How much does it cost to start an LLC in Delaware?

The Certificate of Formation costs $110, which the Division of Corporations describes as the filing fee plus a municipality fee. Optional expedited service runs from $50 for next-day up to $1,000 for one-hour Priority 1 service, and a certified copy is $50. Registering an out-of-state LLC in Delaware instead costs $200.

Does a Delaware LLC have to file an annual report?

No. The Division of Corporations is explicit: "LLCs, LPs, and GPs are not required to file Annual Franchise Tax reports with the Division of Corporations, they must pay the $300 yearly tax on or before June 1st." There is no report, no information filing and no report fee — only the annual tax payment, which is now $400 under 6 Del. C. § 18-1107(b).

How much is the Delaware LLC annual tax in 2026?

$400. HB 400 (85 Del. Laws c. 273, § 23) raised 6 Del. C. § 18-1107(b) from $300 to $400 effective January 1, 2026, so the tax for calendar year 2026 — due on or before June 1, 2027 — is $400 for every domestic and foreign Delaware LLC. Registered series went from $75 to $100 each. There is no proration and the tax does not scale with revenue.

What is the penalty for paying the Delaware LLC tax late?

"Failure to pay the required annual taxes will result in a penalty of $200.00 plus 1.5% interest per month on tax and penalty," so a $400 tax paid late becomes at least $600 with monthly interest running on the combined amount. The LLC also ceases to be in good standing, and if the tax goes unpaid for three years the certificate of formation is cancelled under 6 Del. C. § 18-1108(a).

LLC Costs · DE

How Much Does an LLC Cost in Delaware?

By Edmond Hui · Fees verified July 29, 2026 against the Delaware Division of Corporations fee schedule

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.

Forming an LLC in Delaware costs $110 to file the Certificate of Formation with the state, Delaware requires no annual report, and the Annual LLC Tax (alternative entity tax) adds at least $400 a year. That puts the first-year state cost at $510, before any registered-agent service.

Certificate of Formation$110

Annual reportNone

Annual LLC Tax (alternative entity tax)$400/yr

First-year state cost$510

Five-year state cost$2,110

What you actually pay in Delaware

Delaware's $110 Certificate of Formation is the whole up-front state cost, and the fee schedule explains that $110 "equals filing fee plus municipality fee." Delaware LLCs file no annual report; instead they owe a flat annual LLC tax on or before June 1 for the prior calendar year, with no proration. That tax rose from $300 to $400 (and from $75 to $100 per registered series) under HB 400, 85 Del. Laws c. 273, § 23, effective January 1, 2026 — so the tax for calendar year 2026, payable by June 1, 2027, is $400. Late payment costs "a penalty of $200.00 plus 1.5% interest per month on tax and penalty," and three years of non-payment cancels the certificate of formation outright under 6 Del. C. § 18-1108(a).

Delaware LLC fee breakdown

Cost	Amount	How often	Charged by
Certificate of Formation	$110	One time	Delaware Division of Corporations
Annual LLC Tax (alternative entity tax) (minimum)	$400	Every year	Delaware Division of Corporations, Department of State
Required state cost, first year	$510	—	—
Registered agent service (optional)	$50–$300	Every year	Commercial provider
Expedited processing (optional) — 1-hour (Priority 1) $1,000, 2-hour (Priority 2) $500, Same Day $100, 24-hour / Next Day $50	$50+	One time	Delaware Division of Corporations
Name reservation (optional)	$75	One time	Delaware Division of Corporations
Certificate of good standing (optional)	$50	Per copy	Delaware Division of Corporations

The Division of Corporations fee schedule (revised August 1, 2024) lists "Formation – domestic" for a Limited Liability Company at $110.00 and notes "the fee in column one for domestic LLC's equals filing fee plus municipality fee." The same amount applies however the document is submitted. HB 400 (2026) did not change the $70 statutory certificate-of-formation fee in 6 Del. C. § 18-1105(a)(3).

Annual LLC Tax (alternative entity tax): Flat annual tax on every domestic and foreign LLC regardless of income, assets or activity. 6 Del. C. § 18-1107(b) now reads "an annual tax, for the use of the State of Delaware, in the amount of $400," plus "$100 per registered series" — raised from $300 and $75 by HB 400 (85 Del. Laws, c. 273, § 23), a change that "take[s] effect January 1, 2026" per § 45 of that Act. The tax for calendar year 2026 is therefore $400, payable on or before June 1, 2027.

No publication or newspaper-notice fee appears on the Division of Corporations fee schedule or in 6 Del. C. ch. 18, subch. XI.

Registered agent is listed separately because it is a commercial service, not a state charge. Commercial registered-agent services, not a state charge. Range and $125 midpoint match the assumption used by /tools/llc-true-cost. Most states let you serve as your own registered agent at no cost if you have a physical in-state address. Run your own numbers in the true-cost calculator.

Delaware LLC cost over five years

State charges only in the first column; the second adds a registered-agent service at the $125/yr market midpoint.

Period	State cost only	With registered agent
Year 1 (formation + first filing)	$510	$635
Each year after	$400	$525
Five-year total	$2,110	$2,735

Is Delaware expensive compared with other states?

Delaware ranks 46th cheapest of 50 states on first-year cost — $275.47 above the $234.53 national average. On ongoing annual cost it ranks 46th.

Cheaper state	First-year cost	You would save
Montana	$35	$475
Arizona	$50	$460
Missouri	$50	$460

A cheaper filing fee elsewhere rarely saves money if you live and operate in Delaware. Doing business here with an out-of-state LLC generally means registering it as a foreign LLC in Delaware anyway — paying both states. See foreign qualification in Delaware before forming elsewhere to save on fees.

Cost traps specific to Delaware

Annual tax rose from $300 to $400 effective January 1, 2026

HB 400 (85 Del. Laws c. 273, § 23, approved May 21, 2026) raised the LLC annual tax in 6 Del. C. § 18-1107(b) to $400 and registered-series tax to $100, effective January 1, 2026. Any figure citing $300 — including the Division of Corporations' own LLC/LP/GP tax instructions page, still unchanged as of July 29, 2026 — is out of date for the 2026 tax year onward.

No proration: form in December, owe a full year's tax

The Division states "there is no proration on alternative entity taxes" and the tax is assessed if the entity is active "anytime during January 1st through December 31st," so an LLC formed on December 28, 2026 owes the full $400 for 2026 by June 1, 2027.

Late tax penalty is $200 plus 1.5% per month, and 3 years kills the LLC

Missing June 1 turns a $400 bill into $600 immediately, with 1.5% monthly interest running on the combined amount, and 6 Del. C. § 18-1108(a) cancels the certificate of formation on the third anniversary of the missed due date.

Frequently Asked Questions

: The Certificate of Formation costs $110, which the Division of Corporations describes as the filing fee plus a municipality fee. Optional expedited service runs from $50 for next-day up to $1,000 for one-hour Priority 1 service, and a certified copy is $50. Registering an out-of-state LLC in Delaware instead costs $200.
: No. The Division of Corporations is explicit: "LLCs, LPs, and GPs are not required to file Annual Franchise Tax reports with the Division of Corporations, they must pay the $300 yearly tax on or before June 1st." There is no report, no information filing and no report fee — only the annual tax payment, which is now $400 under 6 Del. C. § 18-1107(b).
: $400. HB 400 (85 Del. Laws c. 273, § 23) raised 6 Del. C. § 18-1107(b) from $300 to $400 effective January 1, 2026, so the tax for calendar year 2026 — due on or before June 1, 2027 — is $400 for every domestic and foreign Delaware LLC. Registered series went from $75 to $100 each. There is no proration and the tax does not scale with revenue.
: "Failure to pay the required annual taxes will result in a penalty of $200.00 plus 1.5% interest per month on tax and penalty," so a $400 tax paid late becomes at least $600 with monthly interest running on the combined amount. The LLC also ceases to be in good standing, and if the tax goes unpaid for three years the certificate of formation is cancelled under 6 Del. C. § 18-1108(a).

Where these numbers come from

Every fee above was checked against Delaware's own published sources on July 29, 2026 — the Delaware Division of Corporations fee schedule, the governing statute, and where a state-level tax applies, the state tax authority. Commercial formation-service pages were not used.

The first-year total is the Certificate of Formation fee plus the first year of any recurring state charge. Where a state's first report is not due until the following year, that is noted above. The five-year total is the filing fee plus five years of recurring charges, which avoids the timing question entirely. Registered-agent service is excluded from all state figures.

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