You formed your LLC. Great. Now the state wants to hear from you every year (sometimes every two years) to confirm your business still exists and your information is current. This is your annual report, and forgetting about it is one of the fastest ways to lose your LLC.
It's not complicated. But the fees, deadlines, and penalties vary wildly depending on where you filed. Some states charge $0. Others want $800. Miss your deadline in certain states and you're looking at late fees, penalties, or your LLC getting administratively dissolved — meaning it effectively ceases to exist until you fix it.
Here's what you need to know, state by state.
An annual report is a filing your state requires to keep your LLC in "good standing." Despite the name, it's not a financial report. You're not submitting income statements or tax returns. It's more like a check-in form that confirms basic details about your business:
Most states let you file online, and it takes about 10 minutes. The form itself isn't the problem. The problem is remembering to do it and knowing when it's due.
A handful of states have decided they don't need to hear from you every year. If your LLC is formed in one of these states, you can cross this task off your list:
Pennsylvania technically doesn't require an annual report either, but they do require a decennial report every 10 years. Forget that one and your LLC gets flagged. It's $7 every decade — easy to miss precisely because it's so infrequent.
The fees range from free to absurdly expensive. Here's the breakdown by category:
California's $800 franchise tax deserves special mention. It applies whether your LLC earns $1 million or $0. First-year LLCs used to get an exemption, but that ended. If you're considering forming an LLC in a state you don't live in, California's franchise tax is a major reason people avoid it — even though many California-based businesses have no choice.
Deadlines vary by state, and they don't all follow the calendar year. There are three common approaches:
Anniversary date: Your report is due on the anniversary of your LLC's formation. If you filed on June 15, your annual report is due every June 15 (or the end of that month). States using this system include Florida, Wyoming, and Alaska.
Fixed calendar date: Everyone files by the same date, regardless of when they formed. Common deadlines include April 1 (Georgia), April 15 (Illinois), and January 1 (various states). Delaware's $300 tax is due by June 1.
Biennial (every 2 years): Some states only require filing every other year. New York, Montana, and Nebraska use biennial schedules. This cuts your fees in half, but it also means people forget — you haven't filed in 18 months, and suddenly the deadline has passed.
This is where it gets real. Missing your annual report isn't like forgetting to pay a credit card bill. The consequences escalate quickly:
Late fees. Most states tack on a penalty, usually $25-$200. Florida charges a $400 late fee on top of the $138.75 filing fee, which means a missed report costs you $538.75 instead of $138.75. That's a painful mistake for a 10-minute filing.
Loss of good standing. Your LLC loses its "good standing" status, which means you can't get business licenses, loans, or certain contracts. Some banks will freeze your business account if your LLC falls out of good standing.
Administrative dissolution. If you don't file for long enough, the state will dissolve your LLC. This doesn't mean you owe nothing — you still owe the back fees and late penalties. But your liability protection disappears. Any business you conduct after dissolution puts your personal assets at risk.
Most states give you a grace period to reinstate after dissolution, but it involves filing all the overdue reports, paying all the back fees plus penalties, and sometimes filing a reinstatement application with its own fee ($50-$200). It's a mess. Set a calendar reminder and avoid the whole thing.
The actual process is usually straightforward:
Most states now offer online filing, and many send email reminders if you've provided a contact email. Some states still require paper filings or allow filing by mail only — check your specific state's process in our state-by-state guides.
If your registered agent is a professional service, they'll typically send you reminders about filing deadlines. That's one of the underrated benefits of using a service instead of acting as your own agent.
Some states separate these into two different obligations. Others combine them. The distinction matters because you might owe both:
Annual report: An information filing. Some states charge a fee, others don't.
Franchise tax: A tax your LLC owes for the privilege of operating in the state. This exists whether or not you made money. California ($800), Delaware ($300), and Texas (only above $1.23 million in revenue) are the notable franchise tax states.
In some states, like Delaware, your "annual report" is essentially just paying the franchise tax. There's no separate information form — you pay the $300 and you're good. In other states, you file an information form AND pay a separate tax. Know which obligation your state has so you don't miss one while handling the other.
Set a calendar reminder 30 days before your deadline. Not on the deadline — before it. Give yourself time to handle it without rushing. Put it on your phone, your work calendar, wherever you'll actually see it.
Keep your registered agent updated. If your registered agent address changes and you don't update it, you might miss important notices from the state — including reminders about your annual report. If you've been thinking about whether to hire a lawyer or handle LLC compliance yourself, this is one of those areas where a registered agent service earns its fee.
File early if your state allows it. There's no bonus for waiting until the last day. Most states open filing 30-60 days before the deadline. Get it done early and forget about it.
Factor the annual report into your LLC cost calculations. The filing fee gets you in the door, but the annual report is what you pay every year to keep the lights on. A $50 filing fee in a state with a $500 annual report is more expensive long-term than a $200 filing fee in a state with a $25 annual report.
If you formed your LLC in one state but operate in another (as a foreign LLC), you may owe annual reports in both states. This is the hidden cost that catches people who form their LLC in a different state for tax or privacy reasons.
For example, if you form in Wyoming but do business in California, you'll owe Wyoming's $60 annual report AND California's $800 franchise tax. You're maintaining compliance in two states, with two different deadlines, two different sets of forms, and two registered agents.
For most small businesses, this double obligation erases any savings from forming out of state. It's one of the strongest arguments for just forming your LLC in your home state.
Annual reports are boring. They're also one of the few things that can kill an LLC through pure neglect. The filing itself takes 10 minutes and costs anywhere from $0 to $800 depending on your state.
Set a reminder. File on time. Keep your information current. That's really all there is to it.
For specific deadlines, fees, and filing instructions for your state, check our state-by-state LLC guides.