Delaware LLC vs Texas LLC (2026)
A Delaware LLC costs $510 in year one; a Texas LLC costs $300.
Written for owners based in Delaware.
Verdict: for most owners, form where the business is based
Texas costs $300 to form, $190 more than Delaware, and then nothing recurring, because the Public Information Report carries no fee. It is still mandatory. Total revenue at or below $2,650,000 means no franchise tax due on a 2026 report, yet the Comptroller still expects that report by May 15, and skipping it starts the path to tax forfeiture and a $75 Secretary of State reinstatement fee on top of the overdue reports. Texas levies no personal income tax; Delaware does, and adds its $400 entity tax. A Texas LLC operated from Delaware pays $200 to register here.
Based in Texas? Read Texas LLC vs Delaware LLC →
Full fee breakdown for either state: Delaware LLC cost and Texas LLC cost.
By Edmond Hui · Last updated: October 13, 2026
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| Factor | Delaware | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| Filing Fee | $110 | $300 |
| Processing Time | Not published by the state | Not published by the state |
| Annual Report Fee | None ($400/yr entity tax instead) | $0 |
| Annual Report Due | None required | May 15 |
| State Income Tax | Yes | No |
| Anonymous LLC | Yes | No |
| Publication Requirement | No | No |
| Foreign LLC Cost (if forming out-of-state) | N/A, you're in your home state | $200 + registered agent ~$150/yr + Delaware's $400 Annual LLC Tax each year |
Owner privacy options for either state: Delaware anonymous LLC guide and Texas anonymous LLC guide.
Who you file with in Delaware and Texas, and when
| Factor | Delaware | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| Forms the LLC | Delaware Division of Corporations | Texas Secretary of State |
| Takes the periodic report | No annual report | Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts |
| Reports and state taxes, first due dates for an LLC formed June 15, 2027 |
|
|
| If the report is late | No annual report. A late Annual LLC Tax payment carries its own penalty. | 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 | $2,110 ($510 in year one plus $1,600 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 $2,110 for a Delaware LLC and $300 for a Texas LLC, a difference of $1,810. 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: Delaware vs Texas
| Factor | Delaware | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| 5-year business survival rate | 48.1% (#37 of 51) | 52.5% (#20 of 51) |
| Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Sep) vs 2025 YTD (same months)) | +4.1% YoY (#33 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: Delaware vs Texas
Delaware
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. 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
Delaware charges $110 to form an LLC, while Texas charges $300. Delaware is $190 cheaper upfront. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in Texas but operate in Delaware, you must also register as a foreign LLC in Delaware (a $200 filing) and maintain a registered agent in Texas (typically around $150 per year). A foreign LLC registered in Delaware owes Delaware's $400 Annual LLC Tax as well. Speed isn't a basis for choosing between them: neither Delaware nor Texas publishes a standard processing time, so any figure comparing the two is guesswork.
Taxes: Delaware vs Texas
Texas has no personal income tax while Delaware 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 Delaware), not where the LLC is registered, so a Texas LLC offers no income-tax savings for a Delaware-based business. Delaware LLCs owe a flat $400 annual LLC tax (no report required). 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
Delaware, your home state, actually offers more formation privacy than Texas: Delaware allows anonymous LLC formation, while Texas requires 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. 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. Delaware's LLC act makes the charging order the exclusive remedy, and says so for single-member LLCs specifically. 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. We are reporting what each section says, not what a court would do with your facts. From a privacy standpoint there's no reason for a Delaware-based business to form in Texas.
Annual Maintenance Costs
Delaware LLCs file no annual report at all, and Texas LLCs file a free annual report (due May 15). If you form in Texas while operating in Delaware, you take on both states' requirements and pay a Texas registered agent roughly $150 per year. A Texas LLC registered in Delaware as a foreign LLC owes Delaware's $400 Annual LLC Tax as well, the same as a Delaware LLC. This page gives no yearly total for the Texas route. Counting report fees and any entity-level tax, keeping a domestic Delaware LLC in good standing costs about $400 a year. State tax and fee notes: Delaware LLCs owe a flat $400 annual LLC tax (no report required). 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 Delaware's personal income tax. For a typical small business based in Delaware, none of these usually apply. Registering a Texas LLC to do business back home means $200 in Delaware foreign-registration fees, on top of Texas's $300 formation fee, while Delaware itself never asks for an annual report at all. Delaware already allows anonymous formation, so the privacy argument for Texas doesn't apply to a Delaware-based owner. Trading Delaware's no-annual-report status for Texas's filing calendar is a step backwards for most owners. When in doubt, form where you actually do business.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Compare LLC formation services →Or by state: Best LLC services in Delaware, 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.
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More for Delaware and Texas LLCs
Delaware
Sources
7 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.
- Delaware statute: 6 Del. C. § 18-1107(b) (annual LLC tax)
- Delaware statute: 6 Del. C. § 18-703 (charging orders)
- Texas statute: Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code § 101.112 (charging orders)
- corp.delaware.govDelaware Division of Corporations: business entity filings
- corpfiles.delaware.gov/AugustFee2024.pdfDelaware 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.