Is it cheaper to form an LLC in Vermont than Kentucky?

No. Vermont costs more upfront ($155 vs $40), and if you operate in Kentucky you must also register there as a foreign LLC ($90) plus pay a Vermont registered agent. Realistic first-year cost is roughly $395 versus $40 for forming locally.

Can I form my Kentucky business in Vermont?

Yes. Any Kentucky business can form its LLC in Vermont. But if the business operates in Kentucky, it must also register there as a foreign LLC ($90 filing fee) and maintain a registered agent in Vermont, so you take on two states' fees and filings instead of one.

Does Vermont have better asset protection than Kentucky?

Not meaningfully. Both states provide charging-order protection for LLC members, and neither offers a decisive asset-protection edge for a typical small business. Sound insurance and clean separation of business and personal finances matter more in practice.

State Comparison

Kentucky LLC vs Vermont LLC (2026)

Written for owners based in Kentucky.

Verdict: for most owners, form where the business is based

Vermont's $45 annual report understates what a multi-member LLC actually pays. Vermont law adds a flat $250 minimum entity tax for an LLC taxed as a partnership, owed even in a loss year, which puts realistic upkeep near $295 rather than $45, against $190 in Kentucky. A single-member LLC treated as a disregarded entity escapes the $250 entirely, where Kentucky's $175 reaches every liability-shielded entity regardless of classification. The certificate of organization is $155 against $40. Kentucky's own foreign registration adds $90 on top.

Based in Vermont? Read Vermont LLC vs Kentucky LLC →

Compare Kentucky LLC vs Vermont 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

If your business is based in Kentucky, a Kentucky LLC needs no foreign registration there; a Vermont LLC run from Kentucky generally must also register in Kentucky as a foreign LLC (Kentucky's $90 filing fee). If your business is based in Vermont, a Vermont LLC needs no foreign registration there; a Kentucky LLC run from Vermont generally must also register in Vermont as a foreign LLC (Vermont's $155 filing fee). An LLC formed in one of these states and run from the other owes whatever filings, fees and taxes each state requires. A Kentucky LLC runs from $230 in year one and from $190/yr after; a Vermont LLC runs $200 and $45/yr. See the full breakdown below.

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Factor	Kentucky	Vermont
Filing Fee	$40	$155
Processing Time	Same day to 3 business days	Under 1 business day online; 7 to 10 by mail
Annual Report Fee	$15	$45
Annual Report Due	June 30	Within 3 months of fiscal year end
State Income Tax	Yes	Yes
Anonymous LLC	No	No
Publication Requirement	No	No
Foreign LLC Cost (if forming out-of-state)	N/A, you're in your home state	$90 + registered agent ~$150/yr

Full fee breakdown for either state: Kentucky LLC cost and Vermont LLC cost. Owner privacy options for either state: Kentucky anonymous LLC guide and Vermont anonymous LLC guide.

Business Climate: Kentucky vs Vermont

Factor	Kentucky	Vermont
5-year business survival rate	54.1% (#11 of 51)	46.6% (#44 of 51)
Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Jul) vs 2025 YTD (same months))	+34.1% YoY (#26 of 51 by volume)	+15.4% YoY (#51 of 51 by volume)

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics · U.S. Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (BFS)

See the full 50-state survival ranking.

Compare LLC Costs: Kentucky vs Vermont

State A

State B

Kentucky

✓ Cheaper Upfront

Formation fee$40

Annual report fee$15

State entity taxfrom $175/yr, Limited Liability Entity Tax (LLET)

Report dueJune 30

Processing timeSame day to 3 business days

Late penalty$0

Vermont

✓ Cheaper Long-Term

Formation fee$155

Annual report fee$45

State entity taxNone

Report dueWithin 3 months of fiscal year end

Processing timeUnder 1 business day online; 7 to 10 by mail

Late penalty$0

Total Cost

Kentucky

Vermont

1 Year

from $230

$200

3 Years

from $610

$290

5 Years

from $990

$380

Will you operate outside your home state?

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

Kentucky charges $40 to form an LLC, while Vermont charges $155. Kentucky is $115 cheaper upfront. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in Vermont but operate in Kentucky, you must also register as a foreign LLC in Kentucky (a $90 filing) and maintain a registered agent in Vermont (typically around $150 per year). That puts the realistic first-year cost of the Vermont route at roughly $395, versus $40 for simply forming in Kentucky. Both states publish a standard turnaround, Kentucky (same day to 3 business days) and Vermont (under 1 business day online; 7 to 10 by mail), though a published figure is a norm, not a guarantee.

Taxes: Kentucky vs Vermont

Both Kentucky and Vermont 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 Vermont doesn't change what a Kentucky-based owner pays. Kentucky levies a flat 4% personal income tax. Kentucky imposes the Limited Liability Entity Tax (LLET), $175 minimum per year.

Privacy & Asset Protection

Neither Kentucky nor Vermont offers anonymous LLC formation: both states require owner or manager information on public filings. Under Vermont law the annual report must state only the company name, designated office and registered agent, and the articles and foreign application make owner or principal names optional, but the Secretary of State treats up-to-date principal personnel as part of good standing and its public business record displays the principals on file, so whether an LLC can keep member and manager names off its filings in practice isn't confirmed. Business owners who prioritize privacy typically form a holding company in a state like Wyoming or New Mexico instead. 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.

Annual Maintenance Costs

Kentucky LLCs file an annual report ($15, due June 30), and Vermont LLCs file an annual report ($45, due within 3 months of fiscal year end). If you form in Vermont while operating in Kentucky, you maintain filings in both states, Vermont's report plus Kentucky's equivalent for your foreign registration, and pay a Vermont registered agent roughly $150 per year. Counting report fees, the agent and any entity-level tax, that brings the Vermont route to roughly $210 a year, versus at least $190 to keep a domestic Kentucky LLC in good standing. The tax inside those totals: Kentucky imposes the Limited Liability Entity Tax (LLET), $175 minimum per year.

When Vermont Actually Makes Sense

Forming in Vermont makes sense in a few specific situations: your business genuinely operates in Vermont, with a real office, employees, or property there, or you're relocating to Vermont in the near future. For a typical small business based in Kentucky, none of these usually apply. Registering a Vermont LLC to do business back home means $90 in Kentucky foreign-registration fees, on top of Vermont's $155 formation fee, while Kentucky's own annual report runs $15 a year and is due June 30. When in doubt, form where you actually do business.

Frequently Asked Questions

: No. Vermont costs more upfront ($155 vs $40), and if you operate in Kentucky you must also register there as a foreign LLC ($90) plus pay a Vermont registered agent. Realistic first-year cost is roughly $395 versus $40 for forming locally.
: Yes. Any Kentucky business can form its LLC in Vermont. But if the business operates in Kentucky, it must also register there as a foreign LLC ($90 filing fee) and maintain a registered agent in Vermont, so you take on two states' fees and filings instead of one.
: Not meaningfully. Both states provide charging-order protection for LLC members, and neither offers a decisive asset-protection edge for a typical small business. Sound insurance and clean separation of business and personal finances matter more in practice.
: It depends on where the business is based. For a Kentucky-based business, Kentucky: forming where the business is based keeps costs and compliance simple, and Vermont is worth considering only if you actually do business there. For a Vermont-based business, the same reasoning points to Vermont.
: Both states publish a standard turnaround, Kentucky (same day to 3 business days) and Vermont (under 1 business day online; 7 to 10 by mail), though a published figure is a norm, not a guarantee. Whichever you pick, remember that forming in Vermont while operating in Kentucky means you're not fully set up until the Kentucky foreign registration is also processed, so the out-of-state route is rarely the faster path end to end. If your timing is genuinely fixed, buy the state's expedite tier rather than relying on a standard turnaround.

Comparison chart of forming an LLC in Kentucky versus Vermont, contrasting filing fees, annual report cost and ongoing obligations across 8 factors. — Kentucky and Vermont side by side on the factors that decide where to form. Source: MyStateLLC 50-state cost dataset, verified against each Secretary of State's published fee schedule, July 2026.

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More State Comparisons

Kentucky vs Virginia →Kentucky vs Washington →Kentucky vs West Virginia →Kentucky vs Delaware →Vermont vs Delaware →

Kentucky LLC Guide →Vermont LLC Guide →

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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.

Vermont statute: 32 V.S.A. 5921 (minimum business entity tax)
Vermont statute: 11 V.S.A. § 4033(a) (annual report contents)
Vermont statute: § 4023(b)(2) (articles of organization contents)
Vermont statute: § 4112(b)(2) (foreign registration contents)
sos.ky.gov/bus/business-filings/OnlineServices/Pages/default.aspxKentucky Secretary of State: business entity filings
sos.ky.gov/bus/business-filings/Pages/Fees.aspxKentucky LLC filing fees
sos.vermont.gov/business-services/business-filings/domestic-formation/llcVermont Secretary of State: business entity filings
sos.vermont.gov/business-services/fees-statutesVermont 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.