Colorado LLC Cost: Filing Fees, Licenses, and Taxes

A Colorado LLC costs $50 to form and $25 a year to maintain, both filed online with the Secretary of State. Beyond those two numbers, the total Colorado LLC cost depends on whether you hire a registered agent, sell taxable goods, or operate in a city that charges its own business license.1Colorado Secretary of State. Business Organizations Fee Schedule

What You Pay to Form the LLC

The Articles of Organization filing fee is $50, paid online when you submit. Colorado does not accept paper formation filings.1Colorado Secretary of State. Business Organizations Fee Schedule There is no separate state-level business license to form an LLC; the Secretary of State filing is the only mandatory formation step with the state.2Colorado Secretary of State. Business Checklist

What You Pay Every Year

Every Colorado LLC has to file a periodic report (the state’s name for the annual report) to stay in good standing. The fee is $25.1Colorado Secretary of State. Business Organizations Fee Schedule The filing window opens two months before your assigned periodic report month and closes two months after it, so you get roughly a five-month runway.3Colorado Secretary of State. Entity Status FAQ

Miss that window and the state adds a $50 late penalty on top of the $25 report fee.1Colorado Secretary of State. Business Organizations Fee Schedule After 60 more days, the LLC moves from “Noncompliant” to “Delinquent” and loses good standing. At 400 days, the company name becomes available for others to claim. Curing delinquency costs $100, and if the LLC has been delinquent five or more years, you’ll also need an affidavit under penalty of perjury and a government-issued photo ID.4Colorado Secretary of State. Delinquency FAQ

Registered Agent

Colorado requires every LLC to keep a registered agent with a physical street address in the state, available during normal business hours to accept legal documents. An individual agent must be at least 18 and hold a valid Colorado driver’s license or state ID, or verify residency through an alternative process.5Colorado Secretary of State. Registered Agent FAQ

If you serve as your own agent, this line is free. Commercial registered agent services typically run $100 to $300 per year, and owners often use them to keep a home address off the public record or because they lack a physical Colorado office.

Other Secretary of State Fees

Beyond formation and the periodic report, the Secretary of State charges for a range of filings most owners encounter at some point:1Colorado Secretary of State. Business Organizations Fee Schedule

  • Name reservation: $25 for 120 days, renewable at $25 per period.
  • Articles of amendment: $25.
  • Statement of change (name, address, or registered agent): $10.
  • Dissolution: $10.
  • Reinstatement after administrative dissolution: $100.
  • Foreign LLC registration (an out-of-state LLC authorizing itself to do business in Colorado): $100.
  • Certificate of good standing: free online.
  • Expedited service: $150, paper filings only, three-business-day turnaround.

Federal EIN

Most LLCs need an Employer Identification Number from the IRS to hire employees, open a business bank account, or file certain tax returns. Applying directly through the IRS is free and processed immediately online. The IRS specifically warns that third-party sites charging a fee for an EIN are unnecessary.6Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number

Sales Tax License

If your LLC sells tangible goods or taxable services in Colorado, you’ll need a sales tax license from the Colorado Department of Revenue. The license fee depends on when you apply: for a standard retail license obtained in the first half of 2026, the fee is $16; applications filed in the second half of the year cost $12.7Colorado Department of Revenue. Standard Retail License

New accounts also pay a $50 refundable deposit, which is automatically returned once the business has collected and remitted $50 in state sales tax.7Colorado Department of Revenue. Standard Retail License Out-of-pocket for a new retail LLC in the first half of the year works out to $66, with $50 of that coming back.

Local City and County Licenses

Colorado has no single statewide business license, but many cities and counties require one of their own, and the fees vary a lot. Colorado Springs charges $110 per year for most business licenses.8City of Colorado Springs. Business Licensing Aurora charges a $19 application fee plus a $28 license fee, good for two years.9City of Aurora. Business Licensing Denver and other municipalities set their own rates. The only reliable way to pin down the number for your location is to check with the city hall or county clerk where the LLC operates.

State Taxes

Colorado has no franchise tax and no special LLC tax. By default, an LLC is a pass-through entity for both federal and state purposes, so the LLC itself owes no state income tax; profits and losses flow through to the members’ personal returns.10Colorado Department of Revenue. Business Income Tax An LLC that elects C corporation treatment by filing IRS Form 8832 pays Colorado’s corporate income tax rate, which is 4.4% for the 2025 tax year.11Colorado Department of Revenue. Corporate Income Tax Guide

Bottom Line

For a plain-vanilla Colorado LLC with no special licensing, the minimum costs look like this:

  • Articles of Organization: $50 one-time.
  • EIN: free.
  • Registered agent: free if you do it yourself, otherwise $100 to $300 per year.
  • Periodic report: $25 per year.
  • Sales tax license, if you sell taxable goods: $12 to $16 plus a $50 refundable deposit.
  • Local business license, if your city requires one: varies, commonly $30 to $110 per year.

An owner who acts as their own registered agent and doesn’t need a sales tax or local license can form and keep a Colorado LLC alive for $50 the first year and $25 every year after that.