Your Wisconsin LLC Is Doing Business in Another State
The short answer. You keep one LLC. It stays registered in Wisconsin, which charges $25 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 47 other states that have one figure to compare, 16 cost more in year-one registration than Wisconsin's own first-year total of $155, 30 cost less, and 1 costs the same. Tennessee and Washington are outside those figures: Tennessee's fee scales with member count from $300, and Washington's $180 is before back fees, so neither has one figure to compare.
What you keep paying in Wisconsin
When the Annual Report is due. During the calendar year quarter in which the anniversary of the effective date of the articles of organization occurs - in practice March 31, June 30, September 30 or December 31 depending on the formation quarter
Every Wisconsin fee behind these figures is broken out on what an LLC costs in Wisconsin.
What a second state adds
These are the states closest to Wisconsin’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 ($155) |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | $750 | $55/yr | $595 more |
| Texas | $750 | None | $595 more |
| Massachusetts | $500 | $520/yr | $345 more |
| Vermont | $155 | $45/yr | the same |
| Alabama | $150 | None | $5 less |
| Arizona | $150 | None | $5 less |
| Illinois | $150 | $75/yr | $5 less |
| Louisiana | $150 | $30/yr | $5 less |
| Rhode Island | $150 | $450/yr | $5 less |
| West Virginia | $150 | $25/yr | $5 less |
| Wyoming | $150 | from $60/yr | $5 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 Wisconsin's own costs
Our notes, from Wisconsin's published fee schedules and statutes.
Wisconsin's Department of Financial Institutions charges $130 for Articles of Organization filed online but $170 on paper, and $25 for the annual report online versus $40 on paper - so filing online saves $40 up front and $15 a year. Under 2025 Act 224 there is now no filing fee at all for Articles of Organization if every member on formation is a 'student entrepreneur' - at least 18 years old and enrolled in a Wisconsin postsecondary institution, a Wisconsin public, private or tribal high school, or a home-based educational program. An LLC taxed as a partnership owes no Wisconsin entity-level tax and no economic development surcharge. A certificate of status is $10 and a certified copy is $10.
The annual report deadline is a quarter, not a date. Wis. Stat. 183.0212(3)(a) requires a domestic LLC to file during the calendar year quarter in which the anniversary of the articles' effective date falls, meaning an effective deadline of March 31, June 30, September 30 or December 31. An LLC formed in February files by March 31, not on its February anniversary.
Filing on paper costs $40 more. DFI charges $170 for Articles of Organization on paper against $130 online, and $40 for a paper annual report against $25 online. The paper premium is a pure penalty for using the mail - nothing about the filing changes.
Dissolution comes a year late, then moves fast. A ground for administrative dissolution only arises once the annual report is a full year overdue (Wis. Stat. 183.0708(1)(b)), but once DFI notices your registered agent you have just 60 days to cure. Exclusive rights to your company name terminate on the dissolution date, and reinstatement costs $100 plus all back fees.
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.