Is it cheaper to form an LLC in New Hampshire than Rhode Island?

New Hampshire's filing fee is lower ($100 vs $150), but that's not the full picture: operating in Rhode Island means also registering as a foreign LLC there ($150) and paying a New Hampshire registered agent. Realistic first-year cost is roughly $400 for the New Hampshire route versus $150 for forming in Rhode Island.

Can I form my Rhode Island business in New Hampshire?

Yes. Any Rhode Island business can form its LLC in New Hampshire. But if the business operates in Rhode Island, it must also register there as a foreign LLC ($150 filing fee) and maintain a registered agent in New Hampshire, so you take on two states' fees and filings instead of one.

Does New Hampshire have better asset protection than Rhode Island?

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

Rhode Island LLC vs New Hampshire LLC (2026)

Written for owners based in Rhode Island.

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

New Hampshire charges $100 to form and $100 a year, against $150 and $450 in Rhode Island, and an LLC formed between December 1 and April 1 legitimately skips a report that first year. The trade is that New Hampshire taxes the LLC itself: Business Profits Tax at 7.5% once gross business income passes $109,000, and Business Enterprise Tax at 0.55% above $298,000. Both scale with the business, where Rhode Island's $400 is owed flat. Registering here costs $150 and adds the $450.

Based in New Hampshire? Read New Hampshire LLC vs Rhode Island LLC →

Compare Rhode Island LLC vs New Hampshire 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 Rhode Island, a Rhode Island LLC needs no foreign registration there; a New Hampshire LLC run from Rhode Island generally must also register in Rhode Island as a foreign LLC (Rhode Island's $150 filing fee). If your business is based in New Hampshire, a New Hampshire LLC needs no foreign registration there; a Rhode Island LLC run from New Hampshire generally must also register in New Hampshire as a foreign LLC (New Hampshire's $100 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 Rhode Island LLC runs $600 in year one and $450/yr after; a New Hampshire LLC runs $200 and $100/yr. See the full breakdown below.

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 Rhode Island, Best LLC services in New Hampshire

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	Rhode Island	New Hampshire
Filing Fee	$150	$100
Processing Time	Within 2 business days	Within 30 days (paper)
Annual Report Fee	$50	$100
Annual Report Due	May 1 (window opens Feb 1)	April 1
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	$150 + registered agent ~$150/yr

Full fee breakdown for either state: Rhode Island LLC cost and New Hampshire LLC cost. Owner privacy options for either state: Rhode Island anonymous LLC guide and New Hampshire anonymous LLC guide.

Business Climate: Rhode Island vs New Hampshire

Factor	Rhode Island	New Hampshire
5-year business survival rate	48.1% (#38 of 51)	47.7% (#40 of 51)
Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Jul) vs 2025 YTD (same months))	+10.9% YoY (#49 of 51 by volume)	+26.1% YoY (#42 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: Rhode Island vs New Hampshire

State A

State B

Rhode Island

Formation fee$150

Annual report fee$50

State entity tax$400/yr, Annual charge (minimum corporate tax)

Report dueMay 1 (window opens Feb 1)

Processing timeWithin 2 business days

Late penalty$25

New Hampshire

✓ Cheaper Upfront✓ Cheaper Long-Term

Formation fee$100

Annual report fee$100

State entity taxNone

Report dueApril 1

Processing timeWithin 30 days (paper)

Late penalty$50

Total Cost

Rhode Island

New Hampshire

1 Year

$600

$200

3 Years

$1,500

$400

5 Years

$2,400

$600

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

Rhode Island charges $150 to form an LLC, while New Hampshire charges $100. New Hampshire is $50 cheaper upfront. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire (typically around $150 per year). That puts the realistic first-year cost of the New Hampshire route at roughly $400, versus $150 for simply forming in Rhode Island. Both states publish a standard turnaround, Rhode Island (within 2 business days) and New Hampshire (within 30 days, paper), though a published figure is a norm, not a guarantee.

Taxes: Rhode Island vs New Hampshire

New Hampshire has no personal income tax while Rhode Island does, but forming your LLC in New Hampshire won't change that. LLC profits pass through to you and are taxed where you live and operate (in Rhode Island), not where the LLC is registered, so a New Hampshire LLC offers no income-tax savings for a Rhode Island-based business. Business Profits Tax of 7.5% applies to LLCs with gross business income over $109,000 (threshold for periods beginning on/after 1/1/2025), and Business Enterprise Tax of 0.55% applies over $298,000 of gross receipts or enterprise value tax base. Both beyond the $100 annual report fee.

Privacy & Asset Protection

Neither Rhode Island nor New Hampshire offers anonymous LLC formation: both states require owner or manager information on public filings. The Certificate of Formation doesn't require member/manager names, but under New Hampshire law the annual report must list the names and business addresses of the LLC's managers or, if there are no managers, at least one member, so ownership/management can't stay off all routine public filings. 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 New Hampshire LLCs file an annual report ($100, due April 1). If you form in New Hampshire while operating in Rhode Island, you maintain filings in both states, New Hampshire's report plus Rhode Island's equivalent for your foreign registration, and pay a New Hampshire registered agent roughly $150 per year. Counting report fees, the agent and any entity-level tax, that brings the New Hampshire route to roughly $300 a year, versus about $450 to keep a domestic Rhode Island LLC in good standing. The tax inside those totals: Business Profits Tax of 7.5% applies to LLCs with gross business income over $109,000 (threshold for periods beginning on/after 1/1/2025), and Business Enterprise Tax of 0.55% applies over $298,000 of gross receipts or enterprise value tax base. Both beyond the $100 annual report fee.

When New Hampshire Actually Makes Sense

Forming in New Hampshire makes sense in a few specific situations: your business genuinely operates in New Hampshire, with a real office, employees, or property there, or you're relocating to New Hampshire in the near future, which would also move you out of Rhode Island's personal income tax. For a typical small business based in Rhode Island, none of these usually apply. Registering a New Hampshire LLC to do business back home means $150 in Rhode Island foreign-registration fees, on top of New Hampshire's $100 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

: New Hampshire's filing fee is lower ($100 vs $150), but that's not the full picture: operating in Rhode Island means also registering as a foreign LLC there ($150) and paying a New Hampshire registered agent. Realistic first-year cost is roughly $400 for the New Hampshire route versus $150 for forming in Rhode Island.
: Yes. Any Rhode Island business can form its LLC in New Hampshire. But if the business operates in Rhode Island, it must also register there as a foreign LLC ($150 filing fee) and maintain a registered agent in New Hampshire, 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 Rhode Island-based business, Rhode Island: forming where the business is based keeps costs and compliance simple, and New Hampshire is worth considering only if you actually do business there. For a New Hampshire-based business, the same reasoning points to New Hampshire.
: Both states publish a standard turnaround, Rhode Island (within 2 business days) and New Hampshire (within 30 days, paper), though a published figure is a norm, not a guarantee. Whichever you pick, remember that forming in New Hampshire while operating in Rhode Island means you're not fully set up until the Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island versus New Hampshire, contrasting filing fees, annual report cost and ongoing obligations across 8 factors. — Rhode Island and New Hampshire 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.

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 Rhode Island, Best LLC services in New Hampshire

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

Rhode Island vs New Jersey →Rhode Island vs New Mexico →Rhode Island vs New York →Rhode Island vs Delaware →New Hampshire vs Delaware →

Rhode Island LLC Guide →New Hampshire LLC Guide →

📎

Embed this comparison, free

Add the Rhode Island vs New Hampshire 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=RI&stateB=NH" width="100%" height="720" frameborder="0" style="border:0;max-width:900px;display:block;margin:0 auto;" title="Rhode Island vs New Hampshire 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/rhode-island-llc-vs-new-hampshire-llc">MyStateLLC, Rhode Island vs New Hampshire 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.

New Hampshire statute: RSA 304-C:31 (certificate of formation)
New Hampshire statute: RSA 304-C:194 (annual report contents)
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
sos.nh.gov/corporations-0New Hampshire Secretary of State: business entity filings
gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXVIII/304-C/304-C-191.htmNew Hampshire 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.