LLC Cost In Mississippi - How Much To Pay In Fees & Taxes in MS
If you're planning to open your own limited liability company in Mississippi, chances are you already have a business plan. However, the question of how much an LLC in Mississippi costs might still be relevant for you.
In this article, we'll get to the bottom of the following questions:
- How much does it cost to form a Mississippi LLC?
- What is the filing fee to open an LLC in Mississippi?
- What business taxes will you have to pay for an LLC in the state?
- Are there any regular or annual report filing fees for Mississippi LLCs?
- Are there any additional documents and fees to consider?
If you're looking for step-by-step instructions on registering an LLC in Mississippi, you can find them in this article.
How Much Does an LLC Cost in Mississippi?
If you plan to run a business in the state, here's a list of the main Mississippi LLC fees to consider.
| Document | Fee |
|---|---|
| Certificate of Formation | $50 |
| Application for Registration of Foreign Limited Liability Company (for a foreign LLC) | $250 |
| Annual Report (for local LLCs) | $0 |
| Annual Report (for foreign LLCs) | $250 |
| Name Reservation | $25 |
| Fictitious Business Name Registration (DBA) | $25 |
| Certified Document Copies | $45 |
| Certificate of Existence | $14 |
There's also a whole list of fees to consider as well. Let's deal with each major Mississippi LLC fee one at a time and consider additional costs separately.
LLC Fees in Mississippi: Online Filing Fee: $50
Every domestic Mississippi LLC will need to complete and file a Certificate of Formation online with the Secretary of State. The filing fee for this document can be considered the most important Mississippi LLC filing fee.
The Mississippi Certificate of Formation includes the following information:
- LLC business name;
- Nature of the business;
- Effective date (cannot exceed 90 days of filing);
- Name and office address of the registered agent;
- Contact information about LLC organizer(s) and other important information.
Note, you can only file a Certificate of Formation in Mississippi online at the Secretary of State's website. You'll simply need to answer all the questions on the page and pay the state filing fee of $50.
You can read more about what's included in the Certificate of Formation (also known as the Articles of Organization) in our review.
Annual LLC Fee Mississippi: Annual Report: $0
Under Mississippi law, every LLC registered in the state is required to file an annual report with the Secretary of State. You can use your state business ID for this - check yours here.
Unlike many other states, Mississippi does not charge anything for processing domestic LLCs' annual reports.
Note that failure to file your report may result in the administrative dissolution of the company. Thus, you can file the document any time on or after January 1st until April 15th of each year.
Foreign limited liability companies in the state will be required to pay the Mississippi LLC annual fee of $250.
Registered Agent Fee: >$50
If you're calculating LLC costs in Mississippi, be sure to include registered agent services there as well. After all, according to Mississippi law, every LLC operating in the state has to designate and maintain a registered agent on an ongoing basis.
A registered agent (RA) is an individual (or an entity) that will receive important legal/tax documents on behalf of and for your company, including correspondence from the state government and tax authorities, as well as documents related to service of process.
Under Mississippi law, RA's functions can be performed by:
- A non-profit RA. Any person that is over 18 y/o who resides permanently in the state and has a registered physical address can become your RA;
- A commercial RA. A professional RA company that is officially registered in Mississippi, has a permanent address there, and legally provides RA services.
We recommend hiring a commercial registered agent service since it will provide you with a whole list of benefits as follows:
- Reliability. An RA has to be present at the office each working day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time, without any interruptions. A professional RA company will arrange it;
- Confidentiality. Your RA's contact details are in the public domain on the Mississippi Secretary of State's website;
- Convenience. Professional RAs will most often include reminders (about your annual report filings and other important documents) as part of their service;
- Affordability. The cost of RA services usually ranges from $49 to $300 per year, depending on the company you choose, which is not that much.
Remember that your registered agent must be reliable because if it turns out to be unavailable at the right time, you risk losing your case in court (since you will not even know about it).
Moreover, the state government will most definitely decide that you're running your business without a registered agent and may revoke your LLC registration.
That said, it's highly recommended to choose a famous RA service with experience. To make it as easy for you as possible, we recommend you check our ranking of registered agents in Mississippi.
Cost to Form a Foreign LLC in Mississippi: $250
If you are not forming a new company but expanding your business to Mississippi, you can register as a foreign LLC in the state (online registration only). For this, you will need to complete an Application for Registration of Foreign Limited Liability Company.
In this case, the Mississippi LLC filing fee is $250.
Cost to form a PLLC in Mississippi: $50
A professional LLC (PLLC) in Mississippi is different from a regular LLC in that it's created by licensed professionals to provide certain services in the state. Thus, the following professionals can open a PLLC in Mississippi:
- Art therapists;
- Athletic trainers;
- Audiologists;
- Dietitians;
- Hearing aid specialists;
- Hemodialysis technicians;
- Occupational therapists/assistants;
- Medical radiation technologists;
- Respiratory care practitioners;
- Speech-language pathologists;
- Tattoo artists;
- Body piercing;
- Hair braiding, etc.
To register a PLLC in the state of Mississippi, you must:
- Choose a name considering all naming regulations and rules of the state;
- Check your PLLC name availability;
- Get your business domain for the PLLC;
- Designate an RA;
- Obtain the right state professional license or permit for each professional in the company;
- Consult your local/state licensing board or the relevant regulating body in advance to see if you need prior approval;
- Complete the Certificate of Formation on the Secretary of State’s online filing system indicating the purpose of formation to provide professional services.
Registering a Mississippi PLLC can be done online on the Secretary of State’s website and is almost no different from registering a regular LLC. The fee in this case is also $50. You can also consider hiring an online business formation service.
Mississippi LLC Business Taxes
While, unlike many other states, Mississippi does not charge an annual fee for processing annual reports, there are some other financial obligations that LLC owners must consider in the state. These usually vary from county to county or city.
Below are the main types of state tax you will need to pay to the Department of Revenue. In Mississippi, these taxes are as follows:
- State income tax. This is the amount you will pay as an individual on any money you pay to yourself out of the LLC. The income tax rates range from 0% and 5%;
- Federal income tax. You only pay federal income tax on profits you take out of the LLC. Consult your accountant for more information on federal income tax;
- State sales tax. Any LLC that sells goods or provides certain types of services, will be required to pay it. The statewide static tax rate is 7%;
- Self-employment tax. All LLC members or managers who take profits out of the LLC must also pay self-employment tax. The current tax rate is 15.3%;
- Employer payroll tax. All employers in the state are required to withhold federal taxes from the wages of their employees.
The last tax means you will have to withhold 7.65% of your employees' taxable wages. Moreover, employees in your company will also be responsible for 7.65%, which adds up to the current federal tax rate (15.3%).
Business License Renewal Fee
In many cases, to run a business in Mississippi, you will need to get a business license and renew it each year. Consider this amount when calculating your total LLC fee in Mississippi.
The main business license in the state for LLCs is the sales and use tax number (also known as the seller's permit). You will need it if you're going to sell (or lease) goods or provide services that would ordinarily be subject to sales tax. Visit this page to obtain the permit.
The cost of a business license for your LLC depends on the type of your business activity and location (i.e. your city/county where you will run your business). Thus, you may also need specific licenses or permits from your state and local government.
Contact your local Mississippi county government office for more information on business licenses/permits for your company and their cost.
Other LLC Filing Costs
We've already covered the basic costs for a Mississippi LLC. However, there are also additional documents and fees to keep in mind. Thus, if you want to understand as accurately as possible how much it costs to form an LLC in Mississippi, read on.
LLC Name Reservation: $25
Sometimes a situation arises when you have already come up with a suitable name for your LLC, but, for any reason, you're not ready to register your business. In this case, the state of Mississippi offers a business name reservation service.
It allows you to reserve your LLC name for up to 180 days. For this, you must submit the LLC Name Reservation form online on the Secretary of State's website and pay the Mississippi LLC filing fee of $25.
Doing Business As (DBA) Name: $25
In some cases, doing business under your official LLC business name can be complicated. This is often the case for eCommerce businesses (for marketing purposes).
You might need to expand your product line or change your business direction altogether. In such case, you can file a DBA ("doing business as" name), also known as a fictitious name.
For this, you will need to complete and file the Fictitious Business Name Registration form and pay the $25 filing fee.
Doing Business As (DBA) is an alternative business name that you can use on your signage, on your website, as well as in various promotional materials.
Certified Document Copies: $10
In the course of running your business, you will definitely need certified copies of your registration documents. They may be requested by banks and lending institutions, future investors, and business partners.
You can order them at any time on the Secretary of State's website. The fee to get a certified copy of a business document is $10 for the certification + $1 for every page beyond the fifth page.
Certificate of Existence: $14
A Certificate of Existence (also known as a Certificate of Good Standing) is a document that proves your LLC was legally formed in the state and is properly maintained (including following all the rules and regulations of the state).
A Certificate of Existence can be ordered for $14 through the Secretary of State's website and is most often required in case of investment attraction or when applying to a bank for a business loan.