How much does it cost to incorporate in Tennessee?

$100 to file the Charter - For-Profit Corporation (Form SS-4417). Adding the first report brings the first-year state filing charges to $120.

Is Tennessee an expensive state to incorporate in?

On the filing fee alone, Tennessee is the 21st 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 Tennessee?

A corporation is actually cheaper to file in Tennessee, $100 against $300 for an LLC, a $200 difference. That is unusual, and it is a one-off filing charge, so weigh the ongoing obligations rather than the headline fee.

Does Tennessee tax corporate income?

6.5% excise tax on net earnings/income apportioned to Tennessee (Tennessee's corporate-level income tax).

How to Form a Corporation in Tennessee

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

Incorporating in Tennessee costs $100 to file the Charter - For-Profit Corporation (Form SS-4417). After that the corporation files every year and pays $20. First-year state filing charges come to $120.

State filing fees to form each entity type in Tennessee: $100 to file a corporation, versus $300 to file an LLC. Tennessee 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$100

Report cadenceEvery year

First-year filings$120

Corporate income taxYes

What you file in Tennessee

Incorporation filing

Document	Charter - For-Profit Corporation (Form SS-4417)
Fee	$100
Recurring report	Annual Report - For-Profit Corporation (Form SS-4444), every year, $20
First report due	On or before the first day of the fourth month following the close of the corporation's fiscal year (April 1 for calendar-year filers). Not April 15 and not the last day of the anniversary month.

Sourcing note: $100 filing fee confirmed on the official TN SOS Business Forms & Fees page (2026-07-29).

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
Charter - For-Profit Corporation (Form SS-4417)	$100	One time
Annual Report - For-Profit Corporation (Form SS-4444)	$20	Every year
First-year state filing charges	$120	N/A
Five-year state filing charges	$200	N/A

Tennessee is the 21st 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	$65
Kentucky	$40	$60
Arkansas	$50	$50
Colorado	$50	$50
Iowa	$50	$50

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

Tennessee corporation vs Tennessee 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	$100	$300
Report cadence	Every year	Every year
Report fee	$20	$300
Entity-level tax on the LLC side	N/A	Franchise and Excise Tax

Worth noticing: a corporation is $200 cheaper to file here than an LLC. That is the exception nationally. Corporations are the cheaper filing in only 14 of the 50 states, the two entities cost the same in 26, and the LLC is cheaper in 10.

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

State taxes a Tennessee corporation pays

Corporate income tax

Applies	Yes
Rate	6.5% excise tax on net earnings/income apportioned to Tennessee (Tennessee's corporate-level income tax)

Franchise or gross-receipts tax

Franchise tax of 0.25% ($0.25 per $100) of net worth, minimum franchise tax $100. Per the 2024 Tennessee Works Tax Act, the alternative minimum franchise-tax base measured by the value of real and tangible property located in TN (the property measure / Schedule G) was repealed effective for tax years ending on or after Jan 1, 2024; franchise tax is now computed on net worth only. Applies to all corporations, LLCs and LPs doing business in TN.

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 Tennessee 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: FAE 170 (Franchise and Excise Tax Return)

Electing S-corporation status in Tennessee

Tennessee does not follow the federal S election for its own tax. The corporation is taxed at the entity level regardless. Full Tennessee S-corporation election guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

: $100 to file the Charter - For-Profit Corporation (Form SS-4417). Adding the first report brings the first-year state filing charges to $120.
: On the filing fee alone, Tennessee is the 21st 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.
: A corporation is actually cheaper to file in Tennessee, $100 against $300 for an LLC, a $200 difference. That is unusual, and it is a one-off filing charge, so weigh the ongoing obligations rather than the headline fee.
: 6.5% excise tax on net earnings/income apportioned to Tennessee (Tennessee's corporate-level income tax).

Where these numbers come from

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

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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