How much does an LLC cost in Delaware?
$110 to file, then $300 a year to keep. Below: the exact deadlines, what happens if you miss them, and the costs Delaware charges that the comparison tables leave out.
DE Delaware state filing fees — US only
Fees compiled August 27, 2026 · state detail verified August 26, 2026
To form
$110
one-off
To keep
$300
per year
First year
$410
45 of 51 cheapest
Compare Delaware against any other state →
What you pay, and when
| You file with | Delaware Division of Corporations |
|---|---|
| The document | Certificate of Formation |
| Filing fee | $110 |
| Processing | Standard filings take a few business days; same-day and one-hour expedited service is available for an extra fee. |
| Recurring filing | None — Delaware requires no recurring report. |
| Recurring fee | $300 · Annual |
| Deadline | There is no annual report for a Delaware LLC. The $300 annual franchise tax is due 1 June every year. |
| If you are late | A flat $200 penalty plus 1.5% interest per month on the unpaid balance. Miss it long enough and the LLC loses good standing, which blocks financing, contract renewals and any sale of the business until it is cured. |
| Registered agent | Delaware requires a registered agent with a physical Delaware address. Unless you actually live in Delaware, this is a mandatory recurring cost — typically $50–$300 a year — and it applies on top of the $300 tax. |
| State income tax | Delaware has a graduated personal income tax, but it does not tax income earned outside the state by a non-resident. This is the grain of truth behind Delaware's reputation — and it is much narrower than the marketing implies. |
The cost over time
The filing fee is the number everyone compares. It is almost never the number that matters — you pay it once, and then you pay the recurring fee for as long as the company exists.
| If you keep it for | Delaware | Cheapest state (Arizona) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | $410 | $50 | +$360 |
| 3 years | $1,010 | $50 | +$960 |
| 5 years | $1,610 | $50 | +$1,560 |
| 10 years | $3,110 | $50 | +$3,060 |
State fees only. Excludes registered agent, formation services, publication where required, and local licences.
Where Delaware sits nationally
Delaware ranks 45 of 51 on first-year cost and 45 of 51 on ongoing cost, against a national median first year of $175. The cheapest state is Arizona at $50; the most expensive is Massachusetts at $1,000.
| State | Filing | Per year | Year 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | $125 | $200 | $325 |
| Maryland | $100 | $300 | $400 |
| Delaware you are here | $110 | $300 | $410 |
| Vermont | $155 | $295 | $450 |
| Rhode Island | $150 | $450 | $600 |
Should you form in Delaware?
Delaware is the right answer if you are raising venture capital, because investors expect Delaware corporate law and the Court of Chancery. For a one-person consultancy it is usually the wrong answer: you pay $300 a year plus a registered agent, and you still owe your home state its fees and its income tax.
What the comparison tables miss
The $400 figure you will see quoted is wrong
Delaware's annual LLC tax is $300, not $400. The $400 number appears in a surprising number of aggregated fee tables, and Delaware is the most-searched state in this category, so the error propagates widely. $400 is a corporate franchise tax minimum under one calculation method — it is not what an LLC pays.
No annual report is not the same as no annual obligation
Delaware genuinely does not make LLCs file an annual report, which is often presented as a simplicity win. But the $300 tax is still due every June 1 and there is no grace period worth relying on. The paperwork is lighter; the money is not.
The registered agent is not optional and is not cheap
Every Delaware LLC needs a registered agent with a Delaware street address. If you are not a Delaware resident you are buying that service, every year, forever. Budget $50–$300 annually on top of the $300 tax — which roughly doubles the real cost of holding the entity.
It does not exempt you from your home state
A Delaware LLC operated from Texas is doing business in Texas and must register there as a foreign LLC. The Delaware filing does not replace your home state's obligations — it adds to them. The Court of Chancery advantage is a governance benefit for companies with outside investors and complex ownership disputes, not a tax structure for freelancers.
Costs this page does not include
- Registered agent — typically $50–$300 a year if you do not act as your own.
- Formation services — $0–$300 one-off. You can file directly with the state yourself.
- Local business licences — many cities and counties require their own, separately from the state.
- An EIN — free from the IRS. Anyone charging for one is charging for a ten-minute form.
- Foreign registration in every other state where you actually do business.
An LLC does not reduce your federal tax
Worth restating on every one of these pages, because so much of the marketing implies otherwise. A single-member LLC is a disregarded entity federally: the same Schedule C, the same self-employment tax, an identical return to being a sole proprietor. What it buys is liability protection, which may well be worth the fees — but that is a different thing from a tax saving.
The election that actually reduces tax is S-corp status, which is separate from being an LLC and generally only pays off above roughly $80,000 of profit. You can model that with the S-corp vs sole proprietor calculator, and see what Delaware leaves you with using the take-home pay calculator.
Sources
Fees change, sometimes mid-year. Everything here was verified August 26, 2026, but confirm the current figure with the Delaware Division of Corporations before you file. This is a comparison tool, not a quote, and it is not legal or tax advice.