How Much Does an LLC Cost in Kansas?
By Edmond Hui · Fees verified July 29, 2026 against the Kansas Secretary of State 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.
What you actually pay in Kansas
Kansas is one of the cheapest states to start and keep an LLC after the Secretary of State's 2026 fee overhaul, the first comprehensive fee update since 2008: Articles of Organization are $85 online and $90 paper, aligning LLC formation with the $90 corporate fee. Kansas is also unusual in charging its periodic report only every two years — $90 online or $110 paper — tied to whether the LLC was formed in an odd or even year. There is no Kansas franchise tax for tax year 2011 and after, so the biennial report is the only recurring state charge. The real cost risk is forfeiture: reinstatement is $35 plus an $85 penalty plus $110 for each missed report, up to $670.
Kansas LLC fee breakdown
| Cost | Amount | How often | Charged by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Articles of Organization (DL) | $85 | One time | Kansas Secretary of State |
| Same filing, submitted on paper | $90 | One time | Kansas Secretary of State |
| Information Report | $90 | Every 2 years | Kansas Secretary of State |
| Required state cost, first year | $130 | — | — |
| Registered agent service (optional) | $50–$300 | Every year | Commercial provider |
| Name reservation (optional) | $35 | One time | Kansas Secretary of State |
Form DL (Rev. 2/27/26) states $85 online and $90 paper; the $5 gap is the technology communication fee that K.A.R. 7-16-2 charges on paper formation filings but waives online.
: Kansas imposes no franchise tax: "There is no Kansas franchise tax for tax year 2011 and after."
The Secretary of State's Articles of Organization instructions (Form DL) list no newspaper-publication step for forming a Kansas LLC.
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.
Kansas 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) | $130 | $255 |
| Each year after | $45 | $170 |
| Five-year total | $310 | $935 |
First filing timing: Businesses forming in even years file in each succeeding even year and businesses forming in odd years file in each succeeding odd year, so an LLC organized in 2026 owes its first information report by April 15, 2028.
Is Kansas expensive compared with other states?
Kansas ranks 17th cheapest of 50 states on first-year cost — $104.53 below the $234.53 national average. On ongoing annual cost it ranks 25th.
A cheaper filing fee elsewhere rarely saves money if you live and operate in Kansas. Doing business here with an out-of-state LLC generally means registering it as a foreign LLC in Kansas anyway — paying both states. See foreign qualification in Kansas before forming elsewhere to save on fees.
Kansas filing deadline and late penalties
Information Report
| Frequency | every two years |
| Due | April 15 of the LLC's respective odd or even year (for-profit entities) |
| Fee | $90 |
| Late penalty | $10 |
K.A.R. 7-16-1 sets a $10 biennial report penalty; a three-month delinquency period after April 15 lets the report still be filed, during which the entity is limited in what other documents it may file.
Once the three-month delinquency interval passes the business forfeits and cannot file any other document with the Secretary of State until reinstated; reinstatement (Form RL, Rev. 6/12/26) costs a $35 filing fee plus an $85 forfeiture penalty plus $110 per past-due information report, up to $670 for five reports.
Full Kansas annual report filing guide · Deadline calculator
Cost traps specific to Kansas
Biennial report costs more than forming the LLC
The information report is $90 online or $110 on paper, more than the $85 online formation fee, and it is easy to forget because it is only due every other year.
Report year depends on your formation year
An LLC organized in an even year does not owe its first information report until April 15 of the next even year, so a company formed in early 2026 has nothing due until April 15, 2028 — which is exactly how owners lose track of it.
Forfeiture is far more expensive than the report
After the three-month delinquency window the entity forfeits and can file nothing else with the Secretary of State; Form RL reinstatement costs $35 plus an $85 penalty plus $110 per past-due report, up to $670.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where these numbers come from
Every fee above was checked against Kansas's own published sources on July 29, 2026 — the Kansas Secretary of State 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 Articles of Organization 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.
Primary sources:
- https://www.sos.ks.gov/forms/business_services/dl.pdf
- https://sos.ks.gov/forms/business_services/ILC.pdf
- https://sos.ks.gov/forms/business_services/RL.pdf
- https://www.sos.ks.gov/forms/business_services/NR.pdf
- https://sos.ks.gov/businesses/information-reports.html
- https://www.sos.ks.gov/Pubs/Businesses/Biennial-Filing.pdf
- https://sos.ks.gov/publications/Register/Volume-45/Issues/Issue-07/02-12-26-53865.html
- https://sos.ks.gov/media/press-releases/2026/05-26-26-secretary-of-state-reduces-fees-for-kansans.html
- https://www.ksrevenue.gov/bustaxtypesfranchise.html