LLC guides you can check
Form your LLC with the real numbers.
Plain-English LLC guides, real state costs, and every deadline after formation. Every fee on this site is checked against the state's own official source, and the check is dated, because the most popular guides online are quoting fees that no longer exist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. State fees verified November 7, 2026.
Start with your state
Fees, deadlines, and the filing itself are different in every state. Pick yours and see the real picture.
More states are being added as each one is verified. Or jump straight to the cost calculator.
Fees from the source
Every fee here was read on the state's own website, not copied from another guide. The source and the date we checked are printed on the page. When a state changes a fee, we update the page and log it.
Year one and every year after
Most guides stop at the filing fee. Ours separate the one-time cost from the recurring one, because a $50 state with an $800 annual tax and a $300 state with no annual fee are opposite deals. The calculator totals both.
Deadlines, tracked
Annual reports, franchise taxes, and federal rule changes like FinCEN's BOI exemption, followed on dated tracker pages so you never pay for a filing the government no longer wants.
State guides
Five states, fully verified
Each state hub has the formation guide, the full cost breakdown, and the recurring deadlines, all from that state's official sources. New states join this list only when every number in them has been checked the same way.
The guides
Start at the beginning
What is an LLC?
What the liability shield actually covers, where it stops, and how an LLC is taxed by default.
How to form an LLC
The eight steps in order, what each costs, and where people lose time and money.
LLC vs. sole proprietorship
What changes and what does not. Forming an LLC does not change your taxes by itself.
EIN for an LLC
The federal tax ID is free from the IRS in minutes. Never pay a service for it.
What is a registered agent?
The required point of contact for legal papers, your three options, and what hiring one costs.
Annual reports and compliance
The recurring obligations that keep an LLC alive, and the penalties for missing them.
Services, priced honestly
Hiring a formation service? Read the renewal price.
Every formation service advertises a $0 or $39 first year. The real price is what renews. We compared the five names everyone searches on their five-year cost, agent renewal included, from each provider's own pricing page.
| Service | 5-year cost* |
|---|---|
| Northwest Registered Agent | $539 |
| Bizee | $596 |
| ZenBusiness | $995 |
| Tailor Brands | $995 |
| LegalZoom | $1,245 |
*Formation plus registered agent service for five years, excluding state fees. Our arithmetic from prices published on each provider's site, checked November 7, 2026. Method on the comparison page.
BOI update, November 2026
US-formed LLCs do not file beneficial ownership reports with FinCEN. The exemption became permanent under the final rule of August 14, 2026. Twenty states and DC sued on October 27, 2026 to undo it. Our BOI status tracker follows the case, dated and sourced, so you can ignore the paid filing offers landing in your inbox.
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General Information Only
LLCForming publishes general information about forming and running an LLC. It is not legal, tax, or accounting advice, and it does not create an attorney or advisor relationship. Rules vary by state and by your situation. For a decision that matters, talk to a licensed attorney or tax professional in your state.