What Does an LLC Cost in Ohio?
Ohio is one of the cheapest states in this guide to start and tied for the cheapest to keep: $99 once, then $0 a year in recurring state charges for a typical small LLC. The Commercial Activity Tax only starts above $6 million in Ohio gross receipts. Here is the whole state bill.
Year one: what you pay to exist
| Year-one cost in Ohio | Amount |
|---|---|
| Articles of Organization (Form 610), Secretary of State | $99 |
| EIN from the IRS | $0 |
| Operating agreement (you write it, not filed) | $0 |
| Statutory agent (you or another individual serves) | $0 |
| Total state cost, year one | $99 |
That $99 is the complete required state charge to form, the same online through Ohio Business Central as on paper. Everything else at formation is optional or conditional. Expedited processing adds $100, $200, or $300 depending on the tier, and a preclearance review adds $50, but regular processing in 3 to 7 business days is free of any surcharge. A name reservation, if you choose one, is $39. A vendor's license is $50 per fixed location, but only if you make taxable retail sales, so it is not part of the flat formation total. Hiring a commercial statutory agent service is a market purchase, separate from state charges, and naming an individual costs nothing.
Every year after: the cost of staying alive
| Recurring cost in Ohio | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual report | $0. Ohio does not have one for LLCs. |
| Biennial report | $0. Ohio does not have one for LLCs either. |
| Commercial Activity Tax, Ohio receipts at or under $6 million | $0, and no return to file |
| Commercial Activity Tax above the exclusion | 0.26% of Ohio taxable gross receipts above $6 million |
| Typical recurring total | $0 |
A recurring total of $0 does not mean a recurring duty of nothing. Ohio conditions your LLC's existence on continuously maintaining a statutory agent. If the agent record fails and you do not cure the default within 30 days of the Secretary of State's notice, the Articles are canceled. Reinstatement uses Form 525A, Reinstatement and Appointment of Agent, for $25, and it must be filed within 2 years of cancellation or the cancellation is permanent. Budget $0 a year, and spend the attention you save on keeping one address current.
What drives the Ohio total, year one vs. later
Ohio's total is driven by how little of it there is. Year one is a single $99 filing fee for Form 610, with no state add-ons required: no publication, no initial report, no separate agent designation fee. Later years drop to $0 in state charges, and they stay there, because Ohio imposes no annual or biennial report on LLCs and eliminated the Commercial Activity Tax annual minimum in 2024 while raising the exclusion to $6 million for 2025 and later. For a typical small LLC, no year after year one costs more than year one, and most cost nothing at all. The two ways an Ohio LLC spends money with the state later are both situational: growth past $6 million in Ohio gross receipts, which triggers the 0.26% CAT on receipts above the exclusion, or housekeeping filings you choose or cause, like a $25 statutory agent update or a $39 trade name registration. Ohio's risk is not price. It is the agent record, the one filing duty whose neglect can cancel the LLC itself.
The Commercial Activity Tax, in plain terms
The CAT is Ohio's tax on gross receipts, not on profit, and it is the figure stale guides describe worst, because the law changed twice in two years. Older pages still quote an annual minimum tax and a $1 million exclusion. Both are gone. The Department of Taxation's current rules:
| Item | Current figure |
|---|---|
| Exclusion, 2025 and later | $6,000,000 of Ohio taxable gross receipts |
| At or under the exclusion | $0 tax, no return, no annual minimum tax |
| Rate above the exclusion | 0.26% of receipts above $6 million |
| Annual minimum tax | Eliminated effective January 1, 2024 |
| Exclusion history | $3 million for 2024, raised to $6 million for 2025 |
| Filing rhythm above the exclusion | Quarterly. Annual CAT filing ended after the 2023 return |
| Registration trigger | Register and pay within 30 days of exceeding the exclusion |
Because the CAT is a percentage of receipts above a high threshold, it is not a flat charge and it is excluded from the totals on this page, the same way income taxes are. For the overwhelming majority of Ohio LLCs the practical CAT answer is the first two rows: $6 million excluded, $0 owed, nothing to file. Members' Ohio income tax on pass-through income is an owner level item, not an LLC charge, and local and industry licenses sit outside the state totals as they do in every state here.
Sources, checked Nov 8, 2026
Ohio Secretary of State: Business Filing Forms and Fee Schedule (Form 610 at $99, Form 617 at $99, Form 616 at $50, Form 521 at $25, Form 525A at $25, Form 534A at $39), Form 610 and its instructions, and the Maintain Active Business Status roadmap, all at ohiosos.gov. Ohio Revised Code sections 1706.08, 1706.09, 1706.515, and 5739.17 at codes.ohio.gov. Ohio Department of Taxation: Changes to Ohio's Commercial Activity Tax ($6 million exclusion for 2025 and later, annual minimum tax eliminated) at tax.ohio.gov.
Run your own version, with an optional registered agent added, in the LLC cost calculator. Every state's year-one and recurring totals sit in one table on the national cost hub, and if a service would act as your agent, the registered agent price tracker follows what that costs at each tracked provider. If you would rather a service handled the filing, the services comparison prices that honestly, renewals included.
General Information Only
LLCForming publishes general information about forming and running an LLC. It is not legal, tax, or accounting advice, and it does not create an attorney or advisor relationship. Rules vary by state and by your situation. For a decision that matters, talk to a licensed attorney or tax professional in your state.