How Much Does an LLC Cost in Texas?
By Edmond Hui · Fees verified July 29, 2026 against the Texas 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 Texas
Texas charges $300 to file a Certificate of Formation for an LLC (Form 205), one of the highest flat formation fees in the country, and adds a statutory 2.7% convenience fee on credit card payments. There is no fee for the annual Public Information Report, but it is filed with the Comptroller rather than the Secretary of State and is still required at $0 tax: the no-tax-due threshold for 2026 reports is $2,650,000 of total revenue, and the Comptroller tells below-threshold filers to "simply file your 2026 Public Information Report or Ownership Report" by May 15. Certificates of fact (including existence or status) are $15, the long-form certificate of existence is $25, certified copies are $1 per page plus $15 per certificate, and a 120-day name reservation is $40. Expedited service is now tiered: $50 standard, $500 next-day, or $750 same-day, per document.
Texas LLC fee breakdown
| Cost | Amount | How often | Charged by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Formation - Limited Liability Company (205) | $300 | One time | Texas Secretary of State |
| Public Information Report (filed with the Comptroller of Public Accounts, not the Secretary of State) | $0 | Every year | Texas Secretary of State |
| Required state cost, first year | $300 | — | — |
| Registered agent service (optional) | $50–$300 | Every year | Commercial provider |
| Expedited processing (optional) — Standard Expedited (processed ahead of regular submissions, typically 2-3 business days; mail or in person) $50, Next-Day (received by 12:00 p.m., processed by close of business the next business day; in person or by email) $500, Same-Day (received by 12:00 p.m., processed by close of business the same day; in person or by email) $750 | $50+ | One time | Texas Secretary of State |
| Name reservation (optional) | $40 | One time | Texas Secretary of State |
| Certificate of good standing (optional) | $15 | Per copy | Texas Secretary of State |
Paying by credit card adds a statutory convenience fee of 2.7% of the amount charged (about $8.10 on a $300 filing); check, money order, and cash carry no surcharge.
Franchise Tax: No tax is due if annualized total revenue is at or below the no-tax-due threshold, which is $2,650,000 for 2026 reports. Above the threshold the tax is computed on margin. The report is due May 15 each year.
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.
Texas 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) | $300 | $425 |
| Each year after | $0 | $125 |
| Five-year total | $300 | $925 |
Is Texas expensive compared with other states?
Texas ranks 40th cheapest of 50 states on first-year cost — $65.47 above the $234.53 national average. On ongoing annual cost it ranks 11th.
A cheaper filing fee elsewhere rarely saves money if you live and operate in Texas. Doing business here with an out-of-state LLC generally means registering it as a foreign LLC in Texas anyway — paying both states. See foreign qualification in Texas before forming elsewhere to save on fees.
Texas filing deadline and late penalties
Public Information Report (filed with the Comptroller of Public Accounts, not the Secretary of State)
| Frequency | every year |
| Due | May 15. "If May 15 falls on a weekend or holiday, the due date will be the next business day." |
| Fee | $0 |
The Comptroller's franchise tax landing page does not state a dollar late-filing penalty, so this figure is left null rather than estimated. On the Secretary of State side, restoring an entity after tax forfeiture costs $75 (Form 801).
Failure to satisfy franchise tax obligations leads to forfeiture of the entity's right to transact business in Texas; the Secretary of State's fee schedule prices the "Application for reinstatement and request to set aside tax forfeiture" (Form 801) at $75, and reinstatement after involuntary termination or revocation (Form 811) at $75.
Cost traps specific to Texas
You must still file even when you owe $0 franchise tax
Total revenue at or below $2,650,000 means no franchise tax is due for a 2026 report, but the Comptroller still requires the Public Information Report or Ownership Report by May 15; skipping it puts the LLC on the path to tax forfeiture and a $75 reinstatement.
Credit card payments carry a 2.7% surcharge
The Secretary of State applies a statutory convenience fee of 2.7% of the amount charged to credit card payments, so a $300 Certificate of Formation costs about $308.10 on a card and $300 by check or money order.
Fast expedited service is expensive under Texas Express
Texas Express prices same-day review at $750 per document and next-day review at $500 per document, on top of the filing fee; the ordinary expedited tier is $50 per document for roughly 2-3 business days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where these numbers come from
Every fee above was checked against Texas's own published sources on July 29, 2026 — the Texas 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 Certificate of Formation - Limited Liability Company 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.