Rhode Island LLC vs Indiana LLC (2026)
Written for owners based in Rhode Island.
Verdict: for most owners, form where the business is based
Indiana costs $95 to form through INBiz or $100 on paper, against $150 in Rhode Island either way. The recurring difference is the larger one. Indiana's Business Entity Report is $31 every second year, roughly $15.50 annually, against $450 here, which is a $50 report plus a $400 tax charge. A two-year gap between filings is how Indiana LLCs get administratively dissolved, because nothing lands in the off year. Bringing that LLC into Rhode Island costs $150 and reinstates the $450.
Based in Indiana? Read Indiana LLC vs Rhode Island LLC →
Compare Rhode Island LLC vs Indiana 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 | Rhode Island | Indiana |
|---|---|---|
| Filing Fee | $150 | $95 |
| Processing Time | Within 2 business days | Not published by the state |
| Annual Report Fee | $50 | $31 (biennial) |
| Annual Report Due | May 1 (window opens Feb 1) | End of anniversary month (biennial) |
| 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 | $150 + registered agent ~$150/yr |
Full fee breakdown for either state: Rhode Island LLC cost and Indiana LLC cost. Owner privacy options for either state: Rhode Island anonymous LLC guide and Indiana anonymous LLC guide.
Business Climate: Rhode Island vs Indiana
| Factor | Rhode Island | Indiana |
|---|---|---|
| 5-year business survival rate | 48.1% (#38 of 51) | 54.3% (#9 of 51) |
| Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Jul) vs 2025 YTD (same months)) | +10.9% YoY (#49 of 51 by volume) | +15.4% YoY (#20 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: Rhode Island vs Indiana
Rhode Island
Indiana
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
Rhode Island charges $150 to form an LLC, while Indiana charges $95. Indiana is $55 cheaper upfront. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in Indiana but operate in Rhode Island, you must also register as a foreign LLC in Rhode Island (a $150 filing) and maintain a registered agent in Indiana (typically around $150 per year). That puts the realistic first-year cost of the Indiana route at roughly $395, versus $150 for simply forming in Rhode Island. Only one side of this comparison is knowable: Rhode Island publishes a standard turnaround (within 2 business days), while Indiana publishes no standard processing time, so the two can't be ranked against each other on speed.
Taxes: Rhode Island vs Indiana
Both Rhode Island and Indiana 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 Indiana doesn't change what a Rhode Island-based owner pays. Indiana levies a flat 3.0% personal income tax. Neither state imposes a separate franchise or privilege tax on LLCs beyond standard filing fees.
Privacy & Asset Protection
Neither Rhode Island nor Indiana offers anonymous LLC formation: both states require owner or manager information on public filings. Indiana's Articles of Organization require no member or manager name, but the biennial Business Entity Report does: the Secretary of State's INBiz filing requirements call for at least one officer or governing person, and a governing person expressly includes managers (if manager-managed) and members (if member-managed). Those names are public, the Indiana business search exposes an "Incorporator or Governing Person Name" field. Separately, an Indiana law effective 2026-01-01 requires every health care entity, LLCs included, to report on the biennial report the name, address and ownership stake of each holder of 5% or more. 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
Rhode Island LLCs file an annual report ($50, due May 1 (window opens Feb 1)), and Indiana LLCs file a biennial report ($31, due in the anniversary month, every two years). If you form in Indiana while operating in Rhode Island, you maintain filings in both states, Indiana's report plus Rhode Island's equivalent for your foreign registration, and pay an Indiana registered agent roughly $150 per year. Counting report fees, the agent and any entity-level tax, that brings the Indiana route to roughly $231 a year, versus about $450 to keep a domestic Rhode Island LLC in good standing.
When Indiana Actually Makes Sense
Forming in Indiana makes sense in a few specific situations: your business genuinely operates in Indiana, with a real office, employees, or property there, or you're relocating to Indiana in the near future. For a typical small business based in Rhode Island, none of these usually apply. Registering an Indiana LLC to do business back home means $150 in Rhode Island foreign-registration fees, on top of Indiana's $95 formation fee, while Rhode Island's own annual report runs $50 a year and is due May 1 (window opens Feb 1). When in doubt, form where you actually do business.
Frequently Asked Questions
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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.
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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.
- Indiana statute: IC 23-18-2-4(b) (articles of organization contents)
- Indiana statute: IC 23-0.5-2-14 (health care entity ownership reporting)
- Indiana law: P.L.239-2025 s.8 (added the reporting rule)
- 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
- in.gov/sos/business/Indiana Secretary of State: business entity filings
- inbiz.in.gov/Inbiz/FeeCalculator/IndexIndiana 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.