Your Washington LLC Is Doing Business in Another State
The short answer. You keep one LLC. It stays registered in Washington, which charges $70 a year to keep it in good standing, and a state that finds you are doing business there adds its own registration and its own filings on top. Whether your activity counts is decided by that state's own rule, not by this page. Of the 48 other states that have one figure to compare, 7 cost more in year-one registration than Washington's own first-year total of $270, 40 cost less, and 1 costs the same. Tennessee is outside those figures: Tennessee's fee scales with member count from $300, so it has no single figure to compare.
What you keep paying in Washington
When the Annual Report is due. By the last day of the month in which the business was originally formed or registered
Every Washington fee behind these figures is broken out on what an LLC costs in Washington.
What a second state adds
These are the states closest to Washington’s own cost line, plus the three dearest to enter. Each figure is that state’s first-year registration cost for an out-of-state LLC, beside what it charges every year after. Whether your activity counts as doing business there depends on the facts, and each state defines it differently.
| State | Year one to register | State charges, each year after | Against your year one ($270) |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | $750 | $55/yr | $480 more |
| Texas | $750 | None | $480 more |
| Massachusetts | $500 | $520/yr | $230 more |
| Oklahoma | $300 | $25/yr | $30 more |
| Oregon | $275 | $100/yr | $5 more |
| Arkansas | $270 | $150/yr | the same |
| Maine | $250 | $85/yr | $20 less |
| Mississippi | $250 | None | $20 less |
| North Carolina | $250 | $200/yr | $20 less |
| New York | $250 | from $29.50/yr | $20 less |
| Pennsylvania | $250 | $7/yr | $20 less |
A state charge of None is not a tax of none. The column is the recurring charge our fee dataset records, and a state that asks for no recurring filing may still levy an entity-level tax that sits outside it.
What we verified about Washington's own costs
Our notes, from Washington's published fee schedules and statutes.
Washington's LLC filing fee is $180 by statute-backed rule (WAC 434-112-085(7)(a)), but WAC 434-112-075(1) adds a mandatory $20 online processing fee, so online formation is $200 and mail formation is $180. The annual report is $70 and is specifically exempt from the $20 online processing fee, so filing it online costs exactly $70. Budget a further $50 for the Department of Revenue Business License Application that opens the business, then $5 a year to renew it. A newly formed LLC also owes a separate Initial Report within 120 days, free only if submitted with the Certificate of Formation. Expedited service is $100 for three-working-day processing and $150 for same-day counter service.
B&O tax on gross receipts despite 'no income tax'. Washington has no corporate income tax and no general personal income tax, but the Department of Revenue's Business and Occupation tax applies to gross receipts with no deduction for labor, materials or other costs - .00471 for retailing, .00484 for wholesaling and manufacturing, and .015 to .021 for service and other activities. Businesses that relocate for the 'no income tax' headline are often surprised to owe tax on revenue even in an unprofitable year. The Small Business B&O Tax Credit offsets up to $1,920 or $660 of annual tax depending on classification, and there is no minimum B&O tax - but a registered business must still file a $0 return for every assigned period unless the Department grants active non-reporting status.
Filing online costs $20 more than filing by mail. WAC 434-112-075(1) imposes a $20 online processing fee on online filings, and the Certificate of Formation is not on the exemption list - so online formation is $200 versus $180 by mail. Annual reports are expressly exempt, so they stay at $70.
The Initial Report is a second, separate deadline. RCW 23.95.255(1) requires an Initial Report within 120 days of formation. It is free if filed with the Certificate of Formation but costs $10 if deferred, and it does not substitute for the Annual Report.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.