Texas LLC vs Wisconsin LLC (2026)
Written for owners based in Texas.
Verdict: for most owners, form where the business is based
Wisconsin's numbers are unremarkable in a useful way: $130 to form, a $25 Annual Report, $155 in the first year against Texas's $300, and no entity-level income or franchise tax on an LLC taxed as a partnership. Texas likewise sets no minimum recurring charge, though the Public Information Report still goes to the Comptroller. Since Wisconsin offers a Texas owner nothing Texas lacks, the $750 Texas charges to admit a foreign LLC settles it.
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Compare Texas LLC vs Wisconsin 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 | Texas | Wisconsin |
|---|---|---|
| Filing Fee | $300 | $130 |
| Processing Time | Not published by the state | Instant on receipt (online) |
| Annual Report Fee | $0 | $25 |
| Annual Report Due | May 15 | Anniversary quarter |
| State Income Tax | No | 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 | $750 + registered agent ~$150/yr |
Full fee breakdown for either state: Texas LLC cost and Wisconsin LLC cost. Owner privacy options for either state: Texas anonymous LLC guide and Wisconsin anonymous LLC guide.
Business Climate: Texas vs Wisconsin
| Factor | Texas | Wisconsin |
|---|---|---|
| 5-year business survival rate | 52.5% (#20 of 51) | 52.4% (#21 of 51) |
| Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Jul) vs 2025 YTD (same months)) | +13.7% YoY (#3 of 51 by volume) | +20% YoY (#25 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 Wisconsin
Texas
Wisconsin
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
Texas charges $300 to form an LLC, while Wisconsin charges $130. Wisconsin is $170 cheaper upfront. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in Wisconsin but operate in Texas, you must also register as a foreign LLC in Texas (a $750 filing) and maintain a registered agent in Wisconsin (typically around $150 per year). That puts the realistic first-year cost of the Wisconsin route at roughly $1,030, versus $300 for simply forming in Texas. Only one side of this comparison is knowable: Wisconsin publishes a standard turnaround (instant on receipt, online), while Texas publishes no standard processing time, so the two can't be ranked against each other on speed.
Taxes: Texas vs Wisconsin
Texas has no personal income tax, while Wisconsin taxes individual income. Since pass-through LLC profits are taxed where you live and operate, a Texas-based owner keeps Texas's no-income-tax benefit either way. Forming in Wisconsin adds no tax advantage. 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 Wisconsin offers anonymous LLC formation: both states require owner or manager information on public filings. Wisconsin's annual report lists member/manager names and addresses, which become public. 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 Wisconsin LLCs file an annual report ($25, due in the anniversary quarter). If you form in Wisconsin while operating in Texas, you maintain filings in both states, Wisconsin's report plus Texas's equivalent for your foreign registration, and pay a Wisconsin registered agent roughly $150 per year. Counting report fees, the agent and any entity-level tax, that brings the Wisconsin route to roughly $175 a year, versus about $0 to keep a domestic Texas LLC in good standing. The tax inside those totals: 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 Wisconsin Actually Makes Sense
Forming in Wisconsin makes sense in a few specific situations: your business genuinely operates in Wisconsin, with a real office, employees, or property there, or you're relocating to Wisconsin in the near future and accept taking on Wisconsin's personal income tax, which Texas doesn't levy. For a typical small business based in Texas, none of these usually apply. Registering a Wisconsin LLC to do business back home means $750 in Texas foreign-registration fees, on top of Wisconsin's $130 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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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.
- sos.state.tx.us/corp/index.shtmlTexas Secretary of State: business entity filings
- direct.sos.state.tx.us/help/help-corp.asp?pg=feeTexas LLC filing fees
- dfi.wi.gov/Pages/BusinessServices/BusinessEntities/GeneralInformation.aspxWisconsin Department of Financial Institutions: business entity filings
- dfi.wi.gov/Pages/BusinessServices/BusinessEntities/Fees.aspxWisconsin 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.