Lifecycle
Annual reports: the check-in that isn't a tax return
What this filing actually confirms, why a lapsed report can quietly stall a real estate closing months later, and why paying one of a state's two separate annual obligations doesn't mean the other one is covered.
Most states want to hear from an LLC on a regular schedule, whether or not anything changed. This is not a tax return; it confirms the company still exists, still has a valid agent, and still has current information on file.
The scam mailer
Official-looking letters offering to “process your compliance filing” for $75 to $200, above the state’s own fee, are a common trap. The real filing happens only on the state’s own site.
The insight that surfaces in the worst possible room
A title company or lender closing a real estate transaction routinely pulls a certificate of good standing on any LLC party to the deal. A company with a lapsed report, otherwise operating normally, won’t come back in good standing, and that fact alone can stall or kill a closing that has nothing else to do with the report, sometimes on the day of signing.
The second insight: two bills, one due date confusion
Several states, Delaware among the clearest examples, impose two genuinely separate annual obligations on an LLC: an annual franchise tax, paid to the state’s revenue or franchise tax authority, and a distinct compliance filing or report, sometimes handled by an entirely different office. Paying one does not satisfy the other, and a company that dutifully pays its franchise tax every year, assuming that check covers “the annual thing,” can still fall out of good standing for failing to separately handle the other filing, or vice versa. Because both often arrive around the same time of year, and both get referred to loosely as “the annual LLC obligation” by owners and even some formation services, it’s easy to assume a single payment closed the loop when it only closed half of it. The state’s own website, checked directly rather than inferred from a single payment confirmation, is the only reliable way to confirm both obligations are actually current.
The worked scenario: how one missed report becomes a dissolved company
The company forms in March; the first report is due the following March and gets missed. The state sends a notice with a grace period, the notice goes unnoticed, and the state administratively dissolves the company while the business keeps operating on the surface as if nothing changed.
Fee, cadence, and due date by state
This is what the state requires each year, or every two years, to keep a domestic LLC in good standing: the filing, the state fee, and when it is due. It leaves out income taxes and registered agent fees. Each state’s filing page on this site gives the official source and its own verification date. California, Delaware, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Vermont and West Virginia were re-checked against official sources in October 2026.
| State | Recurring filing | Fee and timing |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | None since 2024 | No annual report |
| Alaska | Biennial report | $100, due January 2 on your cycle |
| Arizona | None | No report and no annual fee |
| Arkansas | Franchise tax | $150 flat, due May 1 |
| California | Annual tax, plus a Statement of Information every two years | $800 minimum tax each year to the Franchise Tax Board; confirm the Statement of Information fee with the Secretary of State |
| Colorado | Periodic report | $25, in a window around your anniversary month |
| Connecticut | Annual report | $80 |
| Delaware | Annual tax, no report | $400 due June 1, up from $300 under House Bill 400; the first $400 payment is due June 1, 2027 |
| District of Columbia | Biennial report | $300, due April 1 every second year |
| Florida | Annual report | $138.75, due May 1 |
| Georgia | Annual registration | $60 ($50 plus a $10 service charge), due January 1 to April 1 |
| Hawaii | Annual report | $15 |
| Idaho | Annual report | Free, due by the end of your anniversary month |
| Illinois | Annual report | $75, plus $50 for each designated series |
| Indiana | Biennial report | $32 every two years |
| Iowa | Biennial report | $30, due April 1 of odd-numbered years |
| Kansas | Biennial report | $50 online, due April 15 every other year |
| Kentucky | Annual report | $15, due by June 30 |
| Louisiana | Annual report | $35, plus a $5 fee if paid by card, due on your anniversary |
| Maine | Annual report | $85, due June 1 |
| Maryland | Annual report | $300, due April 15 |
| Massachusetts | Annual report | $500 ($520 online), due on your anniversary |
| Michigan | Annual statement | $25, due February 15; drops to $15 after September 30, 2027 |
| Minnesota | Annual renewal | Free, due December 31 |
| Mississippi | Annual report | Free, due April 15; foreign LLCs pay $250 |
| Missouri | None | No annual or biennial report |
| Montana | Annual report | $0 for on-time filings in 2026 and 2027, then $20 |
| Nebraska | Biennial report | $25, due April 1 of odd-numbered years |
| Nevada | Annual list and business license | $350 ($150 list plus $200 license), due the last day of your anniversary month |
| New Hampshire | Annual report | $100, due April 1 |
| New Jersey | Annual report | $75, due the last day of your anniversary month |
| New Mexico | None | No recurring report |
| New York | Biennial statement | $9, due in your formation month every two years |
| North Carolina | Annual report | $200, due April 15 |
| North Dakota | Annual report | $50 |
| Ohio | None | No annual report and no annual fee |
| Oklahoma | Annual certificate | $25, due on your anniversary |
| Oregon | Annual report | $100, due by your anniversary |
| Pennsylvania | Annual report | $7, due September 30; missing it leads to dissolution starting with 2027 reports |
| Rhode Island | Annual report | $50, filed early in the year |
| South Carolina | None for a standard LLC | No annual report or fee |
| South Dakota | Annual report | $55 online, due the first day of your anniversary month |
| Tennessee | Annual report | $50 per member, $300 minimum, $3,000 maximum, due April 1 for calendar-year LLCs |
| Texas | No Secretary of State report | The Comptroller franchise tax filing is free for most LLCs |
| Utah | Annual renewal | $18 |
| Vermont | Annual report | $45, set by statute since June 2023; the Secretary of State’s fee page still shows the older $35 |
| Virginia | Annual registration fee, no report | $50, due by the end of your anniversary month |
| Washington | Annual report | $70, due the last day of your anniversary month |
| West Virginia | Annual report | $25, due July 1; after five consecutive timely reports an LLC may elect biennial reporting at $50 |
| Wisconsin | Annual report | $25 |
| Wyoming | Annual report | $60 minimum, or $0.0002 per dollar of Wyoming assets, due the first day of your anniversary month |
Last verified October 2026 for California, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Vermont and West Virginia; other rows carry the verification date on their state’s filing page.
What to actually do
Calendar the due date the day the company is formed. Confirm directly on the state’s own site whether your state has one obligation or two, and don’t assume a single payment covered both. Pull a good-standing certificate proactively before any real estate closing or major financing.