Idaho LLC vs Delaware LLC (2026)
Written for owners based in Idaho.
Verdict: for most owners, form where the business is based
Delaware files no annual report, which is why the $400 catches people out: Delaware law taxes every domestic and foreign LLC $400 a year regardless of income or activity, with no proration, so a December formation owes the full amount. Formation is $110 against Idaho's $100. Over five years Delaware costs $2,110 and Idaho $100. Delaware does keep members off the public certificate, which Idaho does not. Unless an investor requires the entity, an owner based in Idaho pays $400 in Delaware plus $100 to register it here.
Based in Delaware? Read Delaware LLC vs Idaho LLC →
Compare Idaho LLC vs Delaware LLC on filing fees, taxes, privacy laws, and annual costs. Find out which state is actually better for your business.
By Edmond Hui · Last updated: September 23, 2026
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| Factor | Idaho | Delaware |
|---|---|---|
| Filing Fee | $100 | $110 |
| Processing Time | Live queue, not fixed | Not published by the state |
| Annual Report Fee | $0 | None ($400/yr entity tax instead) |
| Annual Report Due | Anniversary month | None required |
| State Income Tax | Yes | Yes |
| Anonymous LLC | No | Yes |
| Publication Requirement | No | No |
| Foreign LLC Cost (if forming out-of-state) | N/A, you're in your home state | $100 + registered agent ~$150/yr |
Full fee breakdown for either state: Idaho LLC cost and Delaware LLC cost. Owner privacy options for either state: Idaho anonymous LLC guide and Delaware anonymous LLC guide.
Business Climate: Idaho vs Delaware
| Factor | Idaho | Delaware |
|---|---|---|
| 5-year business survival rate | 45.6% (#48 of 51) | 48.1% (#37 of 51) |
| Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Jul) vs 2025 YTD (same months)) | +15.4% YoY (#39 of 51 by volume) | +2.5% YoY (#33 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: Idaho vs Delaware
Idaho
Delaware
A figure shown as "from" is the least the state can charge, not a price. Tennessee's report is $300 for up to six members and $50 for each member above six, its franchise tax is the greater of $100 or 0.25% of Tennessee net worth, Wyoming's report is the greater of $60 or $.0002 per dollar of in-state assets, Kentucky's entity tax is $175 up to $3 million of gross receipts and graduated above it, and New York's annual filing fee is graduated on New York source gross income. A total that contains one of those is shown as "from" for the same reason. 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. Two exclusions follow from that wording. Arizona and Nebraska require publication and publish no rate, so no newspaper cost is carried for either and their totals are not the whole cost. Alaska's $50 annual state business licence is a separate charge from the Secretary of State fees and is not carried here either. 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. New York's publication cost is carried at a $250 floor, roughly $200 of newspaper cost in a low-cost county plus the $50 Certificate of Publication fee. No county-clerk-designated New York City newspaper publishes a rate card, so the four-figure NYC estimates in wide circulation cannot be traced to a primary source and are not asserted here; budget for materially more than the floor if you file in a NYC county. Every fee was verified against the state's own fee schedule, statute, or revenue authority on 29 July 2026. Excludes registered agent and legal fees. For informational purposes only, not legal or tax advice.
Filing Fees & Formation Costs
Idaho charges $100 to form an LLC, while Delaware charges $110. Idaho is $10 cheaper upfront. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in Delaware but operate in Idaho, you must also register as a foreign LLC in Idaho (a $100 filing) and maintain a registered agent in Delaware (typically around $150 per year). That puts the realistic first-year cost of the Delaware route at roughly $360, versus $100 for simply forming in Idaho. Speed isn't a basis for choosing between them: neither Idaho nor Delaware publishes a standard processing time, so any figure comparing the two is guesswork.
Taxes: Idaho vs Delaware
Both Idaho and Delaware levy a personal income tax on pass-through business income, and your LLC's profits will be taxed where you live and operate. Forming in Delaware doesn't change what an Idaho-based owner pays. Idaho levies a personal income tax (flat 5.695%). Delaware LLCs owe a flat $400 annual LLC tax (no report required).
Privacy & Asset Protection
Delaware allows anonymous LLC formation. Member and manager names don't appear on routine public filings. Delaware's Certificate of Formation requires no member or manager names, and LLCs file no annual report, so ownership never appears on a public filing. Idaho doesn't offer that same privacy. Idaho's annual report requires at least one member or manager (a 'governor'), and filings are public. Both states provide charging-order protection for LLC members, and for most small businesses the practical difference in asset protection between the two is minimal. One important caveat: if you register your Delaware LLC as a foreign LLC in Idaho, that Idaho registration is itself a public record, which can undercut much of the privacy benefit for a business that operates in Idaho.
Annual Maintenance Costs
Idaho LLCs file a free annual report (due in the anniversary month), and Delaware LLCs file no annual report at all. If you form in Delaware while operating in Idaho, you maintain filings in both states, Delaware asks for no report, but Idaho still wants its equivalent for your foreign registration, and pay a Delaware registered agent roughly $150 per year. Counting report fees, the agent and any entity-level tax, that brings the Delaware route to roughly $550 a year, versus about $0 to keep a domestic Idaho LLC in good standing. The tax inside those totals: Delaware LLCs owe a flat $400 annual LLC tax (no report required).
When Delaware Actually Makes Sense
Forming in Delaware makes sense in a few specific situations: you need anonymous ownership. Idaho puts owner or manager information on public filings and Delaware doesn't (usually via a holding company, since operating in Idaho still requires a public foreign registration there), you're raising venture capital or institutional investment. Many investors specifically prefer or require Delaware entities, your business genuinely operates in Delaware, with a real office, employees, or property there, or you're relocating to Delaware in the near future. For a typical small business based in Idaho, none of these usually apply. Registering a Delaware LLC to do business back home means $100 in Idaho foreign-registration fees, on top of Delaware's $110 formation fee, while Idaho's own annual report stays free to file and is due in the anniversary month. When in doubt, form where you actually do business.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources
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)
- sosbiz.idaho.govIdaho Secretary of State: business entity filings
- legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title30/t30ch21/sect30-21-214/Idaho LLC filing fees
- corp.delaware.govDelaware Division of Corporations: business entity filings
- corpfiles.delaware.gov/AugustFee2024.pdfDelaware 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.