Find it yourself
Delaware franchise tax, computed, not quoted.
Yours depends on your shares, so no single number is right for everyone. Here's how to calculate the one that's right for you.
Delaware makes you do the math — which is exactly why we won't do it for youWhy there's no number here.
The franchise tax is not a flat fee — it depends on how many shares you've authorized, their par value, and your company's gross assets. Two companies formed in the same year can owe very different amounts. Any page that quotes a single figure is quoting someone else's company.
Delaware also changes its minimum over time. The only number worth trusting is the one the state itself publishes today, so that's where we send you.
The source: the Division of Corporations.
The primary source is the Delaware Division of Corporations at corp.delaware.gov. Its tax and annual report page explains the franchise tax, and the state also provides a franchise tax calculator you can run your own numbers through.
What to look for when you get there.
- 01
The two calculation methods
Delaware computes the tax two ways — one based on your authorized shares, one based on your assumed par value and assets — and you pay whichever comes out lower. Both are explained on the state's page.
- 02
The current minimum and the annual report deadline
The state publishes both the minimum tax and the date the annual report and tax are due. Those are the two numbers that matter for a small company, and both are on the page.
- 03
The separate LLC fee
If you have a Delaware LLC rather than a C-Corp, you owe a different, generally flat annual fee instead of the franchise tax. It lives on the same site, on its own page.
What it depends on in your case.
Three inputs decide it: your number of authorized shares, their par value, and your gross assets. Change any of those and the tax changes with it. That's also the honest reason to question whether Delaware is your state at all — if you're not raising money, you may be signing up for an annual tax you'll never use. Read Delaware vs Wyoming for that decision.
Whatever state you're in, this is one of several annual obligations — see the full map at the state annual fee.
Maybe skip the franchise tax entirely.
Wyoming has no franchise tax, and we form there for less. Pick the state that fits, and we'll file it.
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