Texas LLC Filing Fees (2026)

Texas charges more up front than most states and very little after that. The Certificate of Formation is $300, there is no Secretary of State annual report, and there is no state income tax. What Texas has instead is an annual tax filing with a different agency entirely, the Comptroller of Public Accounts, and most small LLCs owe $0 on it. Here is the full fee picture before you start the formation process.

Formation Fees (One Time)

Item	State fee	Notes
Certificate of Formation (Form 205)	$300	Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code § 4.154; filed with the Secretary of State via SOSDirect or by mail
Card payment surcharge	2.7% of fees	Statutorily authorized convenience fee; this is why a card receipt shows $308.10
EIN	Free	Direct from the IRS at irs.gov

The Secretary of State also offers an optional name reservation if you want to hold a name before filing, and businesses operating under a name other than the LLC's legal name file an Assumed Name Certificate with their county clerk.

Our Service Pricing

Service	Price	What it covers
LLC formation	$199 + state fee	We prepare and file Form 205; includes your first year of registered agent service, then $99 per year
Registered agent (standalone)	$99 per year	Texas street address, service of process handling, deadline reminders
Foreign qualification	$199 + state fees	For out-of-state LLCs registering to do business in Texas

Form Your Texas LLC

Ongoing: No Annual Report Fee, but a Comptroller Filing

Texas has no Secretary of State annual report for LLCs, and no annual report fee. The recurring obligation is a tax filing: every Texas LLC files a Franchise Tax Report and a Public Information Report (PIR, Form 05-102) with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts by May 15 each year. The filing window opens January 1.

Item	Amount	Due	Filed with
Franchise Tax Report	$0 tax if revenue is at or below the no-tax-due threshold	May 15 annually	Texas Comptroller
Public Information Report (Form 05-102)	No fee, but mandatory for every LLC	May 15 annually	Texas Comptroller
Registered agent service	$99 per year	Annual renewal	Private service (first year included with our $199 formation)

The no-tax-due threshold is $2.47 million in annualized total revenue for the 2024 and 2025 report years, raised to $2.65 million for 2026. An LLC at or below the threshold owes no franchise tax, but it must still file the PIR: the old standalone No Tax Due Report (Form 05-163) was discontinued starting with 2024 reports, so the PIR is what keeps a $0-revenue LLC compliant. Above the threshold, franchise tax is owed on the LLC's margin. Full mechanics are in our annual filing guide.

Miss the May 15 deadline and the Comptroller assesses a $50 penalty plus 5% of any tax due, with another 5% once you are more than 30 days late. Continued non-filing leads to forfeiture of the LLC's privileges and ultimately of its certificate of formation (Tex. Tax Code §§ 171.251-171.255).

Registered Agent and Change Fees

Every Texas LLC must maintain a registered agent (the LLC cannot serve as its own). Changing agents later means filing Form 401, the Statement of Change of Registered Office/Agent, with the Secretary of State for $15. The $5 rate you may see quoted for Form 401 applies only to nonprofit corporations and cooperative associations, not LLCs. Details on our registered agent page.

How Texas Compares

The $300 formation fee is on the high side, but with no annual report fee, no state income tax, and $0 franchise tax for LLCs under the revenue threshold, Texas is one of the least expensive states to keep an LLC running year over year. The ongoing obligations are about filing on time, not writing checks.

FAQ

Does Texas charge more for multi-member LLCs?

No. The Certificate of Formation is $300 whether your LLC has one member or fifty. There is no per-member fee in Texas.

Is there a Texas annual report fee?

No, because there is no Secretary of State annual report. The yearly obligation is the Comptroller's franchise tax filing plus the PIR, and an LLC at or below the no-tax-due threshold pays $0 with that filing.

Why does the state total come to $308.10?

That is the $300 filing fee plus the statutorily authorized 2.7% convenience fee on card payments. The filing fee is $300; the rest is the card surcharge.

What does a dormant Texas LLC pay each year?

Nothing to the state, so long as it files. A no-revenue LLC owes $0 franchise tax but must still submit the PIR by May 15. Skipping the filing is what gets expensive, through penalties and eventual forfeiture.