LLC Total Cost Calculator: See the Cost Beyond the Filing Fee
The filing fee is only the first layer. This calculator projects the costs that can repeat year after year—state maintenance, registered-agent service and the extras you actually expect—so you can compare Year 1, Year 3, Year 5 and Year 10 instead of relying on a headline formation price.
What does an LLC really cost?
There is no single national answer. Your total can include a one-time state formation fee, recurring state maintenance charges, fixed state taxes, registered-agent service, publication or local requirements, and optional service costs. The calculator below starts with the page's 51-jurisdiction fee inventory, adds fixed special costs that can be safely modeled, and lets you enter your own variable extras instead of pretending every business pays the same amount.
LLC Total Cost Planner
This is the primary utility on the page. The state formation filing fee is now always shown as its own number. It is never replaced by a Year-1 total. Ongoing state compliance, taxes, registered-agent service and your own extras are separate layers that can affect the ownership-cost forecast.
How the New Cost Model Works
The calculator has four layers, but it no longer merges them into one ambiguous “fee.” Layer 1 is the exact formation filing fee. Layer 2 is the ongoing state filing/compliance fee and its frequency. Layer 3 is a fixed special annual state cost when it can be safely modeled. Layer 4 is your service and custom-cost input.
Some costs depend on county, revenue, industry, location or business facts. New York newspaper publication charges are a good example. A calculator should let you add the amount you actually expect rather than publish a fake statewide average as if it were a government fee.
Special Costs the Old Calculator Needed to Handle Better
California: the old page listed the $800 annual LLC tax in a warning but excluded it from the projection. Revision 1 includes it as a fixed annual state cost. California can also impose an income-based LLC fee above $250,000 of California-source total income, which remains variable and is not automatically modeled.
New York: most domestic LLCs face a publication requirement within 120 days, but the newspaper charges depend on county. Enter your expected publication cost as a one-time extra rather than relying on a statewide guess.
Texas: the old page used the 2024–2025 no-tax-due threshold. For 2026 and 2027, the threshold is $2.65 million. The calculator therefore leaves Texas franchise tax at $0 in the baseline rather than inventing revenue you did not provide.
Delaware: LLCs pay a $300 annual tax and do not file an annual report with the Division of Corporations. The recurring baseline already includes the $300.
Alabama: Business Privilege Tax treatment depends on the calculated tax. Tax due of $100 or less is exempt for tax years beginning after December 31, 2023, so Revision 1 does not hardcode a universal annual add-on.
51-Jurisdiction Baseline Fee Table
This table preserves the supplied July 2026 dataset as a reference baseline. It is useful for comparison and tool functionality, but it should not be represented as a fresh 51-agency verification completed today. Key high-impact rules identified above were separately checked in August 2026.
| Jurisdiction | Formation filing fee | Ongoing state fee | Frequency | Fixed annual extra | Status |
|---|
Why Registered-Agent Cost Changes the Long-Term Number
A registered agent is required for an LLC, but you do not necessarily have to buy a commercial registered-agent service. If you qualify under your state's rules and accept the privacy/availability trade-offs, you may serve as your own agent. A paid service becomes a recurring cost, which is why the calculator separates that decision from government fees.
Northwest currently advertises business formation for $39 + state fees, with registered-agent service included for the first year and $125 per year afterward. The calculator's Northwest path models those published terms, but the state fee itself remains a government charge.
Primary Sources & Data Governance
Northwest currently advertises LLC formation for $39 + state fees, with registered-agent service included for the first year and $125/year afterward. The calculator separates that service cost from government fees.
This page contains high-change cost data. The 51-jurisdiction baseline is retained from the prior July 2026 inventory for calculator utility, while selected high-impact rules were rechecked in August 2026. Government fees, taxes and local requirements should be reconfirmed before filing.