How to Form a Corporation in Washington
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 Washington
Incorporation filing
| Document | Articles of Incorporation (domestic Profit Corporation, RCW 23B) |
| Fee | $180 |
| Recurring report | Annual Report (filed through the WA Secretary of State CCFS portal) — every year, $70 |
| First report due | Initial annual report due within 120 days of formation; thereafter the annual report is due by the end of the corporation's anniversary month each year |
Sourcing note: filed with the WA Secretary of State via the Corporations & Charities Filing System (CCFS). No separately numbered paper form.
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 (domestic Profit Corporation, RCW 23B) | $180 | One time |
| Annual Report (filed through the WA Secretary of State CCFS portal) | $70 | Every year |
| First-year state filing charges | $250 | — |
| Five-year state filing charges | $530 | — |
Washington is the 43rd 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 Washington. 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 Washington before incorporating elsewhere to save on the filing fee.
Washington corporation vs Washington 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 | $180 | $200 |
| Report cadence | Every year | Every year |
| Report fee | $70 | $70 |
| Entity-level tax on the LLC side | — | Business and Occupation (B&O) Tax |
Worth noticing: a corporation is $20 cheaper to file here than an LLC. That is the exception nationally — corporations are the cheaper filing in only 15 of the 50 states, the two entities cost the same in 25, and the LLC is cheaper in 10.
Full Washington LLC cost breakdown · LLC vs C-corp explained · LLC vs S-corp explained
State taxes a Washington corporation pays
Corporate income tax
| Applies | No corporate income tax |
| Rate | None - Washington has no corporate (or personal) income tax; it imposes a Business & Occupation (B&O) gross-receipts tax instead |
Franchise or gross-receipts tax
No corporate income or franchise tax. Washington levies a Business & Occupation (B&O) tax on gross receipts (no deduction for costs). 2026 classification rates: Retailing 0.471%, Wholesaling 0.484%, Manufacturing 0.484%, Service & other activities 1.5% (prior-year gross under $1M), 1.75% ($1M-$4,999,999), and 2.1% ($5M or more). A small-business B&O credit can reduce or eliminate tax for very small filers.
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 Washingtonlevies — 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 Washington
Washington has no corporate income tax, so there is no state S election to make. Full Washington S-corporation election guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where these numbers come from
This page covers the state filing required to incorporate in Washington and the charges that follow it. Every figure was checked against Washington'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.