Texas LLC vs Florida LLC (2026)
Written for owners based in Texas.
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Compare Texas LLC vs Florida 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 13, 2026
Verdict: for most owners, form where the business is based
Florida wins year one by $36.25 and loses every year after. Its $138.75 Annual Report falls due whether or not the business earned a dollar, while Texas sets no minimum recurring state charge (franchise tax above the threshold and the Public Information Report still apply). Forming in Florida while operating in Texas also adds a $750 Texas foreign registration. Choose Florida when you have customers, property, or staff there, not for the fees.
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| Factor | Texas | Florida |
|---|---|---|
| Filing Fee | $300 | $125 |
| Processing Time | Not published by the state | Live queue, not fixed |
| Annual Report Fee | $0 | $138.75 |
| Annual Report Due | May 15 | May 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: Texas LLC cost and Florida LLC cost.
Business Climate: Texas vs Florida
| Factor | Texas | Florida |
|---|---|---|
| 5-year business survival rate | 52.5% (#20 of 51) | 49.5% (#34 of 51) |
| Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Jul) vs 2025 YTD (same months)) | +13.7% YoY (#3 of 51 by volume) | +15.5% YoY (#1 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: Texas vs Florida
Texas
Florida
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. Montana's annual report is free when filed by April 15 and $35 after, a waiver that applies to reports filed between January 1 and April 15. 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
Texas charges $300 to form an LLC, while Florida charges $125. Florida is $175 cheaper upfront. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in Florida but operate in Texas, you must also register as a foreign LLC in Texas (a $750 filing) and maintain a registered agent in Florida (typically around $150 per year). That puts the realistic first-year cost of the Florida route at roughly $1,025, versus $300 for simply forming in Texas. Speed isn't a basis for choosing between them: neither Texas nor Florida publishes a standard processing time, so any figure comparing the two is guesswork.
Taxes: Texas vs Florida
Neither Texas nor Florida levies a personal income tax, so there's no income-tax advantage to forming in either state. Texas imposes a franchise tax; LLCs under the no-tax-due threshold ($2,650,000 total revenue for 2026-27 reports) owe $0 but must still file an annual Public Information Report.
Privacy & Asset Protection
Neither Texas nor Florida offers anonymous LLC formation: both states require owner or manager information on public filings. An authorized person signs the Articles, and the annual report lists managers/authorized members on Sunbiz, so management is a public record. 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
Texas LLCs file a free annual report (due May 15), and Florida LLCs file an annual report ($138.75, due May 1). If you form in Florida while operating in Texas, you maintain filings in both states (Florida's report plus Texas's equivalent for your foreign registration) and pay a Florida registered agent roughly $150 per year. That brings ongoing costs of the Florida route to roughly $288.75 per year, versus about $0 to keep a domestic Texas LLC in good standing. One more recurring cost to budget for: Texas imposes a franchise tax; LLCs under the no-tax-due threshold ($2,650,000 total revenue for 2026-27 reports) owe $0 but must still file an annual Public Information Report.
When Florida Actually Makes Sense
Forming in Florida makes sense in a few specific situations: your business genuinely operates in Florida, with a real office, employees, or property there, or you're relocating to Florida in the near future. For a typical small business based in Texas, none of these usually apply. Registering a Florida LLC to do business back home means $750 in Texas foreign-registration fees, on top of Florida's $125 formation fee, while Texas's own annual report stays free to file and is due May 15. When in doubt, form where you actually do business.
Frequently Asked Questions
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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.