Corporation Annual Report & Renewal Rules by State — Explainer

Matrix explainer. Coverage: whether an annual report is required, the frequency, the state fee, and the franchise-tax overlay for domestic corporations. Source matrix: Corporation Annual Report & Renewal Rules by State. 50 states + DC. Figures as of the matrix's last verification (2026-05-31). Not legal advice.

Short answer

In 49 of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions, a corporation files a recurring report — annual in 43, biennial in 6 — and the fee runs from $0 to $300. But for corporations, the report fee is only half the picture: in 14 jurisdictions the matrix records a separate franchise-tax overlay, and that tax is often the real cost of staying incorporated. California is the canonical example — a $25 annual statement, and a minimum $800 franchise tax. Reading the report-fee column alone makes exactly the states with the highest carrying cost look cheap.

Two layers: the report and the tax

The matrix keeps two obligations separate because states do. The report is a Secretary-of-State (or equivalent) filing that keeps the entity in good standing. The franchise tax is a tax on the privilege of existing as a corporation, usually administered by the revenue agency, computed on shares, capital, or net worth:

• California — $25 statement; minimum $800 franchise tax.
• Delaware — $50 report; share-based franchise tax with a $175 or $400 minimum depending on calculation method.
• New Jersey — $75 report; Corporation Business Tax, $500 minimum.
• North Carolina — $25 report; franchise tax, $200 minimum.
• Oklahoma — $25 report; its franchise tax ended after tax year 2023 (HB 1039).
• Mississippi — $0 report; franchise tax phasing out ($0.50 per $1,000 of capital above $100,000 for 2026, repealed from 2028), formerly $25 minimum.
• Tennessee — $20 report; tax on net worth ($100 minimum — the property measure was repealed in 2024).

Illinois taxes paid-in capital and New York gross assets (Louisiana's capital-based franchise tax is repealed for periods beginning on or after 2026, and Oklahoma's ended after tax year 2023); Washington's Business & Occupation tax may apply; Maryland pairs its $300 report with an annual personal property tax return. This is the structural difference from LLCs, where a franchise-tax overlay is the exception — for corporations it is over a quarter of the map.

The two states with no report — and why they aren't free

Alabama and Texas require no recurring Secretary-of-State report from a domestic corporation. Neither is a free ride: Alabama's obligation is the Business Privilege Tax (net-worth-based, $100 minimum), and Texas runs everything through the Comptroller's annual franchise tax. “No annual report” means the compliance surface moved to the tax agency, not that it disappeared.

Cadence, and the reports that cost nothing

Six jurisdictions are biennial — Alaska, the District of Columbia, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, and New York — so the per-year cost is half the headline figure; New York's $9 biennial statement is the cheapest paid filing in the table. Five states require the report but charge $0 for it: Idaho, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, and South Carolina. A $0 report is still mandatory — skip it and the delinquency clock runs exactly as it does anywhere else. At the top of the fee range, Maryland and DC are $300, and Nevada stacks its $150 Annual List on a $200 Business License renewal. Wyoming prices by in-state assets: $60 minimum, or 0.0002 times Wyoming-sited assets over $300k.

The full obligation line, state by state

This explainer stays in prose deliberately; the full 51-jurisdiction table — report requirement, frequency, fee, and franchise-tax overlay per state, with a primary-source link on every row — lives on the matrix page: Corporation Annual Report & Renewal Rules by State.

How these are sourced

Each row is read off the state's own fee schedule, report form, or FAQ and backed by a captured snapshot, bound to the domestic-corporation line specifically — the LLC equivalent is a separate matrix with different answers (see LLC annual report & renewal fees). Full method at /about/methodology/; source taxonomy at /about/source-registry/.

What the matrix does not prove

• Your franchise-tax bill. Where the tax is formula-based (shares, capital, net worth), the matrix records the formula and its minimum — your number depends on your balance sheet.
• Due dates and late penalties in the prose above — the matrix carries per-state due dates, delinquency definitions, and dissolution triggers; check your state's row rather than generalizing from a neighbor's.
• Local and industry obligations — business licenses, municipal taxes, and regulated-industry reports sit outside this matrix entirely.
• That today's figures match the table — fees and tax minimums change; every row carries a last-checked date. For what a missed report leads to, see administrative dissolution & reinstatement. Structured reference, not counsel.

See also: What is a franchise tax? · Corporation Annual Report & Renewal Rules by State (matrix) · Corporation formation fees by state · What is an annual report?