online, but the real cost is the annual franchise…
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Form an LLC in Arizona (2026)
The $50 Articles of Organization, the newspaper publication rule (Maricopa and Pima exempted), and the new Arizona Business Center portal.
Arizona has one of the cheapest LLC filing fees in the country and one of the most unusual postfiling requirements: in most of the state, you have to publish notice of your new…
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Form an LLC in Arkansas (2026)
The $45 Certificate of Organization, the flat $150 franchise tax, and the filing routed to the Secretary of State instead of the DFA.
Arkansas is an underrated formation state for a domestic business that does not need national branding. The Secretary of State charges to file the Certificate of Organization…
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District of Columbia LLC formation: the UBT trap
A $99 filing, a $300 biennial report — and a 8.25% Unincorporated Business Tax that catches most solo founders by surprise. The D.C. guide.
The District of Columbia is not a state, but it is a full formation jurisdiction — one of the 51 we cover — and its rules diverge from those of its two geographic neighbors in…
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Wyoming LLC formation: the founder's privacy state
The state that invented the LLC in 1977 — still the strongest package of privacy, low cost, and charging-order protection in the country. A founder's deep-dive.
Wyoming invented the LLC. The Wyoming Limited Liability Company Act of 1977 was the first statute of its kind in the United States, and for roughly a decade it stood alone while…
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North Carolina LLC: a well-run state with a corporate tax glide path
to file, annual report due April 15, and a scheduled elimination of corporate income tax by 2030. Who North Carolina fits and who it does not.
North Carolina is a quietly wellrun state for formation. The LLC filing fee is $125, the annual report is $200 due April 15, the Secretary of State portal is among the…
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New Jersey LLC formation: a practical guide
$125 to file, $75 annual report, and a two-portal registration dance that trips up most first-time founders.
New Jersey is a highcostofliving, highcompliance state that is also the thirdmostdenselypopulated in the U.S. and one of the country's largest commercial markets. Nobody is going…
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Form an LLC in Alaska (2026)
The $250 Articles of Organization, the separate $50 Business License, and the biennial report most owners miss.
Alaska is the unusual state where forming an LLC is only half the compliance story. The Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing (CBPL) accepts your Articles…
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How to Form an LLC in Indiana (2026 Guide)
Filing Articles of Organization with INBiz, paying the $95 fee, and filing the biennial business entity report.
Indiana quietly runs one of the most modern businessfiling portals in the country. INBiz handles LLC formation, annual and biennial reports, DBAs, and most state tax registrations…
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How to Form an LLC in Idaho (2026 Guide)
Filing the Certificate of Organization with the Idaho Secretary of State, paying the $100 fee, and filing the free annual report.
Idaho is one of the bestkept secrets in U.S. entity formation. It costs $100 to form an LLC, the annual report is free (though still required), and the state has a flat 5.695%…
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New Hampshire LLC formation: a practical guide
$100 to file, $100 annual report, no sales tax — and two business-level taxes you need to know about.
New Hampshire is the Northeast's quiet favorite. It has no general sales tax (one of only five states), no personal income tax on wages, and a wellrun Corporation Division with a…
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New York LLC: the publication requirement gotcha
Forming an LLC in New York costs far more than the filing fee. The six-week publication requirement runs in rural counties and exceeds ,000 in Manhattan.
New York is the secondlargest economy in the United States, home to the country's financial capital, and one of the most expensive and bureaucratically punishing states in which…
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Wisconsin LLC formation: the Badger State guide
A $130 online filing, a $25 annual report, and Wisconsin's new Chapter 183 LLC statute — what founders need to know in 2026.
Wisconsin is a good example of a state that quietly modernized its LLC law without headlines. In 2023, the state's new Chapter 183 — a Revised Uniform LLC Act adoption — took…
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How to form an LLC in Delaware
Two-thirds of the Fortune 500 are incorporated in Delaware. Almost every founder who Googles "where should I incorporate" ends up here. Most of them shouldn't.
The single most common mistake we see from firsttime founders is forming a Delaware LLC they did not need. The reason is easy to understand — every list of "best states to…
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The LLC operating agreement: what it is and why you need one
Most states do not require an operating agreement. You still need one. Here is what an operating agreement does, what must be in it, and why even a single-member LLC without one is taking an avoidable risk.
An operating agreement is the internal contract that governs an LLC. It defines who owns the company, who runs it, how money moves in and out, and what happens when things go…
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How to Form an LLC in Illinois (2026 Guide)
Filing Articles of Organization with the Illinois Secretary of State, paying the $150 fee, and what the franchise tax phase-out means for new entities.
Illinois is the Midwest's largest incorporation market but also one of its most expensive. Filing an Illinois LLC costs $150 up front and $75 every year thereafter. For…
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Nevada LLC formation: a practical guide
The tax haven with a $425 filing fee, a $350 annual bill, and a Modified Business Tax most blogs forget to mention.
Nevada has been marketed as the "Delaware of the West" for twenty years. The pitch: no corporate income tax, no personal income tax, strong assetprotection statutes, and a…
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Form an LLC in Alabama (2026)
The $200 Certificate of Formation, the zeroed-out Business Privilege Tax, and the filings most vendors still get wrong.
Alabama is an easy state to form an LLC in once you understand the two moving parts: the Secretary of State, who accepts your Certificate of Formation, and the Department of…
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New Mexico LLC: the honest privacy pick
The cheapest LLC filing in the country, with real but narrow anonymity. When a New Mexico LLC is the right tool, and when it is a trap.
New Mexico has become the quiet favorite of founders who value member privacy over every other filing consideration. The filing fee is $50 — the cheapest in the country for an LLC…
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How to get an EIN (free, 10 minutes, 2026)
The IRS gives you an Employer Identification Number free of charge. Here is the only process you need, and why you should never pay a third party to file it for you.
An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is the federal tax ID for your business — nine digits, formatted , assigned by the IRS. It is the business equivalent of a Social Security…
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Nebraska LLC formation: a practical guide
$105 to file, $10 biennial report — and a newspaper publication requirement most founders forget.
Nebraska is not marketed as a formation state. Nobody is running Google Ads suggesting you form a "Nebraska LLC" from California. But if you live or operate in Nebraska, the state…
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Washington LLC formation: the B&O tax state
No corporate income tax — but a gross-receipts B&O tax that hits from dollar one. Here is how the Evergreen State actually works.
Washington State is a paradox for founders. It advertises itself — legitimately — as having no corporate or personal income tax. That single fact draws a steady stream of LLCs…
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How to Form an LLC in Hawaii (2026 Guide)
Filing Articles of Organization with the DCCA BREG, paying the $50 fee, and handling Hawaii's General Excise Tax.
Hawaii is not a haven state — it is where Hawaiibased founders form. The Aloha State charges a modest $50 LLC filing fee and a $15 annual report, but it has an unusual tax…
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Montana LLC formation: a practical guide
$35 to file, $20 per year — the cheapest legitimate U.S. LLC, if you actually live or operate there.
Montana has the lowest LLC formation fee of any U.S. state: $35 to file Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State, and $20 per year to keep the entity in good standing.…
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Washington in late 2025: the $70 annual report and the B&O problem
A low formation cost, a low annual fee, and a gross-receipts tax that changes the calculus entirely
A Washington LLC costs $200 to form online and $70 a year to keep active, and the annual report is due by the last day of the entity's anniversary month. Those are the numbers the…
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Illinois in 2025: the franchise tax is gone and the annual report is still $75
What forming and maintaining an Illinois entity actually costs now that PA 101-0009 has fully phased through
An Illinois LLC costs $150 to form and $75 a year to keep. An Illinois corporation costs $150 to form, owes the same $75 annual report, and as of January 1, 2024 owes no franchise…