What does it cost to keep a Delaware LLC in good standing each year?
DelawareCostsFranchise taxComplianceRegistered agent
A Delaware LLC pays the state a flat annual tax, due on or before June 1 every year, plus whatever its registered agent charges. The tax is $400 for the 2026 tax year onward, raised from $300 by a bill signed in May 2026, and because Delaware bills it a year in arrears the first $400 payment falls due June 1, 2027. That is the whole list. Delaware does not make an LLC file an annual report, and the tax is the same whether the company earned nothing or a great deal.
What happens if you miss it
The state adds a $200 penalty and charges interest at 1.5% a month on the tax and the penalty together. Leave it long enough and the company loses good standing, which is the status a bank, an investor or an acquirer sees when they order a certificate. Paying the arrears restores it, but the timing is rarely convenient.
The registered agent
Every Delaware company needs an agent with a Delaware street address, and almost every company formed from outside the state pays a commercial one. Prices vary widely between agents, and the number to watch is the renewal rather than the first year, because this is a bill the company pays for as long as it exists.
What Delaware does not cover
Your home state. An LLC run from California, New York or Texas is registered there as a foreign company as well, pays that state's annual fee or franchise tax, and needs an agent there too. Delaware's flat tax is the smaller half of the bill for most companies that form there and operate somewhere else.
The corporation, for comparison
A Delaware corporation files an annual report by March 1, with a $50 filing fee, and pays franchise tax at the same time: at least $175 under the authorized shares method or $400 under the assumed par value capital method. The late penalty is the same $200 plus 1.5% a month. A startup with millions of authorized shares will see a large number on the default method, and should recalculate under the assumed par value method before paying it.
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Written by the lawyers who built Arabella. This is legal information, not legal advice for your situation, and reading it does not make us your lawyers. For a real dispute or a high-stakes decision, talk to a licensed attorney. More questions.