Montana LLC vs Rhode Island LLC (2026)
Written for owners based in Montana.
Verdict: for most owners, form where the business is based
Rhode Island's Secretary of State report is $50, but the Division of Taxation adds a flat $400 annual charge on Form RI-1065 whether or not the LLC made a profit, so the real recurring figure is roughly $450 a year against Montana's current $0. Rhode Island charges $150 to form against Montana's $35. The $400 is not prorated and is owed for any year the business exists, so a December formation triggers a full $400. The report window is only February 1 to May 1, with a $25 penalty applied June 1. Foreign registration into Montana costs $70 beyond all of that.
Based in Rhode Island? Read Rhode Island LLC vs Montana LLC →
Compare Montana LLC vs Rhode Island 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 | Montana | Rhode Island |
|---|---|---|
| Filing Fee | $35 | $150 |
| Processing Time | Not published by the state | Within 2 business days |
| Annual Report Fee | $0 (waived when filed by April 15; $35 after) | $50 |
| Annual Report Due | April 15 | May 1 (window opens Feb 1) |
| 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 | $70 + registered agent ~$150/yr |
Full fee breakdown for either state: Montana LLC cost and Rhode Island LLC cost. Owner privacy options for either state: Montana anonymous LLC guide and Rhode Island anonymous LLC guide.
Business Climate: Montana vs Rhode Island
| Factor | Montana | Rhode Island |
|---|---|---|
| 5-year business survival rate | 53% (#16 of 51) | 48.1% (#38 of 51) |
| Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Jul) vs 2025 YTD (same months)) | +13.4% YoY (#40 of 51 by volume) | +10.9% YoY (#49 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 Rhode Island
Montana
Rhode Island
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 Rhode Island charges $150. Montana is $115 cheaper upfront. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in Rhode Island but operate in Montana, you must also register as a foreign LLC in Montana (a $70 filing) and maintain a registered agent in Rhode Island (typically around $150 per year). That puts the realistic first-year cost of the Rhode Island route at roughly $370, versus $35 for simply forming in Montana. Only one side of this comparison is knowable: Rhode Island publishes a standard turnaround (within 2 business days), while Montana publishes no standard processing time, so the two can't be ranked against each other on speed.
Taxes: Montana vs Rhode Island
Both Montana and Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island doesn't change what a Montana-based owner pays. 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).
Privacy & Asset Protection
Neither Montana nor Rhode Island offers anonymous LLC formation: both states require owner or manager information on public filings. Rhode Island's foreign application and annual report disclose the LLC's members or managers. 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 Rhode Island LLCs file an annual report ($50, due May 1 (window opens Feb 1)). If you form in Rhode Island while operating in Montana, you maintain filings in both states, Rhode Island's report plus Montana's equivalent for your foreign registration, and pay a Rhode Island registered agent roughly $150 per year. Counting report fees, the agent and any entity-level tax, that brings the Rhode Island route to roughly $600 a year, versus about $0 to keep a domestic Montana LLC in good standing. The tax 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).
When Rhode Island Actually Makes Sense
Forming in Rhode Island makes sense in a few specific situations: your business genuinely operates in Rhode Island, with a real office, employees, or property there, or you're relocating to Rhode Island in the near future. For a typical small business based in Montana, none of these usually apply. Registering a Rhode Island LLC to do business back home means $70 in Montana foreign-registration fees, on top of Rhode Island's $150 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
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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.
- Montana bill: HB 337 (2025) (income tax rate cut)
- sosmt.gov/business/Montana Secretary of State: business entity filings
- sosmt.gov/business/fees/Montana LLC filing fees
- sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-servicesRhode Island Secretary of State: business entity filings
- sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-services/business-basics/costs-and-feesRhode Island 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.