● Illinois · LLC Formation
How to Form an LLC in Illinois
Form your Illinois LLC without the franchise-tax confusion – CountSure files your Articles of Organization and keeps your Secretary of State and Department of Revenue obligations straight. $150 to file – and no franchise tax on LLCs.
Requirements, costs & steps for an Illinois LLC
Illinois is a straightforward state to form an LLC in, though its fees sit a little above the national midpoint: $150 to file and $75 a year for the annual report. Unlike Illinois corporations, LLCs don’t pay the state’s franchise tax – but they do owe a 1.5% Personal Property Replacement Tax on income. The one deadline to track is the annual report, which is due before the first day of your anniversary month. This guide covers the real costs, the filing order, and those obligations in plain terms. Want it handled for you? Our Illinois LLC formation service files everything and tracks your report deadline.
The short answer: To form an Illinois LLC you file Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State for $150 (a Series LLC is $400), and appoint a registered agent with a physical Illinois address. Standard processing runs about 5-10 business days, or around one business day with $100 expedited service. Every Illinois LLC then files a $75 annual report due before the first day of its anniversary month – with a $100 late penalty. LLCs don’t pay Illinois’s franchise tax, but pass-through income is subject to the state’s 1.5% Personal Property Replacement Tax.
You can verify the fees from official website of Illinois – Click here to verify
● Key takeaways
What you need to know?
- Filing fee: $150 for Articles of Organization ($400 for a Series LLC), filed with the Illinois Secretary of State.
- Annual report: $75 every year, due BEFORE the first day of your anniversary month - a $100 penalty applies if you’re late.
- First report timing: New LLCs don’t file in their formation year; the first annual report is due the year after formation.
- No franchise tax on LLCs: Illinois’s franchise tax applies to corporations, not LLCs - but LLCs owe the 1.5% Personal Property Replacement Tax on income.
- Registered agent: Required - must have a physical Illinois street address (no PO box).
Illinois LLC at a glance
The essentials for forming and maintaining an Illinois LLC.
⬤ Step by step
How to form an Illinois LLC, step by step
Seven steps from name check through your anniversary-month annual report.
Choose and check your LLC name
Your name must include “LLC,” “L.L.C.,” or “Limited Liability Company,” and be distinguishable from existing Illinois entities. Search the Secretary of State’s business database; you can reserve a name for 90 days for $25 if desired.
Appoint a registered agent
Illinois requires a registered agent with a physical Illinois street address (no PO box) available during business hours. You can serve as your own, but many owners use a service to keep their address off the public record. CountSure can serve as your registered agent.
File Articles of Organization
File online through the Secretary of State’s portal (or by mail) with the $150 fee ($400 for a Series LLC). You’ll provide the LLC name, principal place of business, registered agent, and management structure. Expedited service is about $100 extra.
Create an operating agreement
Not filed with the state, 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 for Illinois taxes.
Register with the Illinois Department of Revenue
Register through MyTax Illinois for the taxes that apply to you – sales tax if you sell taxable goods, withholding if you have employees, and the Personal Property Replacement Tax.
Calendar your annual report
File the $75 annual report before the first day of your anniversary month, every year starting the year after formation. Missing it by more than 60 days adds a $100 penalty and, eventually, administrative dissolution.
⬤ Naming & ownership
Naming & member requirements
A compliant name and a clear management structure keep your filing moving. Here’s what Illinois requires.
- Required ending: “LLC,” “L.L.C.,” or “Limited Liability Company.”
- Restricted words: Terms implying banking, insurance, or regulated activity generally need approval.
- Optional reservation: Reserve an available name for 90 days for $25 before filing.
- Minimum members: One - Illinois allows single-member LLCs, with no residency or age requirement for members or managers.
- Series LLC option: Illinois recognizes the Series LLC ($400 to form), which lets one parent LLC create protected series with separate assets and liabilities.
Ongoing Illinois LLC compliance & taxes
Annual report - $75, before your anniversary month
Every Illinois LLC files an annual report with the Secretary of State each year, for $75. It’s due before the first day of your anniversary month – the month your LLC was approved – and you can file up to 60 days ahead. The report confirms your principal address, registered agent, and managers/members with management authority (note: you can’t change your registered agent through the annual report – that’s a separate $25 filing). New LLCs don’t file in their formation year; the first report is due the following year. Filing more than 60 days late adds a $100 penalty, and prolonged non-filing leads to administrative dissolution.
No franchise tax - but the Replacement Tax applies
Unlike Illinois corporations, LLCs do not pay the state’s franchise tax on paid-in capital. However, LLCs are subject to the Personal Property Replacement Tax (PPRT) – 1.5% of net income for LLCs taxed as partnerships or sole proprietorships – which is filed with the Illinois Department of Revenue. Otherwise, LLC profits pass through to members and are taxed at Illinois’s flat 4.95% individual income tax rate.
Sales tax
If you sell taxable goods, register for sales tax through MyTax Illinois. The state rate is 6.25% plus local taxes. Note: as of January 1, 2026, Illinois eliminated the state’s 1% grocery sales tax, though localities may impose their own 1% grocery tax.
EIN and licenses
Get a free EIN from the IRS. Illinois has no single statewide general business license, but many cities (Chicago in particular) and industries require their own licenses and permits.
Illinois LLC cost breakdown
What you’ll actually pay to form and run an Illinois LLC.
⬤ Expert view
Insight from our team
Our guidance reflects hands-on filing experience across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, reviewed against current Secretary of State and Department of Revenue requirements.
“Illinois trips people up in two places. First, the annual report is due BEFORE your anniversary month, not during it – people read ‘anniversary’ and assume they have until the end of the month, then get hit with the hundred-dollar penalty. Second, clients hear ‘Illinois franchise tax’ and panic, but that’s a corporation tax; your LLC doesn’t pay it. What your LLC does owe is the 1.5% replacement tax, which is easy to overlook because it isn’t a Secretary of State fee – it’s a Department of Revenue tax. We separate those two agencies out clearly so nothing slips.”
Parth Shah
CountSure
⬤ Keep exploring
Related guides & services
- All state formation guides
Frequently asked questions
The state filing fee is $150 for Articles of Organization ($400 for a Series LLC). After that, the main recurring cost is the $75 annual report each year.
Before the first day of your anniversary month – the month your LLC was approved – each year. You can file up to 60 days early, and your first report is due the year after formation.
No. Illinois’s franchise tax applies to corporations, not LLCs. However, LLCs do owe the 1.5% Personal Property Replacement Tax on income, filed with the Department of Revenue.
It’s a tax on business income that replaced revenue from an abolished personal property tax. For LLCs and partnerships it’s 1.5% of net income; C-corporations pay 2.5% on top of the corporate income tax.
Standard processing runs about 5-10 business days; expedited service (about $100 extra) is typically around one business day.
Yes. You must appoint a registered agent with a physical Illinois street address (no PO box). You can serve as your own, but many owners use a service to keep their address off the public record.
Get Started
Start your Illinois LLC with CountSure
From Articles of Organization to your registered agent, EIN, and that anniversary-month annual report, CountSure handles your Illinois LLC end to end – and keeps the Secretary of State and Department of Revenue obligations straight.
- Free 30-minute consultation with a CPA
- Fixed-fee, fully transparent pricing
- 100% remote - no travel or visa required
