Do I need an LLC?Ohio LLC cost: year one and every year after
Short answer. For a solo operator in Ohio, the state cost confirmed on official sites is $99 to form (the Articles of Organization, Form 610) and $0 a year after that: the Secretary of State lists no annual report for LLCs (not verified, the FAQ does not name LLCs). Ohio taxes your profit on your own return whether or not you have an LLC, and cities can tax net profit as well. The Commercial Activity Tax, a gross-receipts tax, applies only above $150,000 of taxable gross receipts. Forming in Wyoming instead costs more ($199 confirmed in year one and $60 a year), because an Ohio resident still registers in Ohio for $99. A statutory agent with an Ohio street address is required and is free if you serve as your own. Staying a sole proprietor has no state formation fees.
Informational only. Not legal or tax advice. Confirmed means read on an official government page on 2026-11-03. Estimates are shown apart and are never added to confirmed totals. The Ohio Department of Taxation pages could not be read, so tax figures come from the Ohio Revised Code.
Ohio LLC vs Wyoming LLC vs sole proprietor
| Path | Year one | Each year after |
|---|---|---|
| A. LLC in Ohio | $99 confirmed ($99 Articles of Organization, Form 610) + Ohio statutory agent: free if you serve as your own, otherwise no figure found, not included | $0 confirmed (no annual report listed for LLCs; not verified) + Ohio statutory agent if you do not serve as your own: no figure found, not included |
| B. LLC in Wyoming + register in Ohio | $199 confirmed ($100 Wyoming + $99 Ohio foreign registration, Form 617) + Wyoming agent and Ohio statutory agent: no figures found, not included | $60 confirmed ($60 Wyoming minimum annual report; no Ohio annual report listed) + both agents, no figures found |
| C. Sole proprietor (baseline) | $0: free EIN from the IRS, separate bank account + $39 trade name registration if you use a business name rather than your own name: not in the total | $0 in state fees; no annual report |
Not in any total above: a statutory agent (no commercial price found), expedited processing, a trade name registration, your federal income and self-employment tax, Ohio income tax on your profit, the Ohio Commercial Activity Tax (a gross-receipts tax that only starts above $150,000), city income tax, Ohio sales tax on software (not verified), bank fees, and any attorney or CPA time.
Ohio LLC fees, line by line
| Fee | Amount | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio Articles of Organization (Form 610 online; replaces Form 533A) | $99 | verified | Ohio SOS fee schedule |
| Statutory agent, original appointment on the formation filing | $0 ('No fee is charged for the original appointment') | verified | Ohio SOS FAQ |
| Statutory agent update (Form 521) | $25 | verified | Ohio SOS fee schedule |
| Reinstatement and appointment of agent (Form 525A) | $25 | verified | Ohio SOS fee schedule |
| Certificate of Dissolution (Form 616) | $50 | verified | Ohio SOS fee schedule |
| Expedited processing | extra fee, amount not stated | not verified, optional, not in totals | Ohio SOS FAQ: the fee depends on the level of expedite; no amounts on the page |
| Annual or biennial report for an LLC | none listed | not verified (absence from a list) | Ohio SOS FAQ; fee schedule |
| Foreign LLC registration (Form 617; replaces Form 533B) | $99 | verified | Ohio SOS fee schedule |
| Penalty for transacting business as an unregistered foreign LLC | pays an amount equal to the registration fee; no dollar penalty stated | not verified | R.C. 1706.515 |
| Ohio statutory agent, commercial | no figure | unresolved | Private companies set the price. Free if you act as your own agent at an Ohio street address. |
| Newspaper publication | none found for LLCs | not verified | No step on the pages read; an absence is not proof |
| Wyoming Articles of Organization | $100 | verified | Wyoming SOS fee schedule, effective July 1, 2026 |
| Wyoming annual report license tax | $60 minimum | verified | Same schedule: $60 or two-tenths of one mill on Wyoming assets, whichever is greater. |
| Trade name registration (sole proprietor using a business name) | $39 (Form 534A) | verified, not in totals | Ohio SOS fee schedule; FAQ |
| EIN | $0 | verified | IRS: "You never have to pay a fee for an EIN." |
Why Wyoming does not help an Ohio resident
An Ohio-based LLC formed in Wyoming must register as a foreign LLC in Ohio before it transacts business there. The fee schedule lists the registration (Form 617) at $99 (Ohio SOS fee schedule). R.C. 1706.515 adds that a foreign LLC transacting business in Ohio without a registration cannot maintain a court proceeding to collect its debts (R.C. 1706.515). You then pay Wyoming's $100 and $60 on top, and Ohio taxes your profit the same way wherever the LLC was formed. For a solo operator the Wyoming route costs $199 in year one and $60 a year, against $99 and $0 for an Ohio LLC.
Ohio taxes: what an LLC does and does not change
The IRS treats a single-member LLC as "disregarded as separate from its owner": you report profit on Schedule C and pay self-employment tax as a sole proprietor would. Ohio taxes the profit on your own return, so forming an LLC does not by default change your Ohio income tax. Federal estimated tax for 2026 is due April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15, 2027 (Form 1040-ES). See the Ohio LLC annual report page for what you do keep up after forming.
What is different about forming in Ohio
Seven Ohio-specific points for a solo app or SaaS founder, each from an Ohio government page read on 2026-11-03. The Ohio Department of Taxation pages could not be read, so tax points come from the Ohio Revised Code. Informational only, not legal or tax advice.
- There is no annual report: $99 is the only state filing fee until you change something. The Secretary of State FAQ says regular reporting requirements exist only for certain entities (professional associations and LLPs, nonprofit corporations, and trade or fictitious names), and LLCs are not on that list. Not verified, because the answer is an absence from a list. Sources: Ohio SOS FAQ, Ohio SOS fee schedule.
- The form is Form 610, filed through Ohio Business Central. It replaces Form 533A and costs $99. Source: Ohio SOS fee schedule.
- A lapsed statutory agent is the main thing that gets an LLC cancelled. The agent needs an Ohio street address: no P.O. box and no private mailbox service. If the agent lapses and the default is not cured within 30 days of the state's notice, the articles are cancelled (R.C. 1706.09). You can reinstate within two years of cancellation; after that the entity is permanently cancelled. Sources: R.C. 1706.09, Ohio SOS FAQ.
- The Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) is a gross-receipts tax, but starts only above $150,000 of taxable gross receipts. A person with not more than $150,000 in a calendar year is an excluded person (R.C. 5751.01(E)(1)). The exclusion amount is $6 million from 2025 (R.C. 5751.01(R)), and returns are quarterly (R.C. 5751.051). The annual minimum tax is not stated in the statute text read; the Department of Taxation pages could not be read, so confirm there. Sources: R.C. 5751.01, R.C. 5751.03, R.C. 5751.051.
- Income tax: a $250,000 business income deduction, then a flat 3% on the rest. R.C. 5747.01(A)(28) allows $250,000 for most individuals ($125,000 each if spouses file separately), and R.C. 5747.02 sets 3% on the remainder of business income. Whether this covers a single-member LLC owner is not stated in the statute text, so confirm with a CPA. Sources: R.C. 5747.01, R.C. 5747.02.
- Cities tax the net profit of pass-through owners too. R.C. 718.01 says a resident's income includes the distributive share of the net profit of pass-through entities. No city rate is computed here. Source: R.C. 718.01.
- Software and online services sold for business use may be subject to Ohio sales tax. R.C. 5739.01(B)(3)(e) lists "automatic data processing, computer services, or electronic information services" provided for use in business as taxable. Whether a given app counts is not verified. A remote seller is presumed to have Ohio nexus above $100,000 of gross receipts or 200 transactions in the current or preceding calendar year (R.C. 5741.01). Sources: R.C. 5739.01, R.C. 5741.01.
Not verified and left out of every total: expedite amounts, a vendor's license fee, the end of the CAT annual minimum tax, and any city income tax rate.
What this Ohio page doesn't tell you
Whether you need an LLC yet, which line of the table applies to you, your own dates (estimated taxes), your Ohio and city income tax bill, whether the Commercial Activity Tax or sales tax applies to your app, or whether to ask a CPA about an S-corp. The calculator takes your answers and returns a verdict, your numbers and a dated checklist you can download as a PDF and calendar file.
Ohio LLC questions
How much does it cost to form an LLC in Ohio?
The confirmed state cost to form is $99: the Articles of Organization (Form 610, which replaces Form 533A) filed through Ohio Business Central. There is no fee for the original statutory agent appointment, so year one is $99 and you serve as your own agent if you have an Ohio street address. A commercial agent costs extra and no official price exists, so none is included.
What does an Ohio LLC cost every year?
$0 in confirmed state fees. The Ohio Secretary of State lists annual and biennial reports only for certain entity types, and LLCs are not on that list, so there is no yearly LLC filing fee. Not verified: the FAQ does not name LLCs, so confirm with the Secretary of State. A statutory agent is required, and a commercial agent costs extra.
Is a Wyoming LLC cheaper for an Ohio resident?
No. An Ohio resident forming in Wyoming still registers the LLC in Ohio for $99 (Form 617), and also pays Wyoming's $100 formation fee and $60 minimum annual report. That is $199 in year one and $60 a year after, against $99 and $0 for an Ohio LLC.
Do I need a statutory agent in Ohio?
Yes. Every Ohio LLC must keep a statutory agent with an Ohio street address, not a P.O. box or private mailbox service. An Ohio resident individual can serve if they have an Ohio street address. The original appointment on the formation filing has no fee, and a later change is $25 (Form 521).
Does Ohio charge a gross-receipts tax on an LLC?
Ohio has the Commercial Activity Tax (CAT), a gross-receipts tax, but a person with not more than $150,000 of taxable gross receipts in a calendar year is not a taxpayer under R.C. 5751.01(E)(1). The exclusion amount is $6 million from 2025. It is not computed in the totals here, so confirm with a CPA once your receipts approach $150,000.
Does Ohio require newspaper publication for an LLC?
No publication step appears on the Ohio Secretary of State fee schedule, FAQ or R.C. 1706.09. That is an absence from the pages read, so it is not verified. Check with the Secretary of State or an attorney.