How much does it cost to start an LLC in Rhode Island?

The Rhode Island Department of State charges $150 to file the Articles of Organization (Form 400), and filings are processed within two business days. Budget for the recurring costs too: a $50 annual report every year and a $400 annual charge to the Division of Taxation, which is owed even for the partial formation year.

How much is the Rhode Island LLC annual report?

$50, filed on Form 632 during the February 1 to May 1 window each year, plus a $2.50 enhanced access fee if you file online. A $25 late penalty is applied June 1. Your first annual report is due the calendar year after you register, so an LLC formed in 2026 first files in 2027.

What is the Rhode Island $400 LLC fee?

It is the Division of Taxation's annual charge, sometimes called the annual fee or minimum corporate tax, and it has been $400 for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2017. A pass-through LLC pays it with Form RI-1065 by March 15; an LLC taxed as a C corporation files RI-1120C by April 15 and pays the greater of 7% corporate income tax or $400.

What is the total annual cost of a Rhode Island LLC?

About $450 a year in mandatory state costs: the $50 Secretary of State annual report plus the $400 Division of Taxation annual charge. Add $2.50 if you file the report online and $25 if you miss the May 1 deadline. First-year cost is roughly $600 once you include the $150 formation fee.

LLC Costs · RI

How Much Does an LLC Cost in Rhode Island?

By Edmond Hui · Fees verified July 29, 2026 against the Rhode Island 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.

Forming an LLC in Rhode Island costs $150 to file the Articles of Organization with the state, the Annual Report costs $50 every year, and the Annual charge (minimum corporate tax) adds at least $400 a year. That puts the first-year state cost at $600, before any registered-agent service.

Articles of Organization$150

Annual Report$50

Annual charge (minimum corporate tax)$400/yr

First-year state cost$600

Five-year state cost$2,400

What you actually pay in Rhode Island

Rhode Island charges $150 to file Articles of Organization (Form 400) and $50 for the annual report (Form 632), but the Secretary of State fee is the smaller half of the picture: every Rhode Island LLC also owes a $400 annual charge to the Division of Taxation, so recurring state cost is about $450 a year rather than $50. The annual report can only be filed in the February 1 - May 1 window, and a $25 late penalty is applied June 1. A Reservation of Entity Name is $50, a certificate of good standing ordered by mail is $20, and certified copies are $10 plus $0.15 per page. A foreign LLC pays the same $150 to register.

Rhode Island LLC fee breakdown

Cost	Amount	How often	Charged by
Articles of Organization (Form 400 (revised 03/2026))	$150	One time	Rhode Island Secretary of State
Annual Report	$50	Every year	Rhode Island Secretary of State
Annual charge (minimum corporate tax) (minimum)	$400	Every year	Rhode Island Division of Taxation
Required state cost, first year	$600	—	—
Registered agent service (optional)	$50–$300	Every year	Commercial provider
Name reservation (optional)	$50	One time	Rhode Island Secretary of State
Certificate of good standing (optional)	$20	Per copy	Rhode Island Secretary of State

Annual charge (minimum corporate tax): Flat $400 for an LLC treated as a pass-through entity (Form RI-1065, due March 15) or as a Subchapter S corporation (Form RI-1120S, due March 15); an LLC treated as a corporation files Form RI-1120C by April 15 and pays the greater of 7% corporate income tax or the $400 annual charge.

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.

Rhode Island 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)	$600	$725
Each year after	$450	$575
Five-year total	$2,400	$3,025

First filing timing: LLCs "are required to file an annual report starting the calendar year after they register their business with the State of Rhode Island," so an LLC formed in 2026 files its first annual report between February 1 and May 1, 2027.

Is Rhode Island expensive compared with other states?

Rhode Island ranks 47th cheapest of 50 states on first-year cost — $365.47 above the $234.53 national average. On ongoing annual cost it ranks 48th.

Cheaper state	First-year cost	You would save
Montana	$35	$565
Arizona	$50	$550
Missouri	$50	$550

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

Rhode Island filing deadline and late penalties

Annual Report

Frequency	every year
Due	February 1 - May 1
Fee	$50
Late penalty	$25

The $25 late penalty is applied June 1; online filers also pay a $2.50 enhanced access fee on the report ($3.00 when the penalty is paid online).

A courtesy reminder is mailed each January to the registered agent of every active business owing an annual report; the Department of State states that if the reminder letter is returned undeliverable, revocation proceedings will be implemented for failure to maintain a registered office. Revoked entities must take additional steps before they can file an annual report.

Full Rhode Island annual report filing guide · Deadline calculator

Cost traps specific to Rhode Island

The $400 state tax dwarfs the $50 annual report

Rhode Island's Division of Taxation charges every LLC a $400 annual charge on Form RI-1065 (or RI-1120S/RI-1120C), so a site quoting only the $50 Secretary of State report understates true recurring cost by eight times — the real figure is roughly $450 per year.

You owe the $400 for your formation year, even for one day

The Division of Taxation applies the charge "for any year in which the business is in existence, whether a full year, or partial year," and the Department of State confirms it is not pro-rated and is owed with no business activity and no profit — so a December formation still triggers a full $400.

Three-month filing window, then a June 1 penalty

The LLC annual report can only be filed February 1 through May 1; a $25 late penalty is applied June 1, and the only reminder is a courtesy letter mailed each January to the registered agent — if that letter comes back undeliverable, the Department of State starts revocation proceedings for failure to maintain a registered office.

Frequently Asked Questions

: The Rhode Island Department of State charges $150 to file the Articles of Organization (Form 400), and filings are processed within two business days. Budget for the recurring costs too: a $50 annual report every year and a $400 annual charge to the Division of Taxation, which is owed even for the partial formation year.
: $50, filed on Form 632 during the February 1 to May 1 window each year, plus a $2.50 enhanced access fee if you file online. A $25 late penalty is applied June 1. Your first annual report is due the calendar year after you register, so an LLC formed in 2026 first files in 2027.
: It is the Division of Taxation's annual charge, sometimes called the annual fee or minimum corporate tax, and it has been $400 for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2017. A pass-through LLC pays it with Form RI-1065 by March 15; an LLC taxed as a C corporation files RI-1120C by April 15 and pays the greater of 7% corporate income tax or $400.
: About $450 a year in mandatory state costs: the $50 Secretary of State annual report plus the $400 Division of Taxation annual charge. Add $2.50 if you file the report online and $25 if you miss the May 1 deadline. First-year cost is roughly $600 once you include the $150 formation fee.

Where these numbers come from

Every fee above was checked against Rhode Island's own published sources on July 29, 2026 — the Rhode Island 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.

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