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

A Tennessee LLC costs $50 per member to form, with a minimum of $300 and a maximum of $3,000, per form SS-4270. Most small LLCs with one to six members pay the $300 minimum. Paying by card or e-check adds a convenience fee, which you can avoid by mailing a check.

How much does a multi-member LLC pay in Tennessee?

Multiply $50 by the number of members on the filing date, subject to the $300 floor and $3,000 ceiling. A 6-member LLC pays $300, a 10-member LLC pays $500, a 20-member LLC pays $1,000, and any LLC with 60 or more members pays $3,000. The same math applies again every year to the annual report, so a 10-member Tennessee LLC pays $500 to form and $500 annually.

What is the Tennessee LLC annual report fee and when is it due?

The annual report costs a minimum of $300 and a maximum of $3,000, increasing by $50 per member for every member above six. It is due on or before the first day of the fourth month following the close of the LLC's fiscal year, which is April 1 for a calendar-year LLC.

What taxes does a Tennessee LLC pay to the state?

Tennessee LLCs are subject to franchise and excise tax: 0.25% of Tennessee net worth with a $100 minimum, plus 6.5% of Tennessee taxable income. The Department of Revenue says the $100 minimum is due as long as the LLC is registered, whether active or inactive, and the return is due the 15th day of the fourth month after the close of the books.

LLC Costs · TN

How Much Does an LLC Cost in Tennessee?

By Edmond Hui · Fees verified July 29, 2026 against the Tennessee 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 Tennessee costs $300 to file the Articles of Organization with the state, the Annual Report costs $300 every year, and the Franchise and Excise Tax adds at least $100 a year. That puts the first-year state cost at $700, before any registered-agent service.

Articles of Organization$300

Annual Report$300

Franchise and Excise Tax$100/yr

First-year state cost$700

Five-year state cost$2,300

What you actually pay in Tennessee

Tennessee is the only state in this batch where the formation fee and the annual report fee both scale with membership: form SS-4270 states the fee is "$50.00 per member in existence on the date of the filing, with a minimum fee of $300.00 and a maximum fee of $3,000.00," and the Secretary of State says the annual report "fee increases by an additional $50 per member for every member over 6 members up to a maximum of $3,000." A foreign LLC's Application for Certificate of Authority (SS-4233) uses the same $300-minimum structure. On top of that, every registered Tennessee LLC owes at least the $100 minimum franchise tax whether it is active or not, plus 6.5% excise tax on net earnings. Name reservation, certificates of existence, and certified copies are $20 each; reinstatement after administrative dissolution is $70.

Tennessee LLC fee breakdown

Cost	Amount	How often	Charged by
Articles of Organization (SS-4270)	$300	One time	Tennessee Secretary of State
Annual Report	$300	Every year	Tennessee Secretary of State
Franchise and Excise Tax (minimum)	$100	Every year	Tennessee Department of Revenue
Required state cost, first year	$700	—	—
Registered agent service (optional)	$50–$300	Every year	Commercial provider
Name reservation (optional)	$20	One time	Tennessee Secretary of State
Certificate of good standing (optional)	$20	Per copy	Tennessee Secretary of State

The fee is $50 per member in existence on the date of filing, with a minimum of $300 and a maximum of $3,000; a single-member or six-member LLC pays the $300 minimum, a 10-member LLC pays $500, and 60 or more members hits the $3,000 cap. If the Articles prohibit the LLC from doing business in Tennessee the fee is $300 regardless of member count. Card and e-check payments add a convenience fee.

Franchise and Excise Tax: Excise tax is 6.5% of Tennessee taxable income and franchise tax is 0.25% of Tennessee net worth. The Department of Revenue states the franchise tax minimum is $100, "payable if the LLC is registered with the Secretary of State, whether active or inactive." The return is due the 15th day of the fourth month following the close of the books (April 15 for calendar-year filers), with a seven-month extension available.

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.

Tennessee 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)	$700	$825
Each year after	$400	$525
Five-year total	$2,300	$2,925

First filing timing: The fiscal-year-ending month is set in item 4 of the Articles of Organization and defaults to December if left blank, so a calendar-year LLC's first annual report is due April 1 of the year after the first fiscal year closes.

Is Tennessee expensive compared with other states?

Tennessee ranks 48th cheapest of 50 states on first-year cost — $465.47 above the $234.53 national average. On ongoing annual cost it ranks 47th.

Cheaper state	First-year cost	You would save
Montana	$35	$665
Arizona	$50	$650
Missouri	$50	$650

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

Tennessee filing deadline and late penalties

Annual Report

Frequency	every year
Due	On or before the first day of the fourth month following the close of the LLC's fiscal year (T.C.A. § 48-249-1017) - April 1 for a calendar-year LLC.
Fee	$300

Tennessee publishes no dollar late fee for a delinquent LLC annual report; the consequence is administrative dissolution, and reinstatement (form SS-9410) costs $70.

The Secretary of State lists "failure to file an annual report" as a ground for administrative dissolution, and an entity that misses the deadline may be administratively dissolved and shown as inactive. Reinstatement is form SS-9410 at $70, and Tennessee requires a Department of Revenue tax clearance to reinstate, to obtain a certificate of existence, or to terminate.

Full Tennessee annual report filing guide · Deadline calculator

Cost traps specific to Tennessee

Formation and annual report fees scale at $50 per member

A 6-member LLC pays the $300 minimum, but a 10-member LLC pays $500 to form and $500 every year, and a 60-member LLC pays the $3,000 cap both times. Quoting a flat "$300" understates the cost for any Tennessee LLC with more than six members.

$100 minimum franchise tax even with no activity

The Department of Revenue says the $100 minimum franchise tax is payable as long as the LLC is registered with the Secretary of State, "whether active or inactive," so a dormant Tennessee LLC still owes $100 a year plus the $300-minimum annual report.

The annual report deadline follows your fiscal year, not April 1

T.C.A. § 48-249-1017 sets the deadline at the first day of the fourth month after the LLC's fiscal year closes; April 1 is correct only if you left the fiscal-year-ending month at the December default in the Articles of Organization.

Frequently Asked Questions

: A Tennessee LLC costs $50 per member to form, with a minimum of $300 and a maximum of $3,000, per form SS-4270. Most small LLCs with one to six members pay the $300 minimum. Paying by card or e-check adds a convenience fee, which you can avoid by mailing a check.
: Multiply $50 by the number of members on the filing date, subject to the $300 floor and $3,000 ceiling. A 6-member LLC pays $300, a 10-member LLC pays $500, a 20-member LLC pays $1,000, and any LLC with 60 or more members pays $3,000. The same math applies again every year to the annual report, so a 10-member Tennessee LLC pays $500 to form and $500 annually.
: The annual report costs a minimum of $300 and a maximum of $3,000, increasing by $50 per member for every member above six. It is due on or before the first day of the fourth month following the close of the LLC's fiscal year, which is April 1 for a calendar-year LLC.
: Tennessee LLCs are subject to franchise and excise tax: 0.25% of Tennessee net worth with a $100 minimum, plus 6.5% of Tennessee taxable income. The Department of Revenue says the $100 minimum is due as long as the LLC is registered, whether active or inactive, and the return is due the 15th day of the fourth month after the close of the books.

Where these numbers come from

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