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Filing yourself, a California LLC costs between 2,510 and 3,310 dollars in state fees over its first three years. Most of it is the annual tax: every LLC doing business or organized in California must pay 800 dollars a year [14].

The state fees

• Formation: the articles of organization, form LLC-1, cost 70 dollars [13].
• Statement of Information: 20 dollars, due within 90 days of registration and every two years after [13].
• Annual tax: 800 dollars a year to the Franchise Tax Board [14]. The first-year tax is due by the 15th day of the 4th month after filing with the Secretary of State, and later payments on the 15th day of the 4th month of each taxable year [14]. The tax is due every year, even if the LLC is not conducting business, until the LLC is cancelled [14]. An LLC with total California income of 250,000 dollars or more also owes an LLC fee, which this site does not compute [14].
• Optional fees: a name reservation costs 10 dollars [13], and the 24-hour filing service 350 dollars [16].
• An LLC formed in another state registers with form LLC-5, which costs 70 dollars [15]. The 800 dollar tax applies to every LLC doing business in California, not only to those formed there [14].

Over three years

The Statement of Information falls twice in 36 months: once within 90 days, once two years later. The annual tax falls three or four times, depending on the formation date: the first payment within about three and a half months of formation, then every year on the 15th day of the 4th month of the taxable year [14]. That gives 70 + 40 + 2,400 = 2,510 dollars at the low end and 70 + 40 + 3,200 = 3,310 dollars at the high end.

The calculator for California adds the prices of the formation services we could read. How California compares with the other states is in annual reports and state taxes by state.

This page reports the fees and taxes the state publishes. It is not legal or tax advice. Whether an LLC owes the fee on income is a question for the Franchise Tax Board or a tax professional.