How to Form a Corporation in South Dakota
By Edmond Hui · Facts verified July 29, 2026 against primary state sources
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.
What you file in South Dakota
Incorporation filing
| Document | Articles of Incorporation (Business Corporation, Domestic) |
| Fee | $150 |
| Recurring report | Annual Report (filed via SD SOS portal; no distinct SOS form number) — every year, $55 |
| First report due | Annually, based on the anniversary of formation (due by the first day of the anniversary month). Not a fixed calendar date such as March 15 or December 31. |
Sourcing note: South Dakota uses a named form with no distinct SOS form number. $150 online / $165 paper.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Articles of Incorporation (Business Corporation, Domestic) | $150 | One time |
| Annual Report (filed via SD SOS portal; no distinct SOS form number) | $55 | Every year |
| First-year state filing charges | $205 | — |
| Five-year state filing charges | $425 | — |
South Dakota is the 39th cheapest of 49 states on the incorporation filing fee alone. Nationally the fee runs from $35 in Montana to $300 in Texas, averaging $113.06. 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
A cheaper filing fee elsewhere rarely saves money if you actually operate in South Dakota. 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 South Dakota before incorporating elsewhere to save on the filing fee.
South Dakota corporation vs South Dakota 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 | $150 | $150 |
| Report cadence | Every year | Every year |
| Report fee | $55 | $55 |
Both entities cost $150 to file in South Dakota, so the filing fee is not a reason to pick one over the other.
Full South Dakota LLC cost breakdown · LLC vs C-corp explained · LLC vs S-corp explained
State taxes a South Dakota corporation pays
Corporate income tax
| Applies | No corporate income tax |
| Rate | None — South Dakota imposes no corporate income tax |
Franchise or gross-receipts tax
No general corporate franchise tax. South Dakota levies a Bank Franchise Tax only on financial institutions (banks and certain financial corporations); it does not apply to ordinary business 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 South Dakotalevies — 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 South Dakota
South Dakota follows the federal S election. Full South Dakota S-corporation election guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where these numbers come from
This page covers the state filing required to incorporate in South Dakota and the charges that follow it. Every figure was checked against South Dakota'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.