How Much Does an LLC Cost in Hawaii? (2026 fees)
Forming an LLC in Hawaii costs $51 to file. The annual report is $15, annual. Acting as your own registered agent, five years costs $126 — every figure transcribed from the state's own fee schedule and dated.
Filing fee
$51
Annual report
$15 annual
Year one
$66
Five years
$126
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Estimate only — not tax, legal, or accounting advice. This is the published math for Hawaii LLC formation and ongoing costs. Confirm final figures with your payroll provider, accountant, or the state agency before acting on them.
Hawaii LLC Filing Fee ($51)
Paid once, when you file the Articles of Organization. $51.00 is what the Division actually collects: $50.00 for the Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) plus the $1.00 State Archives preservation fee. Hawaii states the pairing on the registration page itself — "The fee for filing Articles of Organization for a Limited Liability Company (Form LLC-1) for a Domestic Limited Liability Company is $50.00, with an additional fee of $25.00 for expedited service. … There is an additional State Archives fee of $1.00." The form's own face prints only "Nonrefundable Filing Fee: $50.00", which is why $50 is the figure everyone quotes. The $1 is not optional: HRS §94-8(c) provides that "in addition to any other fee authorized by law, a $1 state archives preservation fee is assessed for certain permanent documents", and BREG collects it on behalf of the State Archives. Same fee online, by mail, by email or by fax — Hawaii publishes no online discount and no paper surcharge.
Hawaii Annual Report ($15 annual)
Due Annual Report, $15.00 (expedited review $25.00 on top). The deadline is a calendar quarter-end fixed by the quarter of registration, not an anniversary date. Verbatim (BREG FAQ): "Effective January 1, 2003, the annual report or annual statement due date is dependent on the registration date. If the date of registration falls between: January 1 and March 31, the annual report or statement is due by March 31 of each year; April 1 and June 30, the annual report or statement is due by June 30 of each year; July 1 and September 30, the annual report or statement is due by September 30 of each year; October 1 and December 31, the annual report or statement is due by December 31 of each year; provided that if an entity is registered in the same year in which the annual report or statement is due, the registered entity shall not be required to file an annual report or statement for that year." That last clause is a real saving — an LLC formed in 2026 files nothing until 2027. Correcting a filed report is free: "There is no fee to file an amended annual report.". Missing it is how most administrative dissolutions start, so it is worth a calendar entry rather than a memory.
Hawaii Hawaii General Excise Tax (GET) (a formula)
A tax on gross income, not on profit, and there is no minimum and no filing threshold. Department of Taxation, verbatim: "Hawaii does not have a sales tax; instead, we have the GET, which is assessed on all business activities. The tax rate is 0.15% for Insurance Commission, 0.5% for Wholesaling, Manufacturing, Producing, Wholesale Services, and Use Tax on Imports For Resale, and 4% for all others." Counties add a surcharge on the 4% activities only — Honolulu 0.5% (2007-01-01 to 2030-12-31), Kauai 0.5% (2019-01-01 to 2030-12-31), Hawaii County 0.5% (2020-01-01 to 2030-12-31), Maui 0.5% (2024-01-01 to 2030-12-31) — which the Department expresses as a maximum pass-on rate of 4.7120% in all four counties. Periodic returns are due "the 20th day of the month following the close of the tax period"; the annual return is due "the 20th day of the fourth month following the close of the taxable year", i.e. April 20 for calendar-year filers. Because it lands on gross income, a Hawaii LLC can owe GET in a year it lost money. Administered by the Department of Taxation, not by the Business Registration Division, and it is NOT an entity tax — it applies to business activity in Hawaii whatever the entity form, including a sole proprietor. It is listed here because it is the largest recurring state cost a Hawaii LLC carries and because Hawaii has no sales tax for it to be confused with. Getting licensed for it is a separate one-time $20 fee: "What is the fee for a GET license? A one-time $20 fee." (Form BB-1, State of Hawaii Basic Business Application, prices the same line "GET/Use Tax … $20.00".)
What costs $0 in Hawaii
- EIN from the IRS — An Employer Identification Number is issued free by the IRS. Hawaii charges nothing for it and neither should anyone else.
- Operating agreement — Not filed with the Business Registration Division and not priced anywhere on the Chapter 428 fee schedule. It costs $0 to write one.
- Amended annual report — BREG FAQ, verbatim: "To correct an error on a filed, approved annual report or statement, an amended annual report should be filed. There is no fee to file an amended annual report."
- Annual report in the year you register — The FAQ's own proviso: "if an entity is registered in the same year in which the annual report or statement is due, the registered entity shall not be required to file an annual report or statement for that year." A 2026 formation owes no 2026 report.
- Annual-report reminders on an online filing — "Initial business filings filed online through Hawaii Business Express can receive free email reminders when the annual report is due the following year." The same reminder bought as a standalone subscription costs $2.50 per year per business — do not pay for what filing online already gives you.
Listed first on purpose. Knowing what not to pay for is the part of this page most likely to save you money.
19 of 51 jurisdictions verified against their Secretary of State so far. A state we have not read gets no entry rather than a guess.
Pick a different state to price the “form in Wyoming, operate at home” structure honestly — both filings, both annual reports, both agents.
The filing fee is year one; the annual obligations are forever. Comparisons that stop at year one are ranking states by the number that matters least.
Year one
$150 – $350
Every year after
$100 – $300
5-year total
$550 – $1,550
| Articles of Organization filing feeone-off$50.00 total for regular processing of Articles of Organization; $85.00 total if you add expedited processing. Arizona's fee schedule quotes TOTAL fees rather than add-ons, so $85 is the whole bill, not $50 + $85. All fees are non-refundable under A.R.S. §29-3213. | $50 |
| Publication requirementone-offformulaPublication is required by A.R.S. §29-3201 — but whether it costs anything depends on your statutory agent's county. If the statutory agent's street address is in Maricopa or Pima county, the Commission publishes the notice on its own website at no charge and you do nothing. Outside those two counties you must publish in a newspaper, typically three consecutive publications, and pay that newspaper directly (commonly in the $30–$300 range depending on the paper — that range is market context, not a published figure, and the ACC sets no rate). Do not publish until the Commission approves the Articles; the approval letter tells you how. | $0 |
| Annual reportArizona LLCs file no annual report. The Corporation Commission's FAQ states it directly: "No, LLCs are not required to file annual reports. Only corporations are required to file annual reports." The LLC fee schedule carries no annual report line, consistent with that. The ongoing obligation is instead to keep a statutory agent and a valid principal address on file at all times — failing that leads to administrative dissolution under A.R.S. §29-3708. | $0 |
| Registered agent (commercial)Market range, not a statutory fee — this is the one line here you choose. | $100 – $300 |
What costs nothing in Arizona
- EIN from the IRS — An Employer Identification Number is issued free by the IRS. Nobody needs to be paid for it.
- Operating agreement — The Commission's own instructions: "An operating agreement is not required by statute." It is not filed with the ACC — "DO NOT FILE operating agreements with the Arizona Corporation Commission." It costs $0 to write one.
- Annual report — Arizona LLCs do not file one, so there is no annual report fee to pay and no annual report service to buy.
- Newspaper publication, in Maricopa or Pima county — If your statutory agent's street address is in Maricopa or Pima county the ACC publishes the notice on its website automatically at no cost. Publication services sold to filers in those two counties are selling something the state already did for free.
- Name reservation — Not free ($10.00), but not required either — the Commission's instructions say plainly "Reserving the name is not required."
Listed because knowing what NOT to pay for is half of what this page is for.
- Arizona requires newspaper publication after formation. Publication is required by A.R.S. §29-3201 — but whether it costs anything depends on your statutory agent's county. If the statutory agent's street address is in Maricopa or Pima county, the Commission publishes the notice on its own website at no charge and you do nothing. Outside those two counties you must publish in a newspaper, typically three consecutive publications, and pay that newspaper directly (commonly in the $30–$300 range depending on the paper — that range is market context, not a published figure, and the ACC sets no rate). Do not publish until the Commission approves the Articles; the approval letter tells you how. It is a real cost and it is not in the totals below, because it depends on where you file.
Every verified state, ranked by the 5-year total
Own-agent figures, so this compares states rather than service purchases. Each state links to its full fee page.
| State | Filing | Per year after | 5-year total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | $50 | $0 | $50 |
| Ohio | $99 | $0 | $99 |
| Hawaii | $51 | $15+formula | $126 |
| Utah | $59 | $18 | $149 |
| Colorado | $50 | $25 | $175 |
| Michigan | $50 | $25 | $175 |
| New York | $200 | $5 | $223 |
| Texas | $300 | $0+formula | $300 |
| Wyoming | $100 | $60 | $400 |
| Georgia | $110 | $60 | $410 |
| Illinois | $150 | $75 | $525 |
| Florida | $125 | $139 | $819 |
| Kentuckytrap | $40 | $190+formula | $990 |
| North Carolina | $125 | $200 | $1,125 |
| Nevadatrap | $75 | $350 | $1,825 |
| Delawaretrap | $110 | $400 | $2,110 |
| Tennessee | $300 | $400+formula | $2,300 |
| Pennsylvaniatrap | $125 | $707+formula | $3,660 |
| Californiatrap | $70 | $810+formula | $4,120 |
How Much Does an LLC Cost?: computed in your browser from verified fee packs; nothing is transmitted.
Thinking of forming in another state to save money? Price both structures — operating in Hawaii means registering here either way, so the second state is added to the bill rather than substituted for it. Compare every verified state →
Verified 2026-08-05 against Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division — Fees / Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, Chapter 428 (effective 2026-01-01)
Source of record
- Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division — Fees / Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, Chapter 428 ↗Secretary of State
Run it against the official tool: Hawaii Department of Taxation — General Excise Tax (GET) Information ↗
🎓 Understand this tool
What it is
The full price of an LLC in each verified state: the one-off filing fee, the report the state expects every year or two, any franchise or gross-receipts tax on top, and what those add up to over the years you actually intend to be in business.
How it works
Every figure comes from a rule pack transcribed from the Secretary of State or tax agency that sets it, with the source and verification date shown. The projection multiplies the recurring obligations out over your chosen horizon; where a state publishes a formula rather than a flat amount, the tool carries the formula and its floor rather than inventing a number.
Getting the most from it
- Pick the state you would form in — only states we have verified appear, and the count is stated.
- If the business will operate in a DIFFERENT state, say so: the tool then prices both filings, both annual reports, and the registered agent you would have to rent.
- Toggle the registered agent off if you have an address in the state and are willing to be your own — most states allow it at no cost.
- Change the projection length and watch the ranking of states change with it.
- Read the zero-cost list before paying anyone for anything on it.
Reading your result
The year-one figure is what starting costs; the every-year-after figure is what staying costs; and the multi-year total is the honest basis for comparing states. A trap badge means the state charges more every year than it charged to form — the number in most comparison tables is the smallest one that state will ever bill you.
What it can't tell you
It prices state obligations, not your taxes: state income tax, sales tax registration, and local licences depend on what the business does and are not in these figures. It also cannot decide whether an LLC is the right structure — that question involves liability and tax facts this page cannot see.
Frequently asked questions
$51 to file the Articles of Organization. $51.00 is what the Division actually collects: $50.00 for the Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) plus the $1.00 State Archives preservation fee. Hawaii states the pairing on the registration page itself — "The fee for filing Articles of Organization for a Limited Liability Company (Form LLC-1) for a Domestic Limited Liability Company is $50.00, with an additional fee of $25.00 for expedited service. … There is an additional State Archives fee of $1.00." The form's own face prints only "Nonrefundable Filing Fee: $50.00", which is why $50 is the figure everyone quotes. The $1 is not optional: HRS §94-8(c) provides that "in addition to any other fee authorized by law, a $1 state archives preservation fee is assessed for certain permanent documents", and BREG collects it on behalf of the State Archives. Same fee online, by mail, by email or by fax — Hawaii publishes no online discount and no paper surcharge. That is the only mandatory cost to form — an EIN from the IRS is free and an operating agreement is a document you write yourself, not something the state charges for.
Related calculators
Startup cost
A line-item budget that keeps the two questions separate: what it costs to open, and what it costs every month to stay open. The headline output is the cash needed to launch and survive a chosen runway with no revenue at all — the deliberately pessimistic figure lenders actually ask about.
Break-even
Work out how many units you need to sell before the business covers its costs. Charts the crossing point, counts your own pay as a cost, includes the card fees and refunds most calculators leave out, and separates cash break-even from the accounting one. A planning estimate from your own figures.
Employee cost
What a hire actually costs once employer taxes, benefits and overhead are counted. Social Security to this year’s wage base, Medicare, federal unemployment after the state credit, and your state’s own unemployment tax at its own wage base — every rate cited to the agency that published it, with the math shown.
Change alerts — when a state revises the guideline or deadline behind this page
One email when the numbers change. Double opt-in, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.