Cross-jurisdiction analysis
What it actually costs to keep a corporation alive, by state
Across the 54 US filing jurisdictions for which a canonical corporation fee is held, the first-year state filing cost runs from $35.00 (Montana) to $875.00 (Nevada) - a spread of 25x - with a median of $175.00. Recurring annual cost, where the entity-tax minimum is resolved for a corporation (52 of 54 jurisdictions), runs up to $825 (California), median $70. In 33 jurisdictions the corporation's first-year total differs from the LLC's for the identical business.
What is in the number, and what is not
First year = corporation formation filing + any mandatory first-year state filing the record holds separately + the first annual report. Ongoing year = annual report + any annual state business licence + the recurring entity-tax (franchise-tax) minimum that reaches a corporation, from the structured entity-tax dataset (54 jurisdiction records, 48 verified).
Where a jurisdiction's annual report IS the franchise-tax filing - one obligation under one fee (5 jurisdictions: AR, DE, NE, VI, WY) - the amount is counted once, in the annual-report column, and the entity-tax column says so rather than repeating it. This is the state cost only: it excludes registered-agent service, legal fees, local licences, income tax, expedite fees, and anything above each tax's stated minimum - a franchise tax scaled on shares or capital can run far past the floor shown here.
Show all 54 jurisdictions
Show all 54 jurisdictions
The full ranking
Ranked by first-year total, cheapest first. Column headers sort. Jurisdictions holding no canonical corporation fee record are listed below the ranked set as gaps.
- Formation
- What is remitted to file the articles of incorporation.
- Annual report
- The recurring report filed with the filing agency. no annual report is a positive finding recorded in the data.
- Entity tax minimum
- The floor of the recurring entity-level (franchise) tax reaching a corporation. in the annual-report figure means the two are one obligation and the amount is already counted. not resolved applies to 2 jurisdictions where the structured record carries no stated minimum - a research gap, not a zero.
| # | Jurisdiction | Formation | First-year extras | Annual report | Entity tax minimum | First year total | Ongoing year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MT Montana | $35.00 | none | $0.00 | $50 | $35.00 | $50.00 |
| 2 | OK Oklahoma | $52.00 | none | no annual report | none | $52.00 | $0.00 |
| 3 | KY Kentucky | $50.00 | none | $15.00 | $175 | $65.00 | $190.00 |
| 4 | HI Hawaii | $53.50 | none | $13.50 | none | $67.00 | $13.50 |
| 5 | CO Colorado | $50.00 | none | $25.00 | none | $75.00 | $25.00 |
| 6 | UT Utah | $59.00 | none | $18.00 | $100 | $77.00 | $118.00 |
| 7 | MO Missouri | $59.41 | none | $20.65 | none | $80.06 | $20.65 |
| 8 | MS Mississippi | $53.14 | none | $27.59 | $25 | $80.73 | $52.59 |
| 9 | MI Michigan | $60.00 | none | $25.00 | none | $85.00 | $25.00 |
| 10 | OH Ohio | $99.00 | none | no annual report | none | $99.00 | $0.00 |
| 11 | ID Idaho | $104.00 | none | $0.00 | $20 | $104.00 | $20.00 |
| 12 | AZ Arizona | $62.00 | none | $47.00 | none | $109.00 | $47.00 |
| 13 | IA Iowa | $50.00 | none | $60.00 | none | $110.00 | $60.00 |
| 14 | LA Louisiana | $80.00 | none | $35.00 | none | $115.00 | $35.00 |
| 15 | TN Tennessee | $102.35 | none | $20.47 | $100 | $122.82 | $120.47 |
| 16 | CA California | $100.00 | none | $25.00 | $800 | $125.00 | $825.00 |
| 17 | ND North Dakota | $100.00 | none | $25.00 | none | $125.00 | $25.00 |
| 18 | WI Wisconsin | $100.00 | none | $26.00 | $0 | $126.00 | $26.00 |
| 19 | NM New Mexico | $101.95 | none | $26.95 | $50 | $128.90 | $76.95 |
| 20 | IN Indiana | $97.14 | none | $32.00 | none | $129.14 | $32.00 |
| 21 | PA Pennsylvania | $125.00 | none | $7.00 | none | $132.00 | $7.00 |
| 22 | NE Nebraska | $103.15 | none | $29.00 | in the annual-report figure | $132.15 | $29.00 |
| 23 | NY New York | $135.00 | none | $9.00 | $25 | $144.00 | $34.00 |
| 24 | NC North Carolina | $128.00 | none | $21.00 | $200 | $149.00 | $221.00 |
| 25 | MN Minnesota | $155.00 | none | $0.00 | $0 | $155.00 | $0.00 |
| 26 | WV West Virginia | $130.68 | none | $26.00 | none | $156.68 | $26.00 |
| 27 | WY Wyoming | $103.75 | none | $61.44 | in the annual-report figure | $165.19 | $61.44 |
| 28 | VA Virginia | $75.00 | none | $100.00 | none | $175.00 | $100.00 |
| 29 | KS Kansas | $89.00 | none | $90.00 | none | $179.00 | $90.00 |
| 30 | NJ New Jersey | $103.50 | none | $78.00 | not resolved | $181.50 | cannot be computed |
| 31 | AR Arkansas | $45.00 | none | $155.00 | in the annual-report figure | $200.00 | $155.00 |
| 32 | GU Guam | $100.00 | none | $100.00 | none | $200.00 | $100.00 |
| 33 | OR Oregon | $100.00 | none | $100.00 | $150 | $200.00 | $250.00 |
| 34 | NH New Hampshire | $102.00 | none | $102.00 | none | $204.00 | $102.00 |
| 35 | SD South Dakota | $153.68 | none | $56.35 | none | $210.03 | $56.35 |
| 36 | VT Vermont | $155.00 | none | $60.00 | not resolved | $215.00 | cannot be computed |
| 37 | FL Florida | $78.75 | none | $150.00 | none | $228.75 | $150.00 |
| 38 | GA Georgia | $110.00 | Initial report $60 | $60.00 | $0 | $230.00 | $60.00 |
| 39 | ME Maine | $145.00 | none | $85.00 | none | $230.00 | $85.00 |
| 40 | IL Illinois | $153.53 | none | $76.69 | $25 | $230.22 | $101.69 |
| 41 | AL Alabama | $236.00 | none | no annual report | $0 | $236.00 | $0.00 |
| 42 | WA Washington | $200.00 | Initial report $10 | $70.00 | none | $280.00 | $70.00 |
| 43 | RI Rhode Island | $238.00 | none | $52.50 | $400 | $290.50 | $452.50 |
| 44 | PR Puerto Rico | $150.00 | none | $150.00 | none | $300.00 | $150.00 |
| 45 | TX Texas | $308.10 | none | no annual report | $0 | $308.10 | $0.00 |
| 46 | SC South Carolina | $325.00 | none | no annual report | $25 | $325.00 | $25.00 |
| 47 | DE Delaware | $109.00 | none | $225.00 | in the annual-report figure | $334.00 | $225.00 |
| 48 | AK Alaska | $250.00 | none | $100.00 | none | $350.00 | $100.00 |
| 49 | MA Massachusetts | $265.00 | none | $110.00 | $456 | $375.00 | $566.00 |
| 50 | DC District of Columbia | $99.00 | none | $300.00 | $250 | $399.00 | $550.00 |
| 51 | CT Connecticut | $250.00 | none | $150.00 | $250 | $400.00 | $400.00 |
| 52 | VI US Virgin Islands | $150.00 | none | $300.00 | in the annual-report figure | $450.00 | $300.00 |
| 53 | MD Maryland | $175.10 | none | $309.00 | none | $484.10 | $309.00 |
| 54 | NV Nevada | $75.00 | Initial report $150 State business license $500 | $150.00 | none | $875.00 | $650.00 |
Citations withheld across the model: the canonical fee spine does not yet carry official source URLs on every record, so the totals render as pending review even where the entity-tax component is itself verified. Every jurisdiction page links that agency's own published fee schedule.
- Inputs
- 794 fee datums across 54 jurisdictions; 54 structured entity-tax records, 48 verified at official sources
- Retrieved
- fees 2026-08-04 (territories 2026-08-16); entity tax 2026-08-10
- Computed
- first-year and ongoing totals are arithmetic performed at build time on the records in the row; they are not stored values
- Coverage
- 54 of 54 jurisdictions ranked; 52 ongoing totals computable
- Method
- Datum conventions and the review gate
The corporation ranking and the LLC ranking are different rankings: the franchise-tax minimums fall mostly on corporations, and several states with cheap corporate filing fees carry the largest recurring floors.
Year one against every year after
Formation is a one-off; the recurring floor is what compounds. $0 a year is the floor in 5 jurisdictions; California is 12x the median.
Show all 52 jurisdictions
Gaps this page does not paper over
- No jurisdiction hold no canonical corporation fee record; every cell renders as a gap, not a zero.
- 2 jurisdictions carry an entity tax whose structured record states no minimum (NJ, VT) - their ongoing total is not computed rather than computed wrong.
- The minimum is the floor, not the bill: share- and capital-scaled franchise taxes (Delaware above all) can exceed their floor by orders of magnitude. This page ranks the mandatory minimum only.
- Local and county-level business licences are outside this model entirely.