How Much Does It Cost to Open an LLC in NY?

The cost to open an LLC in NY starts at $250 in mandatory state fees, but almost no one actually pays only that. New York requires every new LLC to publish a formation notice in two newspapers for six weeks, and those newspaper charges swing the real first-year total to somewhere between roughly $475 in a cheap upstate county and $2,200 or more in Manhattan. Add a small annual tax filing fee on top, and you have the full picture.

The $200 Filing Fee for Articles of Organization

Every New York LLC begins with Articles of Organization filed with the Department of State under Section 203 of the Limited Liability Company Law.¹ The fee is $200, and it is non-refundable whether the state approves or rejects your filing.²

You can file online through the Department of State’s Business Filings portal or mail the form to Albany with a check or money order. Once processed, the state issues a filing receipt that serves as proof your LLC exists.³

Newspaper Publication: The Cost That Varies Most

This is where New York diverges from most other states, and where your bill is largely out of your hands. Within 120 days of your Articles taking effect, Section 206 of the LLC Law requires you to publish a copy of the Articles or a summary notice in two newspapers — one daily and one weekly — in the county where your LLC’s office is located. The notice must run once a week for six consecutive weeks.⁴³

You don’t get to shop around. The county clerk designates which two newspapers qualify.⁴ Rates differ wildly by county:

Manhattan (New York County): roughly $1,400 to $1,900
Brooklyn and Queens: roughly $1,100 to $1,600
Albany and similar upstate counties: as little as $200 to $400

The county you list on your Articles of Organization is the county where you must publish. If you legitimately maintain an office in a lower-cost county, listing that address can cut this expense substantially.

What Happens If You Skip or Miss the 120-Day Deadline

Fail to file the Certificate of Publication within 120 days and the Department of State automatically suspends your LLC’s authority to conduct business in New York. The suspension stays in place until you complete the publication and file the certificate.⁴

The $50 Certificate of Publication Fee

After the six-week run finishes, each newspaper gives you an affidavit confirming publication. You attach those affidavits to a Certificate of Publication and file the package with the Department of State along with a $50 fee.² That $50 is predictable; the newspaper bill it sits on top of is not.

Things You Don’t Pay For

Two formation items commonly carry a price tag in other contexts but cost nothing in New York.

An Employer Identification Number is free. The IRS issues one immediately through its online application tool and explicitly warns against paying any third party for one.⁵

A written operating agreement is required. Section 417 of the LLC Law says the members must adopt one before, at the time of, or within 90 days after filing the Articles.⁶ You do not file it with the state, and there is no state fee. If you hire an attorney to draft it, that’s a separate professional cost; the state charges you nothing.

Optional: Expedited Processing

Standard processing can take several weeks. If you need the LLC formed faster, the Department of State offers three expedited tiers charged on top of the regular filing fee:²

24-hour processing: $25
Same-day processing: $75
Two-hour processing: $150

These apply to the Articles of Organization, the Certificate of Publication, and most other LLC filings. Two-hour service on your Articles, for example, brings that single filing to $350.

Recurring Costs After Year One

Two state obligations continue after formation.

Biennial Statement — $9

Every two years, your LLC must file a Biennial Statement with the Department of State confirming the address for forwarding legal papers. The fee is $9. Missing it does not dissolve the LLC, but the state marks it “past due,” which can create friction with lenders or contracting parties.⁷

Annual Filing Fee — $25 to $4,500

New York also charges an annual fee through the Department of Taxation and Finance on Form IT-204-LL, scaled to your LLC’s New York source gross income from the prior tax year:⁸

$0 to $100,000: $25
$100,001 to $250,000: $50
$250,001 to $500,000: $175
$500,001 to $1,000,000: $500
$1,000,001 to $5,000,000: $1,500
$5,000,001 to $25,000,000: $3,000
Over $25,000,000: $4,500

An LLC with no New York source income still owes the $25 minimum. A single-member LLC treated as a disregarded entity federally owes $25 if it has any New York source income, gain, loss, or deduction.⁸

What Your First Year Will Actually Cost

Adding the pieces together for a brand-new LLC:

Articles of Organization: $200
Newspaper publication (two papers, six weeks): roughly $200 to $1,900 depending on county
Certificate of Publication filing: $50
Annual filing fee (Form IT-204-LL): $25 minimum
Operating agreement: $0 state cost
EIN: $0

In a low-cost upstate county with modest income, expect roughly $475 to $675 in year one. In Manhattan, the same LLC can easily hit $1,700 to $2,200 before you pay a lawyer or accountant for anything. After that, you owe $9 every two years for the Biennial Statement and the annual IT-204-LL fee scaled to your income.

1
Department of State. Articles of Organization for Domestic Limited Liability Company
2
Department of State. Fee Schedules
3
Department of State. Forming a Limited Liability Company in New York
4
New York State Senate. New York LLC Law Section 206
5
Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
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New York State Senate. New York LLC Law Article 4 – 417
7
Department of State. Biennial Statements for Business Corporations and Limited Liability Companies
8
New York Department of Taxation and Finance. Partnership, LLC, and LLP Annual Filing Fee