Illinois LLC at a glance
If you are planning an LLC, Illinois charges $150 to file the Articles of Organization and $75 a year for the annual report, both set by section 50-10 of the Illinois Limited Liability Company Act. The state fees are moderate; the parts people miss are the anniversary-month deadline and the state replacement tax on partnership income.
| Item | Illinois rule |
|---|---|
| Where to file | Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services |
| Formation document | Articles of Organization |
| State fee to form | $150 ($400 for an LLC that can establish a series) |
| Expedited handling | $100 extra for Articles of Organization |
| Annual report | $75, due before the first day of the anniversary month |
| Late annual report penalty | $100, plus $100 for each further year of delinquency |
| Registered agent | Required, with a registered office street address in Illinois |
| Owners must live in Illinois | No |
If you live in Illinois or will run the business from there, forming in Illinois is usually the sensible choice, because an out-of-state LLC doing business in Illinois would need to register there too. If you live outside the US with no Illinois link, compare running costs in our LLC state fee comparison tool before you decide.
How to start an LLC in Illinois
You start an Illinois LLC by choosing a compliant name, appointing a registered agent and filing Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State with the $150 fee. The rest (EIN, operating agreement, tax registrations) happens after approval. Here is the order that works.
- Choose and check the name. Under section 1-10 of the LLC Act, the name must contain "limited liability company", "L.L.C." or "LLC", and it may not contain "Corporation", "Corp.", "Incorporated", "Inc.", "Ltd.", "Co.", "Limited Partnership" or "L.P.". Search the Secretary of State’s records first. If you are not ready to file, you can reserve a name for $25.
- Appoint a registered agent. The agent must be an Illinois resident individual or a business authorized to transact business in Illinois, with a registered office street address in the state. See the registered agent section below.
- File the Articles of Organization and pay $150. File with the Illinois Secretary of State. If you need the filing back quickly, the Act allows a $100 expedite fee for Articles of Organization. Our Articles of Organization guide explains the typical fields.
- Sign an operating agreement. Illinois does not ask you to file it, but banks and payment providers often want to see who owns and manages the LLC. Our LLC operating agreement guide covers the contents.
- Get an EIN from the IRS. The EIN is free. Owners with an SSN or ITIN can apply online; owners without one apply by fax, mail or the international phone line, as the IRS EIN page explains. Our EIN application service handles the no-SSN route.
- Register for Illinois taxes you need. Retailers register with the Illinois Department of Revenue for sales tax (Retailers’ Occupation Tax), and employers register for withholding.
- Diary the annual report. Note the month the Articles were filed. Every year after, the report is due before the first day of that month.
Prefer to hand it over? Our filing team checks the name and agent details, prepares and submits the Articles, and stores your approved documents in your portal.
Illinois LLC cost
The official cost of an Illinois LLC is $150 to form and $75 a year after that. Everything below comes from the fee list in section 50-10 of the LLC Act, except the expedite fee, which sits in section 50-50 of the same Act.
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Articles of Organization | $150 | At formation |
| Articles for a series LLC | $400 | At formation, only if the LLC can create series |
| Expedited Articles of Organization (optional) | $100 | At formation |
| Name reservation (optional) | $25 | Before filing |
| Annual report | $75 | Every year, before the anniversary month |
| Amendment to the Articles | $50 | When you change filed details |
| Change of registered agent or registered office | $25 | When you change agent or address |
| Assumed name application | $30 to $150, depending on the year filed; $150 to renew | Only if you trade under another name |
| Reinstatement after administrative dissolution | $200 | Only if the LLC was dissolved |
| Copy or certificate | $25 | When a bank or partner asks |
The arithmetic for a standard LLC is simple: $150 in the first year, then $75 a year. Over the first three years that is $150 + $75 + $75 = $300 in state fees. With expedited handling at formation, add $100. Payment processing charges on online filings, a commercial registered agent and any local licenses are extra and are not state filing fees.
Our US LLC formation service passes the state fee through at cost and shows our own fee separately on the pricing page.
Illinois LLC annual report
Every Illinois LLC files an annual report with the Secretary of State for $75, due before the first day of its anniversary month. Under section 50-1, the report can be delivered within the 60 days immediately before that date. The anniversary month is the month the Articles of Organization were filed, so an LLC formed in March files every year between early January and the end of February.
- What it contains: the LLC’s name, its registered agent and registered office, its principal place of business, the names and business addresses of its managers, and any other information the Secretary of State requires.
- No expedite: section 50-50 says the Secretary of State may not provide expedited services for online annual reports.
- Penalty: under section 50-15, a report not filed by the first day of the second month after the anniversary month attracts a $100 penalty, plus $100 for each year or part of a year of delinquency from the second year.
- Dissolution: under section 35-30, the Secretary of State can administratively dissolve an LLC that does not correct the default within 120 days after the notice of delinquency. The reinstatement filing fee is $200.
The due date is tied to your formation month, not to a single date for every company. Put it in the calendar the day your Articles are approved, or use our compliance deadline calendar. Our LLC annual report service prepares and files the report for you.
Illinois registered agent
Every Illinois LLC must keep a registered agent and a registered office in Illinois. Section 1-35 of the LLC Act says the agent must be an individual resident of Illinois or another person authorized to transact business in Illinois, and the registered office address on file must include the street, number, city and county.
The agent receives lawsuits and official notices for the LLC, so the address needs to be reliable during business hours. An Illinois resident owner can act as agent. Owners who travel, want their home address off the public record, or live outside the US usually appoint a registered agent service. Changing agent or registered office later costs $25. Under section 50-15, failing to keep a registered agent for 60 days after notice from the Secretary of State also makes the LLC delinquent.
Illinois LLC registration for taxes
Illinois taxes LLC income in two ways: income tax at the owner or company level, and a separate Personal Property Replacement Income Tax. The Illinois Department of Revenue income tax rates page lists these rates:
- Individual income tax: 4.95% of net income.
- Replacement tax, partnerships and S corporations: 1.5% of net income. A multi-member LLC taxed as a partnership pays this itself.
- Corporations: 7% income tax plus 2.5% replacement tax, which applies to an LLC that elects to be taxed as a C corporation.
A single-member LLC owned by one person and taxed the default way is disregarded, so its profit is reported by the owner. Tax classification is a decision to take with a licensed tax professional.
Sales tax
Illinois sales tax is collected as Retailers’ Occupation Tax, and local rates are added on top of the state rate. For sellers without an Illinois presence, the Department’s Retailers’ Occupation Tax page lists the remote retailer thresholds as $100,000 or more in gross receipts from sales to Illinois purchasers, or 200 or more separate transactions, in the preceding 12 months, checked quarterly. If you pass either, you register and collect. Our sales tax registration service can file the application.
Forming an Illinois LLC as a non-resident
You do not need to live in Illinois or in the US to own an Illinois LLC. The Act’s requirement is an Illinois registered agent and office, not an Illinois owner. A few extra points apply to founders abroad:
- Is Illinois the right state? If you have no customers, staff or premises in Illinois, you are paying for an annual report and taking on replacement tax rules for no local benefit. Many founders outside the US choose Wyoming or New Mexico instead; see our Wyoming vs Delaware vs New Mexico comparison and best state for an LLC.
- Doing business in Illinois from another state: an LLC formed elsewhere that transacts business in Illinois applies for admission as a foreign LLC, and the fee is also $150.
- Form 5472: a single-member LLC wholly owned by a foreign person files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, even with no income. The penalty for not filing is $25,000, and it cannot be e-filed. See our Form 5472 guide.
- BOI: US-formed LLCs, including those owned by non-US persons, no longer file beneficial ownership reports with FinCEN under the final rule published 14 August 2026.
Whether a foreign owner owes US or Illinois income tax depends on whether the LLC has US trade or business income, which needs advice from a licensed tax professional. Our US LLC for non-residents guide has the full picture.
How to dissolve an LLC in Illinois
To dissolve an Illinois LLC, you wind up its affairs and then file a statement of termination with the Secretary of State, which costs $5. Sections 35-15 and 35-20 of the LLC Act set out what the statement contains, including the LLC’s name and a post office address, and how it is filed.
- Record the members’ decision to dissolve, following your operating agreement.
- Wind up: collect what is owed, pay or provide for debts, and distribute what is left.
- File final Illinois tax returns and close any sales tax or withholding accounts with the Department of Revenue.
- File the statement of termination with the Secretary of State ($5).
- Close the EIN account with the IRS and file final federal returns, including a final Form 5472 if one applies.
Article 35 of the Act does not require a tax clearance certificate before you file, but unpaid Illinois taxes remain owed. Simply stopping the annual report is not a substitute: it leads to penalties and administrative dissolution, and the LLC’s name stays protected for 3 years after an administrative dissolution under section 35-37. Our LLC dissolution service can prepare the filing.
Doing it yourself vs using Borderless Filings
You can form an Illinois LLC yourself for $150 and file each annual report for $75. The forms are short and many local founders do it alone.
Our service adds a name and agent check before filing, preparation and submission by our filing team, tracking and document storage in your portal, reminders keyed to your anniversary month, and, for founders abroad, the EIN request without an SSN and the yearly Form 5472. You can start your order once you have chosen a name, or read our how to start an LLC guide first. For other states, see all US LLC state guides, including neighboring Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Missouri.
Sources
- Illinois Compiled Statutes (via Justia): 805 ILCS 180, Article 50, Fees and annual reports
- Illinois Compiled Statutes (via Justia): 805 ILCS 180, Article 35, Dissolution
- Illinois Compiled Statutes (via Justia): 805 ILCS 180, Article 1, Names and registered agent
- Illinois Secretary of State
- Illinois Department of Revenue: Income tax rates
- Illinois Department of Revenue: Retailers’ Occupation Tax
- IRS: Get an employer identification number
- IRS: Instructions for Form 5472
- FinCEN: Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting
Fees, deadlines and rules on this page were last checked on 27 September 2026.