Montana LLC vs Nevada LLC (2026)
Written for owners based in Montana.
Verdict: for most owners, form where the business is based
Nevada advertises a $75 filing fee and the real day-one total is $425: Nevada law requires the $150 Initial List with the Articles and the $200 State Business License at the same time. Both recur, so Nevada costs $350 every year with no zero-revenue exemption, against Montana's $35 once and $0 now. Nevada levies no personal income tax where Montana does, which is the trade being offered. Default adds $75 and $100 in penalties, then revokes the charter. That Nevada company still needs $70 of Montana registration to trade here.
Based in Nevada? Read Nevada LLC vs Montana LLC →
Compare Montana LLC vs Nevada 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
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 Montana, Best LLC services in Nevada
Ready to file? Our affiliate partner ZenBusiness files your LLC formation paperwork, from $0 + state fee.
Start your LLC with ZenBusiness →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 | Montana | Nevada |
|---|---|---|
| Filing Fee | $35 | $75 ($425 with the required initial list and business license) |
| Processing Time | Not published by the state | Same day (online) |
| Annual Report Fee | $0 (waived when filed by April 15; $35 after) | $150 annual list ($350 with the business license renewal) |
| Annual Report Due | April 15 | Anniversary month |
| 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 |
Full fee breakdown for either state: Montana LLC cost and Nevada LLC cost. Owner privacy options for either state: Montana anonymous LLC guide and Nevada anonymous LLC guide.
Business Climate: Montana vs Nevada
| Factor | Montana | Nevada |
|---|---|---|
| 5-year business survival rate | 53% (#16 of 51) | 47.6% (#41 of 51) |
| Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Jul) vs 2025 YTD (same months)) | +13.4% YoY (#40 of 51 by volume) | +10.8% YoY (#30 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: Montana vs Nevada
Montana
Nevada
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
Montana charges $35 to form an LLC, while Nevada charges $425. Montana is $390 cheaper upfront. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in Nevada but operate in Montana, you must also register as a foreign LLC in Montana (a $70 filing) and maintain a registered agent in Nevada (typically around $150 per year). That puts the realistic first-year cost of the Nevada route at roughly $645, versus $35 for simply forming in Montana. Only one side of this comparison is knowable: Nevada publishes a standard turnaround (same day, online), while Montana publishes no standard processing time, so the two can't be ranked against each other on speed.
Taxes: Montana vs Nevada
Nevada has no personal income tax while Montana does, but forming your LLC in Nevada won't change that. LLC profits pass through to you and are taxed where you live and operate (in Montana), not where the LLC is registered, so a Nevada LLC offers no income-tax savings for a Montana-based business. Montana levies a two-bracket individual income tax; under a 2025 Montana law the top rate drops from 5.9% to 5.65% effective January 1, 2026, with the 4.7% lower rate applying up to $47,500 single/$95,000 joint (Montana Department of Revenue). No franchise or privilege tax on LLCs; the Secretary of State currently waives the annual report fee for reports filed by April 15 ($35 if filed late). Every LLC must hold a State Business License at $200/year (corporations pay $500) and file a $150 Annual List, $350/year total recurring. The Commerce Tax applies only to businesses with Nevada gross revenue over $4 million.
Privacy & Asset Protection
Neither Montana nor Nevada offers anonymous LLC formation: both states require owner or manager information on public filings. Confirmed not anonymous despite marketing: both the domestic Initial/Annual List and the foreign LLC list must state the names, titles, and addresses of all managers or, if none, all managing members, and these lists are public record filed at formation and annually. 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
Montana LLCs file a free annual report (due April 15), and Nevada LLCs file an annual report ($150, due in the anniversary month). If you form in Nevada while operating in Montana, you maintain filings in both states, Nevada's report plus Montana's equivalent for your foreign registration, and pay a Nevada registered agent roughly $150 per year. Counting report fees, the agent and any entity-level tax, that brings the Nevada route to roughly $500 a year, versus about $0 to keep a domestic Montana LLC in good standing. The taxes inside those totals: No franchise or privilege tax on LLCs; the Secretary of State currently waives the annual report fee for reports filed by April 15 ($35 if filed late). Every LLC must hold a State Business License at $200/year (corporations pay $500) and file a $150 Annual List, $350/year total recurring. The Commerce Tax applies only to businesses with Nevada gross revenue over $4 million.
When Nevada Actually Makes Sense
Forming in Nevada makes sense in a few specific situations: your business genuinely operates in Nevada, with a real office, employees, or property there, or you're relocating to Nevada in the near future, which would also move you out of Montana's personal income tax. For a typical small business based in Montana, none of these usually apply. Registering a Nevada LLC to do business back home means $70 in Montana foreign-registration fees, on top of Nevada's $425 formation fee, while Montana's own annual report stays free to file and is due April 15. 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 Montana, Best LLC services in Nevada
Our affiliate partner ZenBusiness files your LLC formation paperwork, from $0 + state fee.
Start your LLC with ZenBusiness →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 Montana vs Nevada 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=MT&stateB=NV" width="100%" height="720" frameborder="0" style="border:0;max-width:900px;display:block;margin:0 auto;" title="Montana vs Nevada 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/montana-llc-vs-nevada-llc">MyStateLLC, Montana vs Nevada LLC Comparison</a></p>
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.
- Nevada statute: NRS 86.263 (initial list)
- Nevada statute: NRS 76.100 (state business license)
- Montana bill: HB 337 (2025) (income tax rate cut)
- Nevada statute: NRS 86.263/86.5461 (annual list)
- Nevada statute: NRS 86.263(1) (domestic initial and annual list)
- Nevada statute: NRS 86.5461(1) (foreign LLC annual list)
- Nevada statute: NRS ch. 363C (Commerce Tax)
- sosmt.gov/business/Montana Secretary of State: business entity filings
- sosmt.gov/business/fees/Montana LLC filing fees
- nvsos.gov/sos/businesses/start-a-business/limited-liability-companyNevada Secretary of State: business entity filings
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.