How Much Does a Maryland LLC Cost in 2026?

Maryland LLC one-time costs

What Maryland charges once, when the LLC is formed, and the optional costs that arrive at the same time. The state fee is the same whether you file yourself or use a service.

State fees verified October 2026 and set by the state, not by us. Online filing prices; a few states charge a different amount on paper.

Maryland LLC ongoing costs

What Maryland charges to keep the LLC in good standing, when it is due, and what the state does when a report is late or missed.

State fees verified October 2026 and set by the state, not by us. Due rules, penalties and dissolution triggers are read from each state's statute or filing office page; the reinstatement figure is the state's own total at that point.

Maryland LLC annual fee

Maryland's recurring requirement: $300/year, due April 15 (Annual Report & Personal Property Return). Maryland calls the filing the Annual Report, and it goes to the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation at egov.maryland.gov. The Annual Report is due April 15, every year. In the state's words: April 15 (Annual Report & Personal Property Return).

If you file late: Maryland adds a late penalty of at least $50, growing each month. After one missed report, Maryland administratively dissolves the LLC; reinstating it costs at least $450 in state fees.

The due date, filing window and portal are covered step by step in Maryland LLC annual report.

Other recurring obligations

• Annual Report (with Personal Property Return if the business has Maryland personal property). April 15 each year, starting the year after formation. $300 filing fee for most entities (plus 3% MBE technology fee if paid by card).

Maryland LLC filing fee: $100

The filing fee is what Maryland charges to file your Articles of Organization, the document that creates the company. Maryland charges $100. It is the one cost nobody can avoid: it is the same whether you file directly with the state or hire a service, and no legitimate service can waive it. Which form Maryland uses, where it is filed and what it asks: how to register an LLC in Maryland.

Maryland's published processing time: 6 to 8 weeks standard; 7-14 business days expedited.

Faster review from the state: Expedited +$50; same-day $425 online.

By filing fee, Maryland ranks 19 of 51 jurisdictions, cheapest first; the median state charges $100.

Five-year Maryland LLC cost: $1,600

$100 to form, plus $300 a year in report fees for five years, comes to $1,600 paid to Maryland over five years, assuming every report is filed on time. Taxes on the company's income, licenses and a registered agent service are separate.

What the Maryland state fee does not include

The filing fee buys the state's approval of the Articles of Organization and nothing else. These are the costs that sit outside it.

• Registered agent. Maryland requires one, with a street address in the state. Serving as your own agent is free; the address becomes public record. Our registered agent service can be added in the application. Maryland registered agent requirements.
• Operating agreement. Not filed with the state and free if you write it yourself. Our self-help template is available after checkout.
• Business licenses and permits. Set by the city, county or licensing board for your line of business, not by the formation filing. Many Maryland LLCs need none; a restaurant, contractor or salon usually needs several.
• Taxes. An LLC's income is taxed through its owners' returns unless it elects otherwise, and sales tax or employer registrations are separate state accounts with no formation fee attached.
• Filing service. Our fee is itemized on the checkout review screen before you pay, with same-day submission as an option. The state fee is identical either way.

How to pay less for a Maryland LLC

• File the Articles of Organization yourself. Maryland takes it online at egov.maryland.gov for the $100 state fee alone.
• Be your own registered agent if you have a Maryland street address and are there during business hours. The trade-off is privacy: the address goes on the public record.
• Write your own operating agreement. No state charges for it and Maryland does not file it.
• File the Annual Report on time. Maryland adds a late penalty of at least $50, growing each month. A missed one leads to dissolution and a reinstatement bill.
• Skip state expedite unless a date depends on it. The state's standard queue costs nothing extra.
• Form where you do business. An LLC that operates in Maryland but is formed elsewhere must register in Maryland as a foreign LLC anyway, paying Maryland's registration fee and its recurring report on top of the home state's.

How Maryland compares

By filing fee, Maryland is number 19 of 51 jurisdictions, cheapest first. The filing fee is paid once; the recurring line is what separates states over time.

State fees verified October 2026 and set by the state, not by us.

Every state's fee is in LLC cost by state, and the case for and against forming elsewhere is in cheapest states to form an LLC.

Filing yourself vs. using us

Filing directly with Maryland costs only the state's own fee: $100. The state takes formations at egov.maryland.gov. Through us, you pay our service fee plus the Maryland filing & processing, for the name check, the Articles of Organization prepared and submitted, the approved documents emailed to you and Maryland's deadlines in writing. Both lines are itemized on the checkout review screen before you pay.

Sources

State fees verified October 2026; page last updated November 1, 2026. The figures above are read from Maryland's own fee schedule, forms and statutes:

• dat.maryland.gov (dat.maryland.gov/Documents/Accessible%20Documents/Charter%20-%20Create%20or%20St...)
• egov.maryland.gov (egov.maryland.gov/BusinessExpress/Payment/FeesSchedule)
• dat.maryland.gov (dat.maryland.gov/SDAT%20Forms/PPR_Forms/2024Form1IAnnualnstructions_Business_Per...)
• egov.maryland.gov (Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation, Annual Report filing)