Glossary

Annual report

The periodic filing that keeps a business entity in good standing with the state that formed it.

Most states require a report each year, some every two years, and a few on other cycles; the fee ranges from nothing to several hundred dollars. Missing it produces a late fee first and administrative dissolution if it continues, and a dissolved entity stops providing the separation it was formed for. Reinstating costs more than filing on time would have, and in some states the name can be lost in the meantime. Because the report recurs and the filing fee does not, it dominates the multi-year cost of an entity far more than the price of forming it.

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