2026 tax year
Delaware vs Nevada
Both scale their fees with share value. A flat comparison misleads.
Forming in Wyoming, Delaware or Nevada does not remove tax or registration obligations in the state where your business actually operates. An out-of-state entity doing business in its owner's state must usually register there as a foreign entity and pay that state's taxes anyway.
These are the two states with the strongest "incorporate here" marketing, and the only pair on this site where both sides charge corporations on the value of their authorized shares. That makes the usual side-by-side price table actively misleading.
Both charge on share value, and they do it at different points
Delaware scales the franchise tax. Formation is close to flat; the annual franchise tax is where the share structure shows up, computed either on authorized shares or on assumed par value, with a cap of $200,000 for ordinary filers and $250,000 for large corporate filers.
Nevada scales the filing itself, and then scales it again every year. Corporate formation runs from $75 to a $35,000 maximum on the value of total authorized shares, and the annual list runs from $150 to $11,125 on the same basis. So Nevada charges for share structure at the counter and then charges for it again annually.
The practical consequence is that a comparison of "$110 versus $75 to form" tells you nothing about either state. A company with a conventional startup share structure will find those numbers describe neither its first year nor any year after.
What each charges
| State | Entity | Formation | Foreign registration | Annual report | Annual tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | LLC | $110 | $200 | none required | $300 |
| Delaware | Corporation | $109 minimum | $245 | $50 | not established |
| Nevada | LLC | $75 | $75 | $150 | $200 |
| Nevada | Corporation | $75 minimum | $75 | $150 | $500 |
A figure marked "minimum" scales with authorized shares or capital. The real amount depends on a share structure this calculator does not ask for, so any total containing it is a floor.
Delaware in detail
Delaware corporations pay an annual report fee separately from the franchise tax, and foreign corporations pay a different, higher report fee on a different date from domestic ones.
Corporations owing $5,000 or more of franchise tax pay quarterly instalments rather than one annual amount.
Nevada in detail
Nevada adds a State Business License of $500 a year for corporations, separate from the annual list and often left out of comparisons.
An Initial List is due with the articles, at the same amount as the annual one, so year one carries it twice.
The short answer
Neither state can be compared on a headline fee, and any table that does so, including the one on this page, is showing minimums. Both figures are floors, and the real number depends on a share structure this calculator does not ask for.
Run it on your own state and figures
Your operating state is not preset here, because it decides the answer. Set where you live and where the work happens, and the comparison keeps that state's obligations on every column, which is what makes the totals honest.
What decides the numbers
Registered agent prices are a typical market range, not an official fee. Acting as your own agent needs an address in that state, so it is only offered where you live or work.
What changes the warnings, not the arithmetic
Set your states and figures above, then press Compare.
Questions
Why do the totals on this page carry a plus sign?
Because both states' corporate fees scale with share value and the stored figures are minimums. The plus marks a total that can only go up.
Which is cheaper for an LLC rather than a corporation?
The share-based schedules do not apply to LLCs in either state, so the comparison becomes much simpler. And Delaware's flat annual tax against Nevada's list plus business license is the whole of it. Switch the entity type in the calculator to see it.
Does either state's court system matter to a small company?
That is a legal question rather than a cost one, and outside what this calculator measures. It is worth asking a lawyer rather than a fee schedule.
Related
- Compare every state
- California vs Wyoming LLC
- Delaware vs Wyoming LLC
- Wyoming vs Nevada LLC
- Delaware franchise tax calculator
General information about what states charge, not tax advice. And not legal advice either. Choosing where and how to form a business involves legal questions beyond cost. Take advice before filing.