How much does it cost to incorporate in Ohio?

At least $99 to file the Initial Articles of Incorporation, For-Profit (Ohio SoS Form 532A). That is a floor rather than a flat price; the amount published by the state scales with what you file.

Is Ohio an expensive state to incorporate in?

On the filing fee alone, Ohio is the 20th cheapest of 49 states to incorporate in. Filing fees across the states run from $35 in Montana to $300 in Texas, a one-off charge that is usually dwarfed by the recurring report fee and any annual franchise or minimum tax, which is where the real long-run difference between states sits.

Is it cheaper to form an LLC or a corporation in Ohio?

They cost the same to file in Ohio: $99 either way. Choose on how you want to be taxed and governed, not on the filing fee.

How to Form a Corporation in Ohio

By Edmond Hui · Facts verified July 29, 2026 against primary state sources

Incorporating in Ohio costs from $99 to file the Initial Articles of Incorporation, For-Profit (Ohio SoS Form 532A). Ohio then requires no recurring corporation report. First-year state filing charges come to $99.

State filing fees to form each entity type in Ohio: $99 to file a corporation, versus $99 to file an LLC. Ohio imposes no corporate income tax. — Both figures are one-time state filing fees to form the entity; the report and corporate income tax lines below recur for the corporation. The LLC may also owe a separate state franchise or annual tax not shown in this grid. See the LLC's own cost page for its full recurring total. Source: MyStateLLC 50-state corporation and LLC cost datasets, compiled from state filing offices and revenue departments, July 2026; any figure we could not confirm is labeled on the page.

Cost to filefrom $99

Report cadenceNone

First-year filings$99

Corporate income taxNone

What you file in Ohio

Incorporation filing

Document	Initial Articles of Incorporation, For-Profit (Ohio SoS Form 532A)
Fee	from $99
Recurring report	None required

Sourcing note: form NUMBER could not be verified via official source this session because the Ohio SoS website was under maintenance; the $99 minimum fee is confirmed by statute

This page covers the state filing and the charges that follow it. For the procedural side (name availability, registered agent, bylaws and the federal EIN), see the formation guide and how to get an EIN, both of which apply to corporations as well as LLCs.

What it costs to incorporate and stay filed

State filing charges only. Corporate income tax and franchise tax are excluded. Both depend on income or net worth, so no flat figure would be true for every corporation.

Charge	Amount	How often
Initial Articles of Incorporation, For-Profit (Ohio SoS Form 532A)	from $99	One time
First-year state filing charges	$99	N/A
Five-year state filing charges	$99	N/A

Ohio is the 20th cheapest of 49 states on the incorporation filing fee alone. Nationally the fee runs from $35 in Montana to $300 in Texas, averaging $113.49. It is a one-off charge, so over five years it is usually outweighed by the recurring report fee and any annual franchise or minimum tax.

States that are cheaper to incorporate in

State	Filing fee	Difference
Montana	$35	$64
Kentucky	$40	$59
Arkansas	$50	$49
Colorado	$50	$49
Iowa	$50	$49

A cheaper filing fee elsewhere rarely saves money if you actually operate in Ohio. Every state sets its own threshold for what counts as transacting business, and where that threshold is met an out-of-state corporation is generally required to register as a foreign corporation. Which would mean fees in both states rather than one. Whether it applies to you depends on facts this page cannot see, so check foreign qualification in Ohio before incorporating elsewhere to save on the filing fee.

Ohio corporation vs Ohio LLC

State filing charges only. Corporate income tax and franchise tax are excluded because both depend on income or net worth, so no flat figure exists for either entity.

	Corporation	LLC
Formation filing fee	$99	$99
Report cadence	Not required	Not required
Report fee	No report required	No report required
Entity-level tax on the LLC side	N/A	Commercial Activity Tax

Both entities cost $99 to file in Ohio, so the filing fee is not a reason to pick one over the other.

Full Ohio LLC cost breakdown · LLC vs C-corp explained · LLC vs S-corp explained

State taxes an Ohio corporation pays

Corporate income tax

Applies	No corporate income tax
Rate	None, Ohio levies no corporate income tax; entity-level taxation is via the Commercial Activity Tax (gross receipts tax)

Franchise or gross-receipts tax

Ohio has no corporate net-income tax and no corporate franchise tax (the corporate franchise tax was fully phased out after 2013). Instead Ohio imposes the Commercial Activity Tax (CAT), a gross-receipts tax at 0.26% (2.6 mills per dollar) on taxable gross receipts above the annual exclusion amount. The exclusion is $6,000,000 for 2025 and thereafter (including 2026); it was $3,000,000 for 2024. Businesses with taxable gross receipts at or below the exclusion owe no CAT and are not required to register. The former annual minimum tax (AMT) was eliminated effective 2024.

What these totals leave out: the filing-charge figures on this page are what you pay the business filing office. They exclude corporate income tax and any franchise or gross-receipts tax, because both depend on income, net worth or receipts. The section above sets out what Ohio levies, or that it levies neither. Where a state's franchise tax carries a flat minimum, that minimum is an unavoidable annual cost these totals do not include, and over five years it can be the larger number.

Electing S-corporation status in Ohio

Ohio follows the federal S election. Full Ohio S-corporation election guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

: At least $99 to file the Initial Articles of Incorporation, For-Profit (Ohio SoS Form 532A). That is a floor rather than a flat price; the amount published by the state scales with what you file.
: On the filing fee alone, Ohio is the 20th cheapest of 49 states to incorporate in. Filing fees across the states run from $35 in Montana to $300 in Texas, a one-off charge that is usually dwarfed by the recurring report fee and any annual franchise or minimum tax, which is where the real long-run difference between states sits.
: They cost the same to file in Ohio: $99 either way. Choose on how you want to be taxed and governed, not on the filing fee.
: No. Ohio is one of 6 states with no corporate income tax. Ohio has no corporate net-income tax and no corporate franchise tax (the corporate franchise tax was fully phased out after 2013). Instead Ohio imposes the Commercial Activity Tax (CAT), a gross-receipts tax at 0.26% (2.6 mills per dollar) on taxable gross receipts above the annual exclusion amount. The exclusion is $6,000,000 for 2025 and thereafter (including 2026); it was $3,000,000 for 2024. Businesses with taxable gross receipts at or below the exclusion owe no CAT and are not required to register. The former annual minimum tax (AMT) was eliminated effective 2024.

Where these numbers come from

This page covers the state filing required to incorporate in Ohio and the charges that follow it. Every figure was checked against Ohio's own published sources on July 29, 2026, the state business filing agency's fee schedule, the governing statute, and where a state tax applies, the state Department of Revenue. Commercial formation-service pages were used as leads only and are never cited. Anything the review could not confirm from an official source is left blank on this page rather than filled with an estimate.

Corporate income tax and franchise tax are quoted as the state publishes them, as rate schedules and thresholds, and are excluded from every dollar total here. They depend on income or net worth, so there is no flat figure that would be true for every corporation.

Primary sources:

https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-111.16
https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5751.03
https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5751.01
https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5747.38
Ohio statute: ORC 111.16 (Secretary of State filing fees)
Ohio statute: ORC 5747.02(A)(4)(a) (business income tax rate)

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It describes rules that can differ from state to state, and fees, rates, forms and deadlines can change after we review them. It cannot tell you what applies to your own business: that turns on where the business is formed, where it operates and how it is taxed. Confirm anything you rely on with the state or federal agency concerned, or with a licensed attorney or CPA, before you act on it.

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Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.

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