How Much Does an LLC Cost in Georgia in 2026? Filing Fee, Annual Registration and First-Year Budget

Georgia is one of the cheaper states to run an LLC. Forming one costs $110, keeping it costs $60 a year, and there is no franchise tax, no minimum tax and no newspaper publication for LLCs. The numbers that surprise people are local: a city occupation tax certificate in Atlanta now starts at more than twice the state formation fee, and a county trade name filing can cost more than the LLC itself. This page is for founders pricing a Georgia LLC before they file. It lists every state fee, the optional extras, the local costs and first-year and five-year budgets. For the filing steps themselves, see our Georgia LLC formation guide. Figures were checked against the Secretary of State, Georgia rules and local government pages in October 2026.

Quick answer

A Georgia LLC costs $110 to form ($100 articles of organization + $10 service charge). After that the state charges $60 a year for the annual registration, due January 1 to April 1, with a $25 penalty if late.

• No franchise tax, no minimum tax and no newspaper publication for LLCs

• Optional: name reservation $35, expedite from $120, certificate of existence $20

• Local occupation tax certificate: from under $100 to $500+ a year depending on city and receipts

• Five-year state total for an LLC formed in 2026: about $350

The $110 articles of organization

Georgia LLCs are formed by filing articles of organization with the Secretary of State's Corporations Division, usually online through its eCorp system. The Division's fee schedule lists the filing fee at $100 plus a $10 service charge, which is why most Georgia owners pay $110 rather than the $100 many websites quote. Mail filings go in with a transmittal information form and a check or money order for the full $110. All fees are non-refundable, so a filing rejected because the name is not distinguishable costs you the fee.

The articles themselves are short: the LLC's name, the registered agent and registered office, the principal office mailing address and the organizer. There is no requirement to file an operating agreement, list members' ownership or publish anything. That simplicity is also why Georgia has no initial report or second formation fee to budget for.

Compare that with the other states people often weigh against Georgia. Florida charges $125 to form and $138.75 a year; Texas charges $300 to form; New York adds a newspaper publication bill that can run past $1,500. For a small business that actually operates in Georgia, the home-state LLC is both the cheapest and the simplest choice.

Georgia LLC state fees (2026)

$110

Formation

$100 + $10 service charge

$60

Annual registration

January 1 to April 1

$25

Late penalty

after April 1

$260

Reinstatement

within five years of dissolution

Optional state fees: reservation, expedite and certificates

Expedite is where Georgia gets expensive fast. Two-business-day handling at $120 costs more than the formation itself, and the one-hour option at $1,200 is ten times the filing fee. Before paying, check the Division's posted processing times for online filings; if you can wait, the standard queue costs nothing extra. Georgia.gov's general guide still quotes the older, lower amounts ($100 to file and $100 / $250 / $1,000 to expedite); the Division's fee schedule effective 6 September 2025 is the current one, but confirm the total on the eCorp checkout page before you pay.

Name reservation at $35 only makes sense if you need to hold a name while you arrange a lease or partners. If you are ready to file, the articles claim the name directly.

Certificate of existence at $20 is Georgia's good-standing certificate. Some banks want one; many accept the free public record on the Secretary of State's search. Our certificate of good standing guide explains when it is needed.

The $60 annual registration

Every Georgia LLC files an annual registration with the Secretary of State each year from the year after it is formed. It confirms the registered agent, registered office and principal office address; there is nothing to report about income or members. The fee is $50 plus the $10 service charge, $60 in total, the same for a one-person LLC as for a large one. The filing window runs January 1 to April 1.

Filing several years at once. Under the Secretary of State's rule 590-7-22-.10, an LLC can file an annual registration that is valid for one, two or up to three years, paying the fee for each year in the period. It costs the same as filing yearly, three payments of $60, but it removes two chances to miss April 1. For owners who have been caught by the late penalty before, it is the simplest fix.

The late penalty and dissolution. File after April 1 and the Division adds a $25 penalty, so the registration costs $85. That is a small penalty by national standards; Florida charges $400. The bigger risk comes later. If the registration and fees are still unpaid 60 days after the due date, the Secretary of State can begin administrative dissolution by sending a notice, and you then have 60 days to cure. An LLC that is dissolved can only wind up its affairs. Reinstatement within five years costs $260 plus the missed registrations and penalties, which is more than four times a normal year's cost.

Changes between registrations. If you change agent or address after filing for the year, an amended annual registration costs $30. If you can wait until January, you can make the change on the next regular registration at no extra cost.

Georgia LLC cost calendar

Formation

Articles filed — $110

Before trading

City or county occupation tax certificate

January 1 – April 1, from next year

Annual registration — $60

After April 1

$25 penalty added

60 days after due date

Dissolution notice can be issued; 60 days to cure

Registered agent: free or a yearly fee

Every Georgia LLC needs a registered agent with a Georgia street address, named in the articles and confirmed on every annual registration. You can serve as your own agent if you are a Georgia resident whose business office is at the registered office address, and that costs nothing. A Georgia company or an out-of-state company authorized in Georgia can also serve.

Commercial registered agent services commonly charge about $50 to $300 a year. That range is our estimate from published provider pricing, not an official figure. The case for paying is privacy, because the registered office appears on the public record, and reliability, because a lawsuit served while nobody is at the address can end in a default judgment. Out-of-state owners with no Georgia address effectively have to pay for one. Our Georgia registered agent guide covers the rules and the cost of changing agents.

Local costs: occupation tax and trade names

Occupation tax certificate. Georgia has no statewide business licence. Instead, your city, or your county if you are in an unincorporated area, charges an occupation tax and issues a certificate, usually renewed early each year. The method varies by local government: a flat fee, a rate on gross receipts, a charge per employee or a mix. For many small LLCs this is a bigger recurring bill than the state's $60.

Atlanta raised its business tax for 2026. Every certificate now starts with a $191 registration fee and a $50 flat tax, plus a receipts tax set by your business class, and $25 for each employee after the first. A one-person class 5 business expecting $150,000 of receipts pays about $504 for the year, using the city's class 5 rate of $1.88 per $1,000 on receipts above the first $10,000. Unincorporated Gwinnett County charges a $80 flat fee plus $0.65–$1.30 per $1,000 of gross revenue depending on class, so the same $150,000 business there pays roughly $180 to $275. Our Georgia business license guide compares more cities.

Local occupation tax for a one-person business with $150,000 of receipts (2026)

	City of Atlanta (class 5)	Unincorporated Gwinnett
Fixed part	$191 + $50	$80
Receipts part	$1.88 per $1,000 above $10,000	$0.65–$1.30 per $1,000
Approximate total	$504	$180–$275

Fixed part

City of Atlanta (class 5)

$191 + $50

Unincorporated Gwinnett

$80

Receipts part

City of Atlanta (class 5)

$1.88 per $1,000 above $10,000

Unincorporated Gwinnett

$0.65–$1.30 per $1,000

Approximate total

City of Atlanta (class 5)

$504

Unincorporated Gwinnett

$180–$275

Trade name. If your LLC trades under a name other than its exact legal name, Georgia requires you to register the trade name with the clerk of superior court in each county where you do business, and to publish a notice in the county's legal newspaper once a week for two weeks. Fees are set locally. In Gwinnett County the filing fee is $172 and the publication fee is $40, paid at filing, for $172 + $40 = $212 in total. Operating under an unregistered trade name is a misdemeanor. If you can, choose an LLC name you are happy to trade under and skip this cost altogether. Our DBA guide compares other states.

Free registrations. The EIN is free from the IRS. Registering for a sales tax number in the Georgia Tax Center is widely reported as free, with no renewal (confirm on the Department of Revenue's site when you register), and the 4% state sales tax plus local tax is collected from customers. FinCEN beneficial ownership reports are Not required for US-formed companies for a Georgia-formed LLC under the current federal rule.

Taxes: why Georgia has no LLC franchise tax bill

A Georgia LLC taxed as a sole proprietorship or partnership, which is the default, pays no entity-level income tax, franchise tax or minimum tax. Its profit passes through to the owners, who report it on their Georgia individual income tax returns at the state's flat rate, which the legislature has been cutting in steps; use the Department of Revenue's current rate when you estimate. A multi-member LLC files a Georgia partnership return as an information return. Members who work in the business also owe federal self-employment tax.

That makes Georgia's ongoing cost profile simple: the state charges $60 a year, and the rest is tax on actual profit, local occupation tax and any payroll costs once you hire. If you elect S corporation status to save self-employment tax, you add payroll and a corporate-style state return; our LLC vs S corp guide explains when that pays off. Employers with 3 or more employees must also carry workers' compensation insurance, a market cost that depends on payroll and trade.

Georgia LLC cost: first-year and five-year budgets

The table compares three LLCs formed in 2026. State fees are from the Corporations Division schedule; the agent and Gwinnett occupation tax lines are estimates.

Five-year state cost. An LLC formed in 2026 files annual registrations in 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030. Its state cost over its first five calendar years is $110 plus four registrations of $60, or $350. One late filing adds $25. A Florida LLC over the same five years pays about $680 and a New York LLC about $618 upstate, so Georgia is the cheapest of the three at the state level. For many Georgia owners, the local occupation tax over five years is the larger number: $2,520 for the Atlanta consultant at today's rates.

Worked examples

A Macon bookkeeper. Tanya files her articles on eCorp for $110, names herself as registered agent at her home office and gets her EIN the same afternoon. Macon-Bibb County issues her occupation tax certificate at its own rate. In January 2027 she files her first annual registration for $60, choosing a three-year registration for $180 so she does not have to think about it again until 2030.

An Atlanta marketing consultant. Ade forms his LLC for $110, expects $150,000 of receipts and works alone. His 2026 Atlanta occupation tax is about $504, more than four times the cost of the LLC. When he hires two employees the next year, the second adds $25.

A Gwinnett boutique on a deadline. Two partners need the LLC approved within days to sign a Lawrenceville lease. They pay $110 plus $120 for two-day handling, register the trade name "Peach & Pine" with the clerk of superior court for $172 plus the $40 publication fee, and hire a registered agent at about $125 a year. With their occupation tax certificate, year one costs around $800.

A South Carolina LLC opening an Augusta branch. It files for a certificate of authority as a foreign LLC for $235, then pays the $60 Georgia annual registration each year on top of its home-state fees.

Georgia LLC cost checklist

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• $110 for the articles of organization
• Decide whether you need expedite — check posted processing times first
• Registered agent: yourself or a paid service
• Trading under another name? Budget the county trade name and publication fees
• City or county occupation tax certificate fee confirmed
• Reminder for January: $60 annual registration before April 1

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Common mistakes that cost Georgia LLC owners money

Budgeting $100 instead of $110. The service charge is easy to overlook in online guides. It also applies to the annual registration, which is $60, not $50.

Paying for one-hour expedite. At $1,200, it is rarely worth it for a new small business. Plan the filing a week ahead instead.

Missing April 1 repeatedly. Each late filing is $25, and letting it run to dissolution costs $260 to reinstate. A three-year registration avoids the problem.

Ignoring the city certificate. Owners who form the LLC and stop there can face back taxes and penalties from their city; Atlanta's penalty for a late renewal is $500.

Paying look-alike solicitations. Letters offering to file your annual registration or provide a "certificate of good standing" for well over the state price arrive every year. The real annual registration is $60 on eCorp and the certificate of existence is $20.

Official links

• Georgia Secretary of State — Corporations Division (eCorp)File articles and annual registrations
• Corporations Division fee schedule
• Register an LLC — Georgia.gov
• Rule 590-7-22-.10 — multi-year annual registration
• City of Atlanta — estimating your business tax
• IRS — apply for an EINFree

What to do next

Check your name with our LLC name checker, confirm your city or county occupation tax with the Georgia business license guide, and then follow the filing steps in our Georgia LLC guide. Put the totals into the startup cost calculator and register for sales tax with our Georgia sales tax guide if you sell taxable goods. Comparing states? See the cost guides for Florida, Texas, New York and Ohio.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to start an LLC in Georgia?

The Corporations Division charges $100 to file articles of organization plus a $10 service charge, so budget $110. Optional costs are a $35 name reservation, expedited handling from $120, a county trade name filing and a commercial registered agent. Your city or county occupation tax certificate is usually the next biggest cost.

What is the Georgia LLC annual fee?

Georgia calls it the annual registration. It costs $60 ($50 plus a $10 service charge) and is due January 1 to April 1 each year, starting the year after formation. You can file for up to three years at once by paying each year's fee.

What happens if I file the Georgia annual registration late?

A $25 penalty is added after April 1. If the registration and fees are still unpaid 60 days after the due date, the Secretary of State can start administrative dissolution, giving you 60 days' notice to fix it. A dissolved LLC can be reinstated within five years for $260 plus the missing registrations.

Does Georgia charge LLCs a franchise tax?

No. Georgia has no franchise tax or minimum tax for an LLC taxed as a partnership or disregarded entity. The profit passes through to the owners' Georgia income tax returns. The recurring government costs are the $60 annual registration and your local occupation tax certificate.

How much does a Georgia trade name (DBA) cost?

Trade names are registered with the clerk of superior court in each county you do business in, so the fee varies. In Gwinnett County, for example, the filing fee is $172 plus a $40 publication fee paid to the county's legal organ, which runs the notice once a week for two weeks.

Do Georgia LLCs need to publish in a newspaper?

No. The newspaper notice in Georgia applies to new corporations, not LLCs, so forming an LLC carries no publication cost. Only a trade name registration requires a short newspaper notice, and that applies whatever type of business uses the name.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 12 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.Corporations Division filing fees (reference schedule) — Georgia Secretary of State · accessed 12 October 2026
2. 2.Register an LLC with Georgia Secretary of State — Georgia.gov · accessed 12 October 2026
3. 3.Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 590-7-22-.10 — Multi-year annual registration — Legal Information Institute (Cornell Law School) · accessed 12 October 2026
4. 4.Trade Name registration — Gwinnett County Clerk of Superior Court · accessed 12 October 2026
5. 5.Estimating your business tax — City of Atlanta · accessed 12 October 2026
6. 6.Business license — Gwinnett County · accessed 12 October 2026
7. 7.Workers' compensation insurance FAQs — State Board of Workers' Compensation · accessed 12 October 2026
8. 8.Get an Employer Identification Number — IRS · accessed 12 October 2026