California LLC vs Texas LLC (2026)
A California LLC costs $880 in year one; a Texas LLC costs $300.
Written for owners based in California.
Verdict: for most owners, form where the business is based
Texas charges $300 to form, one of the highest flat fees anywhere, and then nothing recurring at the Secretary of State. The catch is that the annual filing moves to the Comptroller: a Public Information Report is due every May 15 even when total revenue is under the $2,650,000 no-tax-due threshold for reports due in 2026 and 2027, and skipping it starts tax forfeiture. Texas levies no personal income tax. California's $70 filing fee is a fraction of that, but $880 in year one and $810 after come from the $800 tax. A Texas LLC used from California takes another $70 to register.
Based in Texas? Read Texas LLC vs California LLC →
Full fee breakdown for either state: California LLC cost and Texas LLC cost.
By Edmond Hui · Last updated: October 13, 2026
Using a formation service? We compare the 4 formation services that pay us a commission, on three-year service cost, BBB rating and Trustpilot score.
Compare LLC formation services →Or by state: Best LLC services in California, Best LLC services in Texas
Ready to file? Our affiliate partner Northwest Registered Agent files your LLC formation paperwork for $39 plus the state fee, and that price includes a year of registered agent service. After year one, registered agent service is $125/yr. Registered agent customers are enrolled by default in Northwest's report filing service, which charges your saved payment method $100 plus state fees each time it files for you and which you can cancel.
Form your LLC with Northwest ($39 + state fee) →Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no cost to you. MyStateLLC is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
| Factor | California | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| Filing Fee | $70 | $300 |
| Processing Time | Live queue, not fixed | Not published by the state |
| Annual Report Fee | $20 (biennial) | $0 |
| Annual Report Due | Anniversary month | May 15 |
| State Income Tax | Yes | No |
| Anonymous LLC | No | No |
| Publication Requirement | No | No |
| Foreign LLC Cost (if forming out-of-state) | N/A, you're in your home state | $70 + registered agent ~$150/yr + California's own yearly charges (yearly total not confirmed) |
Owner privacy options for either state: California anonymous LLC guide and Texas anonymous LLC guide.
Who you file with in California and Texas, and when
| Factor | California | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| Forms the LLC | California Secretary of State | Texas Secretary of State |
| Takes the periodic report | California Secretary of State | Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts |
| Reports and state taxes, first due dates for an LLC formed June 15, 2027 |
|
|
| If the report is late | California sets a $250 late fee, and a report left unfiled has further consequences. | What filing late costs depends on which filing is late and how late it is, and a missed report has further consequences. |
| State charges over five years | $4,120 ($880 in year one plus $3,240 across years two to five) | $300 ($300 in year one plus $0 across years two to five) |
Over five years, the state charges we total come to $4,120 for a California LLC and $300 for a Texas LLC, a difference of $3,820. Both totals are for an LLC formed and run in the same state, and leave out foreign registration and any tax that applies only above a revenue or owner threshold or after a tax election.
The dates come from the same verified rules as our annual report deadline tool, applied to a sample formation date as of November 1, 2026, the day this page was built. Where a rule cannot name a date, the row says who to ask instead.
Business Climate: California vs Texas
| Factor | California | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| 5-year business survival rate | 53.7% (#12 of 51) | 52.5% (#20 of 51) |
| Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Sep) vs 2025 YTD (same months)) | +18.1% YoY (#2 of 51 by volume) | +13.6% YoY (#3 of 51 by volume) |
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics · U.S. Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (BFS)
Compare LLC Costs: California vs Texas
California
Texas
Costs include every mandatory state charge: the filing fee, the report fee (annualised where a state files biennially), any state entity-level tax shown in its own row above, a one-time publication cost where the state publishes a rate for it, and any one-time registration charge a state requires before the LLC may trade. Annualising makes the 1, 3 and 5 year rows a cost of ownership rather than a payment schedule: a biennial state charges its whole report fee in the years it falls due and nothing in between. Entity-level taxes that only apply after a corporate election, or above an owner or income threshold, are excluded and flagged on the state's own cost page. Every fee was verified against the state's own fee schedule, statute, or revenue authority between 29 July 2026 and 29 October 2026. Excludes registered agent and legal fees. How every state's total is built is on the 50-state cost comparison tool. For informational purposes only, not legal or tax advice.
Filing Fees & Formation Costs
California charges $70 to form an LLC, while Texas charges $300. California is $230 cheaper upfront. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in Texas but operate in California, you must also register as a foreign LLC in California (a $70 filing) and maintain a registered agent in Texas (typically around $150 per year). We have not confirmed a full yearly total for what California charges a foreign LLC, so this page gives no first-year total for the Texas route. Speed isn't a basis for choosing between them: neither California nor Texas publishes a standard processing time, so any figure comparing the two is guesswork.
Taxes: California vs Texas
Texas has no personal income tax while California does, but forming your LLC in Texas won't change that. LLC profits pass through to you and are taxed where you live and operate (in California), not where the LLC is registered, so a Texas LLC offers no income-tax savings for a California-based business. California LLCs owe an $800 minimum annual franchise tax to the Franchise Tax Board, plus an LLC gross-receipts fee above $250,000 of California income. Texas imposes a franchise tax; LLCs under the no-tax-due threshold ($2,650,000 total revenue for 2026-27 reports) owe $0 but must still file an annual Public Information Report.
Privacy & Asset Protection
Neither California nor Texas offers anonymous LLC formation: both states require owner or manager information on public filings. The Certificate of Formation (Form 205) must name at least one governing person (member or manager), a public record; the annual Public Information Report also discloses management. Business owners who prioritize privacy typically form a holding company in a state like Wyoming or New Mexico instead. A charging order is a court order that directs an LLC to pay a member's distributions to a creditor who has won a judgment against that member. California's LLC act expressly allows a court to foreclose on a charged membership interest, alongside whatever exclusive-remedy language the same section carries. Texas's LLC act makes the charging order the exclusive remedy, and says so for single-member LLCs specifically. "Exclusive remedy" means the act names the charging order as the only way a member's creditor can collect from that member's interest in the LLC. To foreclose on a member's interest means a court orders that interest sold to pay the debt. We are reporting what each section says, not what a court would do with your facts.
Annual Maintenance Costs
California LLCs file a biennial report ($20, due in the anniversary month, every two years), and Texas LLCs file a free annual report (due May 15). If you form in Texas while operating in California, you take on both states' requirements and pay a Texas registered agent roughly $150 per year. A Texas LLC registered in California as a foreign LLC still owes California's own yearly charges, and a state can charge a foreign LLC a different amount from its own LLCs. We have not confirmed a full yearly total for what California charges a foreign LLC, so this page gives no yearly total for the Texas route. Confirm the amount with the state before choosing that route. Counting report fees and any entity-level tax, keeping a domestic California LLC in good standing costs about $810 a year (a report filed every two years is counted at half its fee). State tax and fee notes: California LLCs owe an $800 minimum annual franchise tax to the Franchise Tax Board, plus an LLC gross-receipts fee above $250,000 of California income. Texas imposes a franchise tax; LLCs under the no-tax-due threshold ($2,650,000 total revenue for 2026-27 reports) owe $0 but must still file an annual Public Information Report.
When Texas Actually Makes Sense
Forming in Texas makes sense in a few specific situations: your business genuinely operates in Texas, with a real office, employees, or property there, or you're relocating to Texas in the near future, which would also move you out of California's personal income tax. For a typical small business based in California, none of these usually apply. Registering a Texas LLC to do business back home means $70 in California foreign-registration fees, on top of Texas's $300 formation fee, while California's own biennial report runs $20 and is due in the anniversary month, every two years. When in doubt, form where you actually do business.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to form your LLC?
Using a formation service? We compare the 4 formation services that pay us a commission, on three-year service cost, BBB rating and Trustpilot score.
Compare LLC formation services →Or by state: Best LLC services in California, Best LLC services in Texas
Our affiliate partner Northwest Registered Agent files your LLC formation paperwork for $39 plus the state fee, and that price includes a year of registered agent service. After year one, registered agent service is $125/yr. Registered agent customers are enrolled by default in Northwest's report filing service, which charges your saved payment method $100 plus state fees each time it files for you and which you can cancel.
Form your LLC with Northwest ($39 + state fee) →Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no cost to you. MyStateLLC is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
More State Comparisons
Embed this comparison, free
Add the California vs Texas cost calculator to any page. Works in WordPress, Squarespace, Webflow, and any HTML site.
<iframe src="https://www.mystatellc.com/tools/compare-states?embed=1&stateA=CA&stateB=TX" width="100%" height="720" frameborder="0" style="border:0;max-width:900px;display:block;margin:0 auto;" title="California vs Texas LLC Cost Comparison" loading="lazy"></iframe> <p style="text-align:center;font-size:.8125rem;color:#6b7280">Source: <a href="https://www.mystatellc.com/llc/compare/california-llc-vs-texas-llc">MyStateLLC, California vs Texas LLC Comparison</a></p>
More for California and Texas LLCs
California
Sources
6 documents
Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so. Where we hold the citation but no stable public link, the citation is printed on its own rather than pointed at a guessed address.
- California statute: Cal. Corp. Code § 17705.03 (charging orders)
- Texas statute: Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code § 101.112 (charging orders)
- sos.ca.gov/business-programs/business-entitiesCalifornia Secretary of State: business entity filings
- sos.ca.gov/business-programs/business-entities/forms/limited-liability-companies-california-domesticCalifornia LLC filing fees
- sos.state.tx.us/corp/index.shtmlTexas Secretary of State: business entity filings
- direct.sos.state.tx.us/help/help-corp.asp?pg=feeTexas LLC filing fees
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.