Is it cheaper to form an LLC in New Hampshire than South Dakota?

New Hampshire's filing fee is lower ($100 vs $150), but that's not the full picture: operating in South Dakota means also registering as a foreign LLC there ($750) and paying a New Hampshire registered agent. Realistic first-year cost is roughly $1,000 for the New Hampshire route versus $150 for forming in South Dakota.

Can I form my South Dakota business in New Hampshire?

Yes. Any South Dakota business can form its LLC in New Hampshire. But if the business operates in South Dakota, it must also register there as a foreign LLC ($750 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 South Dakota?

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

South Dakota LLC vs New Hampshire LLC (2026)

Compare South Dakota 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: August 13, 2026

For most businesses, forming an LLC in South Dakota beats New Hampshire. South Dakota runs $205 in year one and $55/yr after; New Hampshire runs $200 and $100/yr. See the full breakdown below.

Verdict: South Dakota wins for most businesses

For most South Dakota-based businesses, forming locally in South Dakota is the smarter choice. You avoid paying fees in two states and managing compliance in both. New Hampshire only makes sense if your business genuinely operates there, and even then the total costs deserve a hard look.

Ready to file? Our affiliate partner ZenBusiness files your South Dakota LLC formation paperwork, from $0 + state fee.

Start your South Dakota LLC with ZenBusiness →

Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no cost to you · compare all formation services. MyStateLLC is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.

Factor	South Dakota	New Hampshire
Filing Fee	$150	$100
Processing Time	Not published by the state	Not published by the state
Annual Report Fee	$55	$100
Annual Report Due	Anniversary month	April 1
State Income Tax	No	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	$750 + registered agent ~$150/yr

Full fee breakdown for either state: South Dakota LLC cost and New Hampshire LLC cost.

Business Climate: South Dakota vs New Hampshire

Factor	South Dakota	New Hampshire
5-year business survival rate	52.7% (#19 of 51)	47.7% (#40 of 51)
Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Jul) vs 2025 YTD (same months))	+15.4% YoY (#47 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: South Dakota vs New Hampshire

State A

State B

South Dakota

✓ Cheaper Long-Term

Formation fee$150

Annual report fee$55

State entity taxNone

Report dueAnniversary month

Processing timeNot published by the state

Late penalty$55

New Hampshire

✓ Cheaper Upfront

Formation fee$100

Annual report fee$100

State entity taxNone

Report dueApril 1

Processing timeNot published by the state

Late penalty$50

Total Cost

South Dakota

New Hampshire

1 Year

$205

$200

3 Years

$315

$400

5 Years

$425

$600

Will you operate outside your home state?

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 a state requires publication, and any one-time registration charge a state requires before the LLC may trade. 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. Montana's annual report is free when filed by April 15 and $35 after, a waiver the Secretary of State applies at its discretion. 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

South Dakota 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 South Dakota, you must also register as a foreign LLC in South Dakota (a $750 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 $1,000, versus $150 for simply forming in South Dakota. Speed isn't a basis for choosing between them: neither South Dakota nor New Hampshire publishes a standard processing time, so any figure comparing the two is guesswork.

Taxes: South Dakota vs New Hampshire

Neither South Dakota nor New Hampshire levies a personal income tax, so there's no income-tax advantage to forming in either state. 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 South Dakota nor New Hampshire offers anonymous LLC formation: both states require owner or manager information on public filings. The Certificate of Formation (RSA 304-C:31) doesn't require member/manager names, but the annual report (RSA 304-C:194) must set forth 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

South Dakota LLCs file an annual report ($55, due in the anniversary month), and New Hampshire LLCs file an annual report ($100, due April 1). If you form in New Hampshire while operating in South Dakota, you maintain filings in both states, New Hampshire's report plus South Dakota's equivalent for your foreign registration, and pay a New Hampshire registered agent roughly $150 per year. That brings ongoing costs of the New Hampshire route to roughly $305 per year, versus about $55 to keep a domestic South Dakota LLC in good standing. One more recurring cost to budget for: 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. For a typical small business based in South Dakota, none of these usually apply. Registering a New Hampshire LLC to do business back home means $750 in South Dakota foreign-registration fees, on top of New Hampshire's $100 formation fee, while South Dakota's own annual report runs $55 a year and is due in the anniversary month. 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 South Dakota means also registering as a foreign LLC there ($750) and paying a New Hampshire registered agent. Realistic first-year cost is roughly $1,000 for the New Hampshire route versus $150 for forming in South Dakota.
: Yes. Any South Dakota business can form its LLC in New Hampshire. But if the business operates in South Dakota, it must also register there as a foreign LLC ($750 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.
: South Dakota, for most. Forming where you operate keeps costs and compliance simple. New Hampshire is worth considering only if you actually do business there or have investor requirements that point there.
: Speed isn't a basis for choosing between them: neither South Dakota nor New Hampshire publishes a standard processing time, so any figure comparing the two is guesswork. Only 19 of the 50 states publish anything about non-expedited turnaround at all. Whichever you pick, remember that forming in New Hampshire while operating in South Dakota means you're not fully set up until the South Dakota 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 South Dakota versus New Hampshire, contrasting filing fees, annual report cost and ongoing obligations across 8 factors. On balance this guide favours South Dakota. — South Dakota 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.

More State Comparisons

South Dakota vs New Jersey →South Dakota vs New Mexico →South Dakota vs New York →South Dakota vs Delaware →New Hampshire vs Delaware →

South Dakota LLC Guide →New Hampshire LLC Guide →

📎

Embed this comparison, free

Add the South Dakota 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=SD&stateB=NH" width="100%" height="720" frameborder="0" style="border:0;max-width:900px;display:block;margin:0 auto;" title="South Dakota 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/south-dakota-llc-vs-new-hampshire-llc">MyStateLLC, South Dakota vs New Hampshire LLC Comparison</a></p>