LLC Annual Report

An LLC annual report is a short form you file with your state's Secretary of State to confirm your business details are still accurate. It is not a financial statement or tax return. Think of it as a yearly check-in: you verify your LLC's legal name, principal address, registered agent, and the names of your members or managers.

Most states call this filing an "annual report," but the name varies. California calls it a Statement of Information. Delaware does not require a report at all but charges a $300 annual franchise tax instead. New York calls it a biennial statement. Regardless of the label, the purpose is the same: keeping state records current so the public (and courts) can identify who owns and operates your LLC.

Four states skip this requirement entirely. Arizona, Missouri, New Mexico, and Ohio do not require LLCs to file annual or biennial reports. If your LLC is formed in one of those states, you still have other obligations (like business licenses or gross receipts taxes), but the annual report itself is not one of them.

Filing is typically done online through your state's Secretary of State portal. The form itself takes 5 to 15 minutes to complete. Fees range from $0 (Mississippi, South Carolina) to $500 (Massachusetts), with a national average of about $91 as of 2026. For context, here is what the five most popular LLC states charge:

• Florida: $138.75 per year, due between January 1 and May 1
• California: $20 biennial Statement of Information, plus a separate $800 annual franchise tax
• Texas: $0 annual report fee (franchise tax report required, but most LLCs under $2.65M revenue owe $0)
• New York: $9 biennial statement
• Delaware: No report, but $300 annual franchise tax due June 1

If you need a deeper comparison of formation costs and ongoing fees, check out our complete guide to business entity types.

Filing your annual report on time is one of the easiest ways to protect your LLC. Here are the specific benefits, with real-world scenarios that show why each one matters.

• Your personal liability shield stays active. If you skip your annual report and your state dissolves your LLC, you lose limited liability protection. That means your personal bank accounts, home, and car are exposed to business creditors. Filing a $138.75 annual report in Florida is a small price to keep that shield intact.
• You maintain "good standing" status. Banks, lenders, landlords, and business partners routinely ask for a Certificate of Good Standing before approving loans, leases, or contracts. If your LLC is listed as "not in good standing" because of a missed report, you cannot get that certificate. The delay can cost you deals worth far more than the filing fee.
• You protect your LLC name. In states like Florida, if your LLC is administratively dissolved for more than a year, another business can register your exact name. Reinstatement may require you to choose a new name entirely. Learn more about protecting your name in our business name registration guide.
• You retain the legal authority to sue and defend lawsuits. A Mississippi Supreme Court case (Wayne Johnson Electric v. Robinson Electric, 2019) affirmed that an administratively dissolved corporation could not even maintain a lawsuit it had already filed. The same principle applies to LLCs. If you cannot sue to collect a debt or defend yourself in court, your business is effectively powerless.
• You can expand into new states. If you want to register your LLC as a foreign LLC in another state, most states require a Certificate of Good Standing from your home state. A missed annual report blocks that expansion.
• The filing fee is tax-deductible. Annual report fees and franchise taxes generally qualify as ordinary business expenses on your federal tax return. That $300 Delaware franchise tax or $138.75 Florida annual report fee reduces your taxable income dollar-for-dollar.

Ignoring your annual report is not a victimless oversight. The penalties escalate quickly, and in the worst case, your LLC ceases to exist.

• Late fees hit immediately in many states. Florida imposes a $400 late fee the day after the May 1 deadline (no exceptions, no waivers). Delaware adds a $200 penalty plus 1.5% monthly interest on both the tax and the penalty. California gives you a 60-day grace period, then charges $250. Illinois charges $300 if you are more than 60 days overdue.
• Loss of good standing blocks business transactions. Without good standing, you cannot obtain financing, sign certain commercial leases, or enter government contracts. Your business bank account provider may even freeze your account until you reinstate.
• Administrative dissolution shuts down your LLC. If you fail to file for an extended period, your state will formally dissolve your LLC. In Florida, dissolution happens on the fourth Friday of September if you have not filed by the third Friday. In Illinois, dissolution occurs 180 days after the missed deadline. Once dissolved, you cannot legally operate, and your personal assets lose their liability protection.
• Reinstatement is expensive and time-consuming. To reinstate a dissolved LLC, you typically must file every missed annual report, pay all back fees and penalties, and submit a separate reinstatement application. Most states allow reinstatement for 2 to 5 years after dissolution; after that window, you may need to form a brand-new LLC.
• You could lose your LLC name. Some states release your business name to the public after a period of dissolution. In Florida, your name becomes available to other entities after 12 months of administrative dissolution. If someone else takes it, you would need to change your LLC name during reinstatement.

The reinstatement window is the part states disagree on hardest. Georgia, Washington and Virginia stop at 5 years, Texas at 3, and Florida and Delaware publish no limit at all. Our guide to the administratively dissolved LLC carries the deadline, the fee and the backdating rule for 9 states, all read at the state's own source.

The vast majority of states require some form of periodic report. Here is how the landscape breaks down as of 2026.

States with no annual report requirement for LLCs:

• Arizona: No annual or biennial report. Corporations must file, but LLCs do not.
• Missouri: No report and no annual fee. One of the cheapest states for ongoing LLC costs.
• New Mexico: No report requirement. LLCs selling taxable goods must still register for gross receipts tax.
• Ohio: No annual report for standard LLCs or corporations.

States with biennial (every 2 years) filing:

• California: Statement of Information due within 90 days of formation, then every 2 years. Fee is $20. Filed online via BizFile.
• New York: Biennial statement, $9 fee. Due in the anniversary month every 2 years.
• Alaska, Indiana, Montana: Also follow biennial schedules tied to formation anniversary.

High-traffic states with annual filing:

• Florida: $138.75 due between January 1 and May 1. Late fee is $400. Filed at Sunbiz.org.
• Texas: Franchise tax report required, but most LLCs earning under $2.65 million owe $0. Filed with the Texas Comptroller.
• Delaware: No report, but a $300 franchise tax is due June 1. $200 penalty plus interest for late payment. Paid at corp.delaware.gov.
• North Carolina: Annual report due April 15 each year after formation. Filed with the NC Secretary of State.
• Massachusetts: $500 annual report fee, the highest in the nation.

Recent changes worth noting:

• Pennsylvania (2026): Now requires an annual report due June 30 each year, replacing the previous decennial (every 10 years) requirement.
• Tennessee (July 2026): Simplified to a flat $300 annual report fee.

If you operate your LLC in multiple states, you may owe an annual report in each state where you are registered. Learn more in our foreign LLC registration guide.

Filing your LLC annual report is straightforward in most states. Here is the general process, with specific costs and timelines for the most common states.

Step 1: Find your deadline and filing portal. Visit your state's Secretary of State website. Florida uses Sunbiz.org, California uses BizFile, and Delaware uses corp.delaware.gov. Look up your LLC by name or entity number to confirm your due date.

Step 2: Gather your information. You will need your LLC's legal name, principal office address, mailing address, registered agent name and address, and the names and addresses of all members or managers. Some states also request your EIN or a NAICS code. Have this ready before you log in.

Step 3: Log in and review the pre-filled data. Most state portals display your current information on file. Review every field. If anything has changed (new address, new member, new registered agent), update it now. If you need to change your registered agent, some states let you do this within the annual report form.

Step 4: Confirm and pay. After verifying your information, submit the form and pay the filing fee by credit card, debit card, or (in some states) check. Typical fees:

• Florida: $138.75
• California: $20
• New York: $9
• Delaware: $300 (franchise tax)
• Massachusetts: $500
• Colorado: $10
• Hawaii: $15
• Kentucky: $15

Step 5: Save your confirmation. Download or print the confirmation receipt. In Florida, online filings are processed and posted immediately. Most states process online filings within 1 to 3 business days. Keep a copy with your LLC's records.

Cost-saving tip: You can file your annual report yourself for just the state fee. If you prefer help, LLC formation services like ZenBusiness and Northwest offer annual report filing for $50 to $150 on top of the state fee. For a single LLC, the DIY route saves real money.

Will your state actually remind you

Most founders assume a notice will turn up. Some states send one. Some send nothing. A few send it to somebody who is not you. That last group is where the late fees come from.

We checked eleven states in August 2026. Every fact below comes from the statute or from the agency's own page. They fall into three groups.

Four states write to you first. Nevada sends a reminder to file 90 days before the deadline, under NRS 86.263. Michigan emails 90 days ahead, to the address registered with the business. California sends notice before the Statement of Information is due, to the last address on record or to your last email. North Carolina law puts the duty to notify on the Secretary of State.

Three states write, but not to you. Delaware prints its tax notices in December and sends them to the registered agent. Its own alert says real mail comes from the State or from that agent. Pennsylvania writes to the registered office address at least two months out. Washington sends notice 30 to 90 days out, to the registered agent, unless you name an electronic address instead. Say you act as your own agent at an old address. The warning goes out on time and you still miss it.

Four states send nothing unless you ask. Colorado emails the month before, but only for records signed up to its email notification service. Wyoming sends a courtesy email 60 days ahead, once you send a current address to [email protected]. Massachusetts runs an email subscription an authorized person has to join. New York emails at the start of the due month, and only if an email address was filed with the Department of State.

The rest are being checked. Each one comes from the state's own page or its statute, never from a formation company's blog, and lands here once it is confirmed.

The two minute check. Open your state's filing portal. Look at two things. Is there an email address on your record? Is it one you still read? Indiana keeps a Change Business Email page for exactly this. Then check who your registered agent is, and at what address. If that is you, at an old apartment, fix it first. In Delaware, Pennsylvania and Washington, that address is where your only warning lands.

This also answers whether compliance help is worth paying for. Does your state email you? If you read that inbox, file it yourself for the state fee. If your state writes to your agent instead, you are not really buying the filing from a registered agent service. You are buying somebody who opens that envelope and tells you.

Your LLC annual report is one piece of your total compliance picture. Here is how it compares to the alternatives and related filings you should know about.

Annual report vs. dissolution. If you are no longer operating your LLC, do not simply stop filing annual reports. Your state will continue to charge fees and eventually dissolve you involuntarily (with penalties). Instead, file a formal dissolution with your Secretary of State. Our LLC dissolution guide walks you through the process.

Annual report vs. tax returns. The annual report goes to your Secretary of State and covers business information only. Your tax return goes to the IRS (and your state tax agency) and covers income, deductions, and taxes owed. You need both. The annual report does not satisfy any tax filing obligation, and your tax return does not satisfy the annual report requirement.

Annual report vs. BOI report. The Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report is a separate federal filing required by FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act. It reports your LLC's beneficial owners to the federal government. It is not the same as your state annual report, and filing one does not exempt you from the other.

DIY filing vs. hiring a service. For a single-state LLC with no ownership changes, filing yourself costs only the state fee (typically $10 to $300) and takes under 15 minutes. Hiring an LLC service adds $50 to $150 per filing but gives you deadline reminders and error checking. If you run LLCs in multiple states or have a Series LLC with many child entities, the service pays for itself in time saved.

Annual report vs. DBA renewal. If you operate under a trade name (DBA), some states require a separate DBA renewal filing. This is not the same as your annual report, even though both involve updating business information with a government office. Check whether your county or state requires DBA renewals on a different schedule.