How to Form a Corporation in Pennsylvania

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

Incorporating in Pennsylvania costs $125 to file the Articles of Incorporation, For Profit [DSCB:15-1306] (filed with a Docketing Statement [DSCB:15-134A]). After that the corporation files every year and pays $7. First-year state filing charges come to $132.
State filing fees to form each entity type in Pennsylvania: $125 to file a corporation, versus $125 to file an LLC. Pennsylvania imposes a 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 file$125
Report cadenceEvery year
First-year filings$132
Corporate income taxYes

What you file in Pennsylvania

Incorporation filing

DocumentArticles of Incorporation, For Profit [DSCB:15-1306] (filed with a Docketing Statement [DSCB:15-134A])
Fee$125
Recurring reportAnnual Report [DSCB:15-146], every year, $7
First report dueCorporations (business and nonprofit, domestic and foreign): filing window January 1, June 30 each year. (LLCs: January 1, September 30; LPs, LLGPs, business trusts and professional associations: January 1, December 31.)

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.

ChargeAmountHow often
Articles of Incorporation, For Profit [DSCB:15-1306] (filed with a Docketing Statement [DSCB:15-134A])$125One time
Annual Report [DSCB:15-146]$7Every year
First-year state filing charges$132N/A
Five-year state filing charges$160N/A

Pennsylvania is the 34th 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

StateFiling feeDifference
Montana$35$90
Kentucky$40$85
Arkansas$50$75
Colorado$50$75
Iowa$50$75

A cheaper filing fee elsewhere rarely saves money if you actually operate in Pennsylvania. 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 Pennsylvania before incorporating elsewhere to save on the filing fee.

Pennsylvania corporation vs Pennsylvania 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.

 CorporationLLC
Formation filing fee$125$125
Report cadenceEvery yearEvery year
Report fee$7$7

Both entities cost $125 to file in Pennsylvania, so the filing fee is not a reason to pick one over the other.

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

State taxes a Pennsylvania corporation pays

Corporate income tax

AppliesYes
RateCorporate Net Income Tax 7.49% for tax year 2026. Phase-down set by a 2022 Pennsylvania law: 8.99% (2023), 8.49% (2024), 7.99% (2025), 7.49% (2026), 6.99% (2027), 6.49% (2028), 5.99% (2029), 5.49% (2030), 4.99% (2031 and after). A 2025 Pennsylvania law did not change this schedule.

Franchise or gross-receipts tax

None. Pennsylvania's Capital Stock / Foreign Franchise Tax was eliminated for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2016. There is no minimum corporate tax and no annual franchise or privilege tax on corporations.

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 Pennsylvania 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.

C-corp return: RCT-101 (PA Corporate Net Income Tax Report)

Electing S-corporation status in Pennsylvania

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Where these numbers come from

This page covers the state filing required to incorporate in Pennsylvania and the charges that follow it. Every figure was checked against Pennsylvania'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:

  1. https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dos/programs/business/types-of-filings-and-registrations/annual-reports
  2. https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dos/programs/business/fees-and-payments
  3. https://www.pa.gov/agencies/revenue/resources/tax-rates/corporation-tax-rates
  4. https://www.pa.gov/agencies/revenue/resources/tax-types-and-information/corporation-taxes/corporate-net-income-tax/act-45-of-2025
  5. https://www.pa.gov/agencies/revenue/resources/tax-types-and-information/partnerships-s-corporations-llcs
  6. https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/dos/programs/business/forms/offsite-forms/15-1306-Art-of-Incorp-For-Profit.pdf
  7. Pennsylvania statute: Act 67 of 2006 (automatic Pennsylvania S corporation status)
  8. Pennsylvania statute: Act 53 of 2022 (Corporate Net Income Tax phase-down)
  9. Pennsylvania statute: Act 45 of 2025 (left the phase-down schedule unchanged)

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.

Related guides

Corporation fees by stateAll 50 states ranked, $35 in Montana to $300 in Texas →How to form an LLCName, registered agent and EIN steps that apply to corporations too →Get an EINFree on IRS.gov, and most banks ask for it before opening an account →S-corp election by stateWhether your state follows the federal election →LLC vs. C-CorpWhich structure fits before you file →
← All 50 states compared

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Edmond Hui

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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