$40 — Kentucky
The lowest filing fee among the five states compared in this guide — a one-time charge paid with the articles of organization.
LLC formation, priced and sequenced
You form an LLC by filing articles of organization with one state and paying that state's fee — $40 in Kentucky, $200 in New York, and $70 to $125 in the three states between. This guide walks the seven steps in the correct order, prices the five states on record, and flags the deadlines — a 75-day S-corp window, a May 1 report in Florida, a six-week newspaper run in New York — that decide what the LLC costs after the filing.
01
From the name-availability check to the EIN, the formation sequence has a correct order — and New York adds a six-week newspaper step that no other state on this list demands. The full walkthrough lives in the step-by-step chapter.
02
Kentucky files an LLC for $40; New York charges $200 before the newspapers send their own invoice. The fees chapter compares all five states and the annual charges that trail each of them.
03
Default tax treatment is automatic, but the S-corp election is not: Form 2553 carries a 75-day window, and the deadlines chapter shows exactly when it opens and when it closes.
Among the five states on record here, the one-time filing fee runs from $40 in Kentucky to $200 in New York.
The fee is paid once, with the articles of organization, and it is set by the state legislature rather than by any filing service. Kentucky charges $40, California $70, Delaware $90, Florida $125 and New York $200 — a fivefold spread between the cheapest and the most expensive state on this list.
The filing fee, however, is the smallest number in the story. California pairs its $70 fee with an $800 franchise tax due every year regardless of income, and Delaware pairs its $90 fee with a $300 annual tax. New York's $200 is followed by a newspaper-publication requirement whose price is set by the papers, not the state.
The full comparison, including report deadlines, sits in the table below and is expanded state by state in the fees chapter of this guide.
The lowest filing fee among the five states compared in this guide — a one-time charge paid with the articles of organization.
The highest filing fee on this list, and the only state here that then adds newspapers: two publications, six consecutive weeks, then a certificate of publication.
Owed by every California LLC each year regardless of income, on top of the $70 filing fee. A zero-revenue year does not cancel it.
A flat annual charge that begins after formation and is separate from Delaware's $90 filing fee.
Form 2553 must reach the IRS within 75 days of formation, or within 75 days of the start of the tax year. Miss both and the default treatment stands.
The IRS issues the number at no charge through Form SS-4 or its online assistant. It is not the same number the state assigns at filing.
The filing fee is the smallest check an LLC ever writes; the annual taxes and reports are the ones that follow it for years.
An S-corp election is a calendar decision before it is a tax decision: 75 days, then the window closes.
| State | One-time filing fee | Recurring charge | Report rhythm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | $40 | — | — |
| California | $70 | $800 franchise tax every year, regardless of income | — |
| Delaware | $90 | $300 annual tax, separate from the filing fee | — |
| Florida | $125 | — | Annual report due by May 1 each year |
| New York | $200 | Publication in two newspapers for 6 consecutive weeks, then a certificate of publication | Biennial statement every 2 years |
The list below names the schedules and forms behind each figure; only states and amounts stated there appear on this page.