State Guide · DE

Delaware LLC Guide (2026)

Everything you need to form and maintain an LLC in Delaware, state-specific fees, deadlines, and step-by-step instructions.

By Edmond Hui · Last updated: October 6, 2026

This hub indexes all Delaware LLC guides in one place, formation, compliance, registered agents, and business structure comparisons. Quick reference: state filing fee $110, standard processing not published by the state, no annual report to file. For the complete step-by-step formation walkthrough, see the Full Formation Guide below.

Key LLC facts for Delaware: $510 in unavoidable first-year cost, $400 a year after that, no state report, and a personal income tax. In Delaware, members are not named in the public formation filing.
First-year cost is the unavoidable minimum to form and stay compliant; the second figure is what recurs annually. Source: Delaware's published filing fee schedule, verified July 2026, with anonymity and income-tax status from MyStateLLC's 50-state datasets.
Filing fee$110#12 cheapest of 50 states
ProcessingNot publishedDelaware publishes no standard turnaround
Annual reportNone requiredNo filing required

What Are the Mandatory Costs for a Delaware LLC?

Recurring State ChargeAnnual LLC Tax (alternative entity tax): $400/year minimum

A Delaware LLC owes the Annual LLC Tax (alternative entity tax), a minimum of $400 a year, separate from the $110 filing fee. That brings Delaware's minimum first-year state cost to $510. Budget for it as a recurring annual obligation before forming.

Flat annual tax on every domestic and foreign LLC regardless of income, assets or activity. Delaware's LLC statute now reads "an annual tax, for the use of the State of Delaware, in the amount of $400," plus "$100 per registered series", raised from $300 and $75 by an amendment, a change that "take[s] effect January 1, 2026" per that law's effective-date provision. That provision is a bare effective-date clause: it fixes when the amended text becomes law, not which payment carries it. A separate part of the statute supplies that, making the tax "due and payable on the first day of June following the close of the calendar year." The 2026 tax year is therefore the first charged at $400, payable on or before June 1, 2027, and the payment due June 1, 2026 was $300, for tax year 2025.

Key Finding

37,016 new business applications were filed in Delaware in the 2026 YTD (Jan to Jul) vs 2025 YTD (same months) window, up 2.5% year over year

Delaware ranks #33 of 51 jurisdictions by application volume and #2 per capita. For scale, the state counted 29,706 active business establishments as of 2023 (Census County Business Patterns). This monthly BFS series is a leading indicator of formation activity, ahead of the Census's annual establishment counts.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (BFS), Jul 2026

Delaware Small Business Landscape

Small businesses in Delaware111,346 (98.7% of all Delaware businesses)
Small business employment214,539 workers (50.6% of private-sector employment)

Source: SBA Office of Advocacy, 2025 Small Business Profile

Delaware Business Survival

5-year survival rate48.1% of new Delaware businesses survive five years, #37 of 51 nationally

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics

See how Delaware’s 5-year survival rate compares nationally in our full state-by-state ranking.

Enterprise LLCs Formed in Delaware

Entity NameWhy They Chose Delaware
Google LLCDelaware's Court of Chancery resolves corporate disputes in weeks rather than years and its body of established LLC case law gives technology subsidiaries predictable governance outcomes that no other state can match.
Amazon.com Services LLCDelaware's LLC Act allows Amazon to create tiered membership structures with flexible economic and voting rights, and the state imposes no income tax on revenue earned outside Delaware, essential for a global logistics network.
Meta Platforms, LLCDelaware's business-judgment rule and liberal indemnification statutes protect LLC managers from shareholder litigation, giving Meta a legally defensible structure for its advertising and platform subsidiaries.

Why Delaware attracts enterprise LLCs: Delaware is the gold standard for LLC formation: over 65% of Fortune 500 companies and most venture-backed startups choose Delaware for its unrivaled Court of Chancery, investor-friendly governance statutes, and zero income tax on out-of-state revenue.

Entity examples are illustrative and based on publicly available corporate registrations. Reasons reflect general state-level legal and tax advantages, not verified statements of each company's formation rationale. For educational purposes only; consult a licensed attorney before making formation decisions.

Check your business name

See if your domain and social handles are available before you file.

How Do You Start an LLC in Delaware?

Filing in Delaware costs $110 in state fees. Delaware publishes no standard processing time, so plan around the filing itself rather than a promised turnaround. You'll file the Certificate of Formation, appoint a registered agent, and complete any state-specific requirements before opening for business.

That is the filing fee alone. For the first-year and five-year totals, see Delaware LLC cost.

Full Formation Guide for DelawareExact forms, fees & filing instructions

What Are the Ongoing Requirements for a Delaware LLC?

Delaware LLCs file no periodic report with the state, but must keep a registered agent on file year-round and stay current on any state tax filings that apply. Losing your registered agent risks administrative dissolution.

Full Compliance OverviewAnnual report, fees & deadlinesAnnual Report GuideDue dates, forms & filing steps

How Do You Register a Foreign LLC in Delaware?

If your LLC was formed in another state (Delaware, Wyoming, etc.) but conducts business in Delaware, you must register as a foreign LLC. This requires a separate filing fee and a registered agent in Delaware.

Delaware Foreign LLC Registration GuideForms, fees & registered agent requirements

Does a Delaware LLC Need a Registered Agent?

Other Delaware LLC Compliance & Tax Guides

How Does a Delaware LLC Compare to Other Structures?

Delaware LLC Operating Agreement Templates

How Do You Get a Certificate of Good Standing in Delaware?

Delaware LLC Guides by Industry

How Do You Dissolve an LLC in Delaware?

Does Delaware Waive LLC Fees for Veterans?

What Does Moving a Rental Into an LLC Cost in Delaware?

Do You Need an LLC to Sell on eBay in Delaware?

How Does Delaware Compare to Other States for LLC Formation?

Side-by-side breakdowns of filing fees, annual costs, taxes and privacy rules, each written for a business owner already operating in Delaware.

Compare from a different home state →

More Delaware LLC Resources

Best Bank AccountsBest business bank accounts for a Delaware LLC →Grants & IncentivesSmall business grants & incentives in Delaware →Anonymous LLCHow to form an anonymous LLC in Delaware →

More Delaware LLC Guides

Start and set up

Taxes, money and growth

Stay compliant

Operate in other states

Compare structures

Compare Delaware with Other States

Best LLC services in DelawareNorthwest Registered Agent, Bizee, ZenBusiness and LegalZoom ranked for Delaware filers →Georgia LLC guideFiling fee $110 · See costs and requirements →South Carolina LLC guideFiling fee $110 · See costs and requirements →Connecticut LLC guideFiling fee $120 · See costs and requirements →How to form an LLCGeneral step-by-step formation guide →
← All state guides

Sources

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Delaware sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so. Where we hold the citation but no stable public link, the citation is printed on its own rather than pointed at a guessed address.

  • Delaware statute: 6 Del. C. § 18-1107(b) (annual LLC tax amount)
  • Delaware bill: HB 400 (85 Del. Laws, c. 273, § 23) (raised the annual LLC tax)
  • Delaware bill: HB 400, § 45 (effective date)
  • Delaware statute: 6 Del. C. § 18-1107(c) (due date of the annual tax)
Edmond Hui

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.