Form an LLC in Michigan
Michigan is one of the cheaper states to run an LLC, $50 to form and $25 a year, with no franchise tax. CountSure files with LARA and tracks the February 15 deadline. $50 to form, $25 a year – but the February 15 deadline is easy to miss.
Requirements, costs & steps for an Michigan LLC
Michigan is one of the more affordable states to run an LLC: $50 to form and just $25 a year to stay in good standing, with no franchise tax. The one thing that trips people up is the deadline. Michigan calls its yearly filing an Annual Statement, and it is due February 15, right in the middle of tax season, which is exactly why it gets missed. This guide covers the real costs, the filing order, and that deadline in plain terms. Want it handled for you? Our Michigan LLC formation service files with LARA, sets up your resident agent, and tracks the February 15 deadline.
What you need to know?
Low filing fee:
$50 for the Articles of Organization, one of the lower LLC formation fees in the country.
Annual Statement, due February 15:
$25 each year, and Michigan calls it a Statement, not a Report. The mid-February date lands in tax season and is easy to miss.
Filed with LARA:
Michigan business filings go through the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, not a Secretary of State.
No franchise tax:
Michigan retired the Michigan Business Tax in 2012; a standard pass-through LLC pays no entity-level state tax.
Resident agent:
Michigan calls it a resident agent, and it must be a Michigan resident or a business entity authorized in Michigan.
Michigan LLC at a glance
The essentials for forming and maintaining a Michigan LLC.
How to form an Michigan LLC, Step by Step
Seven steps from name check through your February 15 Annual Statement.
Choose and check your LLC name
Your name must include “Limited Liability Company,” “LLC,” “L.L.C.,” “LC,” or “L.C.,” and be distinguishable from existing Michigan entities. Search the LARA business database. You can reserve a name for six months for $10 if desired.
Appoint a resident agent
Michigan requires a resident agent with a physical Michigan street address (no PO box), available during business hours. It must be a Michigan resident or a business entity authorized in Michigan; you can serve as your own if you live in the state. CountSure can act as your resident agent.
File Articles of Organization with LARA
File through the MiBusiness Registry portal (or by mail) for $50. You provide the LLC name, purpose, resident agent, and registered office. Online filings are usually processed in a few business days; expedited options run from $50 (24-hour) up to $1,000 (1-hour).
Create an operating agreement
Not required by Michigan, but strongly recommended. It sets ownership, profit splits, and management, and reinforces your liability protection.
Get an EIN from the IRS
Free, and needed for banking, hiring, and to register with the Michigan Department of Treasury.
Register for Michigan taxes
Register with the Department of Treasury through Michigan Treasury Online for sales and use tax (if you sell taxable goods) and withholding (if you have employees).
Calendar your February 15 Annual Statement
File the $25 Annual Statement with LARA by February 15 each year. If you formed after September 30, you skip the immediately following February 15. The online filing window opens on October 15, so filing early avoids the tax-season rush.
Naming & Member Requirements
A compliant name and a clear management structure keep your LARA filing moving. Here’s what Michigan requires.
- Required ending: “Limited Liability Company,” “LLC,” “L.L.C.,” “LC,” or “L.C.”
- Restricted words: Terms implying banking, insurance, or trust activity generally need approval.
- Optional reservation: Reserve an available name for six months for $10 before filing.
- Assumed name (DBA): To operate under a different name, file a Certificate of Assumed Name with LARA for $25, valid for five years.
- Members & management: One member minimum - Michigan allows single-member LLCs, with no residency requirement for members or managers (the resident agent must be Michigan-based). Member-managed or manager-managed, set in your operating agreement rather than the public filing.
Ongoing Michigan LLC Compliance & Taxes
Annual Statement, due February 15
Every Michigan LLC files an Annual Statement with LARA by February 15 each year, for $25. Note the wording: Michigan calls it a Statement, not a Report, and the February date is earlier than most states and lands in the middle of tax season, which is the single most common reason it gets missed. The online filing window opens the prior October 15, so you can file early. If your LLC was formed after September 30, you skip the February 15 that immediately follows formation, so an LLC formed in November 2026 first files by February 15, 2028. Missing the deadline adds a $50 late penalty, and an LLC that stays unfiled for two years loses its good standing by operation of law until it files a certificate of restoration. One Michigan-specific warning: LARA has warned businesses about official-looking mailings from private companies trying to collect annual statement fees, so only respond to notices that come directly from LARA. The real fee is $25, paid directly to LARA.
No franchise tax
Michigan has no franchise tax. It repealed the Michigan Business Tax in 2012, so a standard pass-through LLC owes no entity-level state tax at all, just the $25 annual statement.
Income tax
A default LLC does not pay Michigan income tax at the entity level. Profits pass through to members, who report their share on their Michigan personal returns at the flat 4.25% individual income tax rate. If your LLC elects C-corporation treatment, Michigan’s flat 6% Corporate Income Tax may apply, but only if Michigan-apportioned gross receipts reach $350,000. Pass-through entities can also elect the Michigan Flow-Through Entity (FTE) tax, which helps owners work around the federal SALT cap.
Sales tax and licenses
Michigan’s sales and use tax is a flat 6% statewide with no local add-on, which keeps compliance simple. Register through Michigan Treasury Online if you sell taxable goods. Michigan has no single statewide general business license, though many industries and cities require their own permits. Get a free EIN from the IRS. If a majority of the LLC’s membership interests are held by veterans (as defined in Michigan law), the LLC may qualify to have LARA formation and annual fees waived.
Michigan LLC Cost Breakdown
What you’ll actually pay to form and run a Michigan LLC.
Insight From Our Team
“Michigan is one of the easier states on the wallet, fifty dollars to form and twenty-five a year, with no franchise tax at all. The thing I drill into every Michigan client is the date. The annual filing is due February 15, which is unusual, many states tie it to your anniversary, and it falls right when everyone is buried in tax season. Michigan even calls it an Annual Statement rather than a report, so people search for the wrong thing and miss it. We file from October 15, when the window opens. And a heads-up that saves people real money: LARA does not bill you through private companies, so if an official-looking bill for your annual statement arrives from anyone other than LARA, treat it as a scam. The real fee is twenty-five dollars.”
Parth Shah
CountSure
Related Guides & Services
Frequently Asked Questions
The state filing fee is $50 for the Articles of Organization, filed with LARA. After that, the only required state cost is the $25 Annual Statement each year.
By February 15 each year, not on your anniversary. Michigan calls it an Annual Statement, not a report. If you formed after September 30, you skip the immediately following February 15.
No. Michigan repealed the Michigan Business Tax in 2012 and has no franchise tax. A standard pass-through LLC owes no entity-level state tax, just the $25 annual statement.
That is almost certainly a scam. LARA has warned businesses about private companies mailing official-looking notices to collect annual statement fees. The real Annual Statement fee is $25, paid directly to LARA at michigan.gov/lara.
Online filings through the MiBusiness Registry are usually processed in a few business days. Expedited service runs from $50 for 24-hour up to $1,000 for one-hour turnaround.
No. Members and managers do not need to be Michigan residents. You do need a resident agent with a physical Michigan street address.
Get Started
Start your Michigan LLC with CountSure
From the LARA Articles of Organization to your resident agent, EIN, and the February 15 Annual Statement, CountSure handles your Michigan LLC end to end, so the mid-tax-season deadline never catches you out.
- Free 30-minute consultation with a CPA
- Fixed-fee, fully transparent pricing
- 100% remote - no travel or visa required
