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How to start an LLC in Illinois

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An Illinois LLC costs $150 to form. You file Articles of Organization (Form LLC-5.5) with the Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services, and online filings take about 10 business days. After that, the only required state filing is a $75 annual report, due before the first day of the month you formed in, every year starting the year after you form. There's no newspaper publication and no general state business license. Because the annual report deadline follows your formation month instead of a fixed calendar date, it's easy to lose track of. If your LLC is taxed as a partnership or an S corporation, Illinois charges a 1.5% replacement tax on the LLC's net income on top of the 4.95% personal income tax. A default single-member LLC doesn't pay it.

Best next step

For most founders, start with the Illinois filing itself

If you live and operate in Illinois, the safest move is to file in Illinois directly. Compare LLC services only if you want help with privacy, document handling, or someone to do the filing for you.

Safest default
File directly with Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services if you live and operate in Illinois.
Cheaper viable option
Handle the filing yourself if you're comfortable managing the registered agent role and the state paperwork.
Avoid overpaying
Don't buy bundled extras until you confirm the filing fee, the annual schedule, and whether a service actually solves a problem for you.
See official filing instructions Compare LLC services
Filing fee
$150
The same $150 applies online or by mail. Online filings add a payment processor fee. A Series LLC costs $400 to form.
Processing time
~10 business days online
Standard estimate. Expedited available.
Annual report
Before the first day of your anniversary month (the month you formed) each year, starting the year after you form
$75 per year, plus $50 per series for a Series LLC. You can file in the 60 days before the due date. If it is still unfiled by the first day of the second month after your anniversary month, a $100 penalty applies, plus $100 for each additional year. Unfiled reports can lead to administrative dissolution, and reinstatement costs $200 plus every missed report and penalty.
Publication
None
No newspaper requirement

Official Illinois resources

Primary filing source

Start here

Information for forming an LLC online (Illinois SOS)

Open this first. It's the official source for the filing itself.

ilsos.gov

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How to form an LLC in Illinois

Forming, registering, filing, or applying for an LLC in Illinois: it's all the same process, and these are the steps in the order you'll do them.

Before you file

What you'll need

To form an Illinois LLC, you will need an available name that includes "Limited Liability Company," "LLC," or "L.L.C.", a registered agent with an Illinois street address, your principal place of business address, the name and address of each organizer, the names and business addresses of any managers (or members acting as managers), an email address for the filing confirmation, and $150 by credit card for online filing.

  1. Step 1 of 8: Pick an available Illinois LLC name

    Search the Secretary of State business entity search to confirm the name is distinguishable from existing Illinois businesses. The name must include "Limited Liability Company," "LLC," or "L.L.C." and can't include "Corporation," "Inc.," "Ltd.," "Co.," or "L.P." Reserving a name is optional: Form LLC-1.15 costs $25 and holds the name for 90 days. You don't need it unless you're weeks away from filing.

  2. Step 2 of 8: Choose a registered agent with an Illinois street address

    Every Illinois LLC must keep a registered agent and registered office in Illinois. The agent can be an Illinois resident (including you) or a business authorized to transact business in Illinois. The LLC cannot be its own agent. The registered office needs an Illinois street address, so a P.O. box alone will not work. That address is public. A commercial registered agent usually costs $50 to $150 a year and keeps your home address off the record. Changing agents later is a separate $25 filing.

    Illinois registered agent rules and costs

  3. Step 3 of 8: File Articles of Organization (Form LLC-5.5) online

    File through the Secretary of State's online LLC Articles of Organization system and choose "standard" LLC unless you specifically need a Series LLC. You'll enter the name, principal place of business, registered agent and office, organizer, and any managers. The fee is $150 by credit card, plus a payment processor fee. Mailing the paper Form LLC-5.5 costs the same $150, but online gets you an emailed confirmation and a published 10-business-day turnaround.

  4. Step 4 of 8: Wait about 10 business days, or pay $100 to expedite

    Standard online processing is about 10 business days. If you need the LLC faster, 24-hour processing costs an extra $100, for $250 total, excluding weekends and holidays. Most founders don't need it. Use the wait to line up your EIN application and bank account.

  5. Step 5 of 8: Get a free EIN from the IRS

    Once the Articles are approved, apply for an EIN on IRS.gov. It's free and usually issued right away online. You'll need it for a business bank account, hiring, and Illinois tax registration. Don't pay anyone to get it for you.

  6. Step 6 of 8: Write an operating agreement and open a business bank account

    Illinois doesn't require a written operating agreement, and you don't file one with the state. Write one anyway, even as a single member. It records who owns what and how decisions get made, and banks often ask for it. Then open a separate business account so LLC money stays out of your personal account.

  7. Step 7 of 8: Register for Illinois taxes and any local license

    If you'll sell taxable goods, hire employees, or make purchases subject to Illinois tax, register with the Department of Revenue on MyTax Illinois. Online registration takes about one to two business days. Illinois has no general state business license, but cities can require one. In Chicago, most businesses, including home-based ones, need a City of Chicago business license, issued for two years at a time.

  8. Step 8 of 8: Calendar the $75 annual report before your anniversary month

    The annual report is due before the first day of the month you formed in, every year starting the year after you form. An LLC formed in October 2026 files before October 1, 2027. You can file online up to 60 days early. The fee is $75. Miss the deadline and the LLC falls out of good standing; leave it unfiled past the first day of the second month after your anniversary month and a $100 penalty applies.

How much a Illinois LLC costs

What you'll pay the state if you file it yourself and serve as your own registered agent. The cost page has every fee, the optional add-ons, and when each payment is due.

To form
$150
Year one total
$150
Articles of Organization online, plus a small card processing fee
Every year after
$75/yr
Annual report, plus 1.5% replacement tax if not single-member
Full Illinois LLC cost breakdown

The Illinois replacement tax: who pays the 1.5% and who doesn't

Illinois charges a Personal Property Replacement Tax on the net income of business entities. It's separate from the 4.95% personal income tax. Whether your LLC pays it depends on how the LLC is taxed federally.

Single-member LLC (default)
Disregarded for tax purposes. The LLC has no Illinois income tax filing of its own. Profit goes on your Form IL-1040 at 4.95%. No replacement tax.
Multi-member LLC (default)
Taxed as a partnership. The LLC files Form IL-1065 and pays 1.5% of its net Illinois income. Members also pay 4.95% on their shares on their own returns.
LLC taxed as an S corporation
Files Form IL-1120-ST and pays 1.5% of its net Illinois income. Shareholders pay 4.95% on their shares.
LLC taxed as a C corporation
Pays 7% Illinois corporate income tax plus 2.5% replacement tax on net income.
Optional PTE tax
Partnerships and S corporations can elect to pay 4.95% at the entity level, and members get a matching credit. The election is made each year on the entity return.

For a solo freelancer, this means the default setup costs nothing extra in Illinois. The replacement tax shows up when you add a partner or elect S-corp status. At $80,000 of net Illinois income, an S-corp LLC owes about $1,200 a year in replacement tax that a default single-member LLC would not.

Put that $1,200 into your S-corp math alongside payroll and bookkeeping costs. It raises the income level where an S-corp election starts paying off for an Illinois owner.

Run the S-corp math for your LLC

When your Illinois annual report is due (it depends on your formation month)

Illinois doesn't use one statewide deadline. Each LLC's annual report is due before the first day of its anniversary month, the month the Secretary of State filed its Articles of Organization.

Fee
$75 a year, plus $50 per series if you formed a Series LLC.
Due
Before the first day of your anniversary month, starting the year after you form.
Filing window
Opens 60 days before the first day of your anniversary month.
Example
Formed October 10, 2026: file between early August and September 30, 2027. The report is late on October 1, 2027.
Penalty
If it is still unfiled by the first day of the second month after your anniversary month (December 1 in the example), you owe a $100 penalty, plus $100 for each additional year. The statute has no waiver.
Administrative dissolution
The Secretary of State can dissolve an LLC that doesn't file. Reinstatement costs $200 plus all missed reports (up to six years) and penalties.

A late report also blocks other filings. The Secretary of State won't accept amendments or agent changes from a delinquent LLC until it's back in good standing.

If you change your registered agent, file that change separately. The online annual report can't update the agent or registered office.

Compare registered agent options: Northwest vs Bizee

Illinois tax and compliance notes

This is where Illinois gets less simple than the filing itself. The state-specific issues that generic LLC guides usually skip.

Illinois's individual income tax is a flat 4.95% of net income, the rate in effect since July 1, 2017. A default LLC passes its profit through to your personal Illinois return at that rate.

Illinois charges a Personal Property Replacement Tax on business entities: 1.5% of net Illinois income for partnerships and S corporations, 2.5% for C corporations. A multi-member LLC taxed as a partnership files Form IL-1065 and pays the 1.5%. A default single-member LLC is disregarded, has no separate Illinois filing, and does not pay it.

Partnerships and S corporations can elect the Illinois pass-through entity (PTE) tax at 4.95% on Form IL-1065 or IL-1120-ST. Members then get a matching credit on their personal returns. This only matters for multi-member or S-corp LLCs.

Illinois has no franchise tax for LLCs and no general statewide business license. Many cities require a local license, and Chicago requires a City business license for most businesses, including home-based ones.

U.S.-formed LLCs no longer file BOI reports with FinCEN. FinCEN's final rule, effective August 14, 2026, made the exemption permanent. Recheck FinCEN if your LLC was formed outside the U.S.

Illinois vs other LLC states

The simple comparison most founders actually want. Watch the ongoing state cost column. That's where states with cheap filing fees can still get expensive.

State Annual report Upfront cost Ongoing state cost
Illinois This page
$75/yr, due before 1st day of anniversary month $150 $75/yr + 1.5% replacement tax if taxed as partnership or S-corp
Indiana
Business Entity Report every 2 years $95 online $32 every 2 years
Michigan
Annual Statement, $25 by Feb 15 $50 $25/yr
Wyoming
$60 minimum, due 1st day of anniversary month $100 $60+/yr
Delaware
No annual report; $400 annual LLC tax due June 1 $110 $400/yr

Illinois LLC pros and cons

Quick tradeoffs. Where Illinois helps, where it adds friction, and what to watch before you file.

What works

  • No publication requirement and no franchise tax.
  • Flat 4.95% income tax, and a default single-member LLC pays no replacement tax.
  • The $75 annual report is the only recurring state filing for most LLCs.
  • Online filing is published at about 10 business days, with a $100 option for 24-hour service.

Watch out for

  • The $150 filing fee is higher than Indiana, Michigan, or Wyoming.
  • The annual report deadline follows your formation month, so there is no single date everyone remembers.
  • Adding a partner or electing S-corp status adds a 1.5% replacement tax on the LLC's net income.
  • Chicago requires its own business license for most businesses, including home-based ones.
  • Your registered agent address is public, which matters if you work from home.

Other state guides

If Illinois isn't the right fit, these guides cover the other states most first-time founders compare it against.

Growing past a basic LLC?

Check the S-corp math after your Illinois LLC is profitable.

Once net income is consistently around $60K or more, S-corp treatment may reduce self-employment tax. The savings only count after payroll, accounting, and state costs.

Run S-corp calculator

FAQ

The questions people ask right before they decide to file on their own or pay a service.

How much does it cost to start an LLC in Illinois?

The state filing fee is $150, online or by mail. After that, the annual report is $75 a year starting the year after you form. A commercial registered agent typically adds $50 to $150 a year, and some cities, including Chicago, charge for a local business license.

What is the Illinois LLC filing fee?

Articles of Organization cost $150. Online filings also carry a payment processor fee. Expedited 24-hour processing adds $100, for $250 total. A Series LLC costs $400 to form instead of $150.

How long does it take to form an LLC in Illinois?

About 10 business days for online filings, according to the Secretary of State. Expedited service costs $100 more and returns a response within 24 hours, excluding weekends and holidays. Plan on longer for paper filings.

Where do I file an Illinois LLC?

With the Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services, through its online LLC Articles of Organization system at apps.ilsos.gov. You can also mail paper Form LLC-5.5 to the department in Springfield.

What is the formation document called in Illinois?

Articles of Organization. The paper version is Form LLC-5.5, or LLC-5.5(S) for a Series LLC. Online filers enter the same information in the Secretary of State's online system.

How much is the Illinois LLC annual report and when is it due?

$75 a year, due before the first day of your anniversary month, which is the month your LLC was formed. The first one is due the year after you form. If it's still unfiled by the first day of the second month after your anniversary month, there's a $100 penalty.

Does Illinois require a registered agent?

Yes. Every Illinois LLC must continuously keep a registered agent and registered office in Illinois. The agent must be an Illinois resident or a business authorized to transact business in Illinois, and the office needs an Illinois street address. The LLC cannot be its own agent.

Can I be my own registered agent in Illinois?

Yes, if you live in Illinois and can reliably receive legal papers at an Illinois street address. That address becomes public. If you work from home or travel often, a commercial agent at $50 to $150 a year is the safer choice.

Does Illinois require an operating agreement?

No. Illinois law doesn't require one, it can even be oral, and you never file it with the state. Write one anyway. It sets ownership and decision rules, and banks often ask for it.

Does Illinois require newspaper publication for an LLC?

No. Illinois has no publication requirement for LLCs, so there's no newspaper cost after you file.

Do I need a business license for my Illinois LLC?

Not from the state, unless your profession is licensed. Illinois has no general state business license. Your city or county may require one. In Chicago, most businesses, including home-based ones, need a City of Chicago business license.

How is an Illinois LLC taxed?

A default single-member LLC passes its profit to your personal Illinois return at the flat 4.95% rate, with no separate LLC return. A multi-member LLC, or any LLC taxed as an S corporation, also pays a 1.5% replacement tax on its net Illinois income. There's no franchise tax.

Do I need to file a DBA for my Illinois LLC?

Only if you do business under a name other than your exact LLC name. Illinois LLCs file assumed names with the Secretary of State, not the county. The fee is prorated from $150 down to $30 depending on the year, the name runs until your anniversary month in the next year ending in 0 or 5, and renewal is $150 for five years.

Can I form an Illinois LLC if I don't live in Illinois?

Yes. Members don't need to live in Illinois, and your principal place of business can be anywhere. You do need a registered agent with an Illinois address, so out-of-state owners usually hire a commercial agent.

Do Illinois LLCs need to file a BOI report?

No. FinCEN's final rule, effective August 14, 2026, permanently exempts U.S.-formed companies, including Illinois LLCs, from BOI reporting. Recheck FinCEN before filing if your situation involves a foreign-formed company.