Washington LLC Cost: $200 Filing + $60 Annual Report (2026)

Forming an LLC in Washington costs $200 to file the Certificate of Formation online ($180 — the $20 difference goes to a separate fund) plus $60/yr for the annual report. Plus a $90 first-year business license required for any business operating in WA. Plus the B&O Tax (0.471%-1.5% of gross receipts depending on classification). Year-one cost: $330 (no B&O). Five-year cost: $570 + B&O.

Reviewed by Soft Crown Editorial Team — fact-checked against primary government sources • Last updated 2026-04-25 • 5 primary government sources cited

TL;DR

Washington LLCs file a Certificate of Formation with the Washington Secretary of State for $180 online or $200 by mail. The annual report is $60, due during the LLC’s anniversary month. Washington requires every business to also register with the Department of Revenue for the Business License ($90 first year, $39 renewal). Washington has no personal income tax — but it has the Business and Occupation (B&O) Tax: 0.471% retail, 0.484% wholesale/manufacturing, 1.5% service businesses. B&O is on gross receipts, not profit. Seattle and Tacoma also impose city-level B&O.

Washington LLC cost breakdown (2026)

Line item	Cost	Source
Certificate of Formation (online)	$180	sos.wa.gov
Certificate of Formation (paper)	$200	sos.wa.gov
Annual Report	$60	sos.wa.gov
Business License (first year)	$90	dor.wa.gov
Business License renewal	$39/yr	dor.wa.gov
B&O Tax (retail)	0.471% gross receipts	dor.wa.gov
B&O Tax (wholesale/manufacturing)	0.484% gross receipts	dor.wa.gov
B&O Tax (services)	1.5% gross receipts	dor.wa.gov
Expedited filing	+$50	sos.wa.gov
Year 1 total (online, no B&O)	$330	(filing + RA + license + report)
Year 2+ ongoing	$99	($60 report + $39 license + B&O)
5-year total (no B&O)	$726

All figures verified 2026-04-25 from primary Washington state sources.

The B&O Tax catches founders off guard

Washington has no personal income tax. The trade-off: every business pays the Business and Occupation (B&O) Tax on gross receipts. A service-business LLC at $200K revenue:

• Gross receipts: $200,000
• B&O service rate: 1.5%
• B&O tax owed: $3,000

The B&O is on gross, not net. A low-margin reseller with $1M revenue and $50K profit pays:

• B&O wholesale rate: 0.484%
• B&O on $1M: $4,840

That’s nearly 10% of profit, not revenue. Combined with Seattle’s separate 0.4847% city B&O on top, Seattle service businesses pay ~2% of gross revenue in B&O alone.

For comparison: Oregon (just south) has a state personal income tax (4.75%-9.9%) but no B&O. The right WA-vs-OR choice depends on whether you’d net more than ~10-15% margin (favoring WA’s gross-revenue B&O) or less (favoring OR’s net-income personal tax).

Filing steps (DIY, no service)

1. Pick a name — search availability via SOS Corporations and Charities Filing System (CCFS). Names must include “Limited Liability Company,” “LLC,” or “L.L.C.”
2. Designate a registered agent — must have a Washington street address.
3. File Certificate of Formation — $180 online or $200 paper. File via CCFS portal.
4. Apply for Business License — $90 first year via the Business Licensing Service at bls.dor.wa.gov. Required for any business operating in WA.
5. Get a federal EIN — free at irs.gov.
6. Register for B&O Tax — automatic through Business Licensing Service. Filing frequency depends on revenue: annual under $28K, quarterly $28K-$340K, monthly above $340K.
7. Draft an operating agreement — not required by WA law but recommended.
8. Open a business bank account — Washington-located banks (Wells Fargo, Chase, US Bank, KeyBank) accept WA LLC documents.
9. File FinCEN BOI report — within 30 days of formation. Free at fincen.gov/boi.
10. File annual report — due last day of anniversary month. $60. Calendar this.

Standard online CCFS filings are processed within 5-7 business days. Expedite ($50 additional) cuts to 1-2 business days.

Page-unique facts

• Washington has no personal income tax. Trade-off: B&O Tax on gross receipts at the entity level.
• Seattle imposes its own city B&O on top of the state rate. $0.00219 per dollar of gross receipts for service businesses (~0.22%, lower than the state’s 1.5% but additive).
• Washington Business License is separate from the SOS LLC filing. Two filings, two fees, two systems.
• Tacoma, Bellingham, and other WA cities also impose local B&O. Verify with city revenue offices before assuming Seattle is the only city-tax exposure.
• Washington law requires LLCs to maintain a registered agent with regular business hours availability. Not just a mail-receiving address — physically present 9-5 weekdays.

Frequently asked questions

Does Washington have an income tax for LLCs?

Washington has no personal income tax. But LLCs pay Business and Occupation (B&O) Tax on gross receipts: 0.471% retail, 0.484% wholesale/manufacturing, 1.5% services. This is separate from the SOS annual report. B&O is an entity-level tax on gross — not profit — so even unprofitable LLCs owe B&O if they have revenue. Source: Washington Department of Revenue B&O Tax, verified 2026-04-25.

What is the Washington Business License?

Required for any business operating in WA — separate from the LLC formation. $90 first year, $39 renewal annually, plus city endorsements. Filed via Washington Department of Revenue’s Business Licensing Service at bls.dor.wa.gov. The license registers the business for B&O Tax automatically. Cite: dor.wa.gov.

When is the WA annual report due?

End of the LLC’s anniversary month. $60 fee. Late penalty $25 then administrative dissolution after 90 days. File via sos.wa.gov Corporations and Charities Filing System (CCFS). Source: verified 2026-04-25.

Should I form in Oregon to avoid Washington’s B&O?

Only if your operations are in Oregon. WA’s B&O applies based on nexus (where you operate), not formation state. A Washington-headquartered service business with $200K revenue owes ~$3,000/yr in B&O regardless of where the LLC is formed. Forming in Oregon adds OR formation fees + foreign qualification in WA + the WA B&O on WA-source revenue. Source: WA DOR nexus guidance.

Why does Washington require an Initial Report within 120 days of formation?

Washington is one of only a handful of states that requires an Initial Report within 120 days of formation, separate from the formation itself. The Initial Report (filed via the SOS Corporations and Charities Filing System) confirms the registered agent, principal office, and organizer information after formation completes — essentially a 120-day-after check-in. Washington couples this with a parallel requirement to register with the Department of Revenue for the Business License within the same window, so most founders complete both filings simultaneously through the unified Business Licensing Service at bls.dor.wa.gov. The IRS treats Washington LLCs identically to any other state for federal classification purposes; see IRS Washington Small Business Resources.

How do I calculate B&O Tax for a service-business LLC in Seattle?

A Seattle-based service-business LLC pays B&O Tax at three layers: (1) state B&O service rate of 1.5% on gross receipts (paid to WA DOR via the Business License renewal), (2) Seattle city B&O at 0.219% on Seattle-source service receipts (paid to Seattle Department of Finance & Administrative Services), and (3) a quarterly or monthly filing cadence depending on revenue size. A Seattle service LLC with $400,000 gross receipts owes $6,000 state B&O + $876 Seattle city B&O = $6,876 annually in B&O taxes alone, on top of the LLC’s $60 annual report and $39 business license renewal. The SBA local assistance directory lists Washington SBDC offices that offer free B&O filing assistance; the American Bar Association Section of Business Law has cross-state tax comparison materials.

State quirk: the Initial Report and parallel B&O Tax registration

Washington is structurally distinctive in pairing two unusual features: (1) an Initial Report required within 120 days of formation, separate from the formation itself, that confirms registered agent and principal office details; and (2) the Business and Occupation (B&O) Tax, a gross-receipts tax that exists in only four US states (WA, NV, OH, NM). Washington’s B&O is unique because it has no income tax to offset — Washington has no personal income tax — so the entire state-level entity tax burden falls on gross receipts at rates of 0.471% (retail), 0.484% (wholesale/manufacturing), or 1.5% (services). Seattle imposes an additional 0.219% city B&O on services, layered on top of the state rate. The Initial Report and Business License are typically filed together through the unified Business Licensing Service at bls.dor.wa.gov, combining what would be two separate state agency interactions in most states.

Common mistake in Washington

The most common Washington LLC mistake is forming a service-business LLC for the no-state-income-tax benefit and discovering at year-end that B&O Tax consumes 1.5% of gross receipts (not net profit). A Seattle consultancy with $300K gross revenue and $80K profit owes ~$4,500 in state B&O + ~$650 in Seattle B&O = $5,150/year, dwarfing the $99 annual operating cost most cost guides quote. B&O is on revenue, not profit — low-margin service businesses feel it disproportionately.

Sources

1. Washington Secretary of State Corporations Division — last verified 2026-04-25
2. Washington SOS Corporations and Charities Filing System — last verified 2026-04-25
3. Washington Department of Revenue B&O Tax — last verified 2026-04-25
4. Washington Business Licensing Service — last verified 2026-04-25
5. Washington Limited Liability Company Act (RCW 25.15) — last verified 2026-04-25
6. IRS Washington Small Business and Self-Employed Resources — last verified 2026-04-25
7. American Bar Association Section of Business Law — last verified 2026-04-25

About the author

Aissam Baidi is the founder and researcher behind llcformationcost.com. He verifies Washington LLC fees directly from sos.wa.gov and dor.wa.gov on a quarterly cycle. Connect on LinkedIn.

---

Not legal advice. Estimates based on publicly available data from each state’s Secretary of State office. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.