How to Start an LLC in Michigan (2026 Guide)
Michigan is one of the friendliest states in the country to form an LLC: $50 to file, just $25 a year to maintain, and a flat 4.25% income tax. The catch most guides skip? A February 15 deadline that's the same for everyone, and a city income tax that surprises founders in Detroit, Grand Rapids, and beyond. Here's all 8 steps, done right.
To start a Michigan LLC, file Articles of Organization (form CSCL/CD-700) with the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) for $50 — online through the MiBusiness Registry Portal or by mail, with roughly 3–5 business days of processing. Every LLC then files a $25 annual statement by February 15 each year. Michigan's income tax is a flat 4.25% on pass-through profits (some cities add their own income tax), and sales tax is 6% statewide with no local rates. You'll also need a resident agent with a Michigan street address.
- State filing fee
- $50
- Processing time
- ~3–5 business days
- Annual statement
- $25 · due Feb 15
- Income tax
- 4.25% flat (+ some cities)
- Sales tax
- 6% — no local rates
- Formation agency
- LARA
Why Form an LLC in Michigan?
Michigan quietly ranks among the best-value states in the country for LLCs — the kind of place where the fees are low enough that the decision is easy and the maintenance is cheap enough to forget about (which, as you'll see, is the one real risk). What you get:
- A $50 formation fee — one of the lower state fees nationally.
- $25/yr to maintain — the annual statement is among the cheapest ongoing fees anywhere, and there's no separate franchise tax on default LLCs.
- A flat 4.25% income tax — no brackets, no surprises at the state level (though some cities add their own — see below).
- 6% sales tax with zero local rates — one rate statewide, one return, no county-by-county math.
- A modern online portal — the MiBusiness Registry handles formation and every annual statement after.
The two things low fees hide: first, the city income tax — if you live or work in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, or one of ~20 other Michigan cities, there's a local income tax on top of the 4.25% state rate that catches out-of-towners completely. Second, the February 15 deadline — it's the same date for every LLC in the state, which sounds simple until you realize it means everyone forgets it at the same time, right after the holidays. Both are easy to handle once you know they exist.
How to Start a Michigan LLC in 8 Steps
Your name must be distinguishable from every Michigan entity and carry a designator like "LLC" or "L.L.C." Search free on LARA's business database; reserve for $25/6 months if you need a hold.
Michigan calls it a resident agent — an individual Michigan resident or an authorized company with a physical Michigan street address who accepts legal documents.
File the Articles of Organization
The $50 filing (form CSCL/CD-700) that creates your LLC. File online through the MiBusiness Registry Portal for the fastest processing, or by mail.
Not required by Michigan, but it overrides the state's default rules, satisfies your bank, and hardens a single-member LLC's liability shield.
Get Your Free EIN from the IRS
Your federal tax ID for banking, hiring, and Michigan Treasury Online registration. Always free at IRS.gov — about 15 minutes online.
File Your Annual Statement (Every Feb 15)
$25, due February 15 every year through LARA. First-year exception: if you form after September 30, you skip the very next February 15.
Get Business Licenses & Permits
No statewide general license — but local permits, state professional boards, Michigan Treasury Online registration for the 6% sales tax, and possibly a city tax account.
A flat 4.25% state income tax on pass-through profits, plus city income tax in some jurisdictions, 15.3% federal self-employment tax, and 6% sales tax where applicable.
What a Michigan LLC Really Costs (2026)
| Cost Item | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Articles of Organization (required) | $50 | One-time, at formation |
| Annual Statement (required) | $25/yr | February 15, every year |
| Resident-agent service (optional) | Provider-set | Check current inclusions and renewals |
| Name reservation (optional) | $25 | 6 months |
| Assumed name / DBA (optional) | $25 | 5-year term |
| EIN from the IRS | $0 — always free | At IRS.gov |
| Certificate of Good Standing (optional) | $50 | If a lender/bank asks |
| Franchise tax (default LLC) | $0 | Never |
Bottom line: $50 to form and $25/yr to maintain — a legally valid Michigan LLC for a true minimum of $50. Model your exact setup below.
Michigan LLC Cost Calculator
Michigan LLC Cost Calculator
First-year + 3-year totals · verified July 2026
Excludes taxes, local permits, and the free EIN. The first-year annual statement question reflects Michigan's rule: form after September 30 and you skip the immediately following February 15.
The February 15 Deadline (Everybody's Deadline)
An ordinary Michigan LLC files a $25 Annual Statement by February 15. Formation/qualification after September 30 skips the immediately following February 15. LARA lists a two-year nonfiling interval before loss-of-good-standing action; the statutory notice and cure process and actual record control. Ordinary LLC nonfiling does not itself mean automatic dissolution or loss of all liability protection. Restoration costs $50 plus $25 per missing statement, including the current statement if filed on or after February 15. Submit all required statements with the certificate. LARA’s current fee page lists the $50 late penalty for professional LLCs, which have a $75 Annual Statement and Statement, separately from ordinary LLCs’ $25 statement. Do not add that professional-LLC penalty automatically to an ordinary LLC. Check the entity type and actual restoration charges.
Michigan LLC Taxes at a Glance
Default LLCs pass profits to your personal return at Michigan's flat 4.25% — no brackets. Add federal self-employment tax of 15.3% on 92.35% of net profit, and — if you're in one of ~24 cities with a local income tax (Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Flint, and more) — a city income tax on top. The LLC itself owes no entity-level income tax, though Michigan's optional Flow-Through Entity Tax lets you elect entity-level 4.25% taxation as a federal SALT-cap workaround. Sellers collect 6% sales tax (no local rates). Past roughly $60–80K profit, model an S-Corp election — details in Step 8.
Ahmad Adil's Take: Michigan is what I'd call a "cheap-but-check-the-city" state. The $50/$25 fee structure is close to unbeatable, and the flat 4.25% keeps your state tax math trivial. But I've watched two things blindside founders here. The first is the city income tax — a Grand Rapids or Detroit resident who budgeted only 4.25% suddenly owes a local layer nobody mentioned. The second is that February 15 lands right when everyone's buried in tax-season prep and holiday recovery, so the cheapest annual statement in the region still gets missed. Check whether your city taxes income before you set your budget, and put February 15 on a recurring reminder the day you're approved. Do those two things and Michigan is as smooth as formation gets.
- ✓Optional formation assistance; confirm filing scope, service pricing and submission responsibilities.
- ✓Optional formation assistance; confirm filing scope, service pricing and submission responsibilities.
- ✓Confirm registered-agent eligibility, coverage, included periods and renewal charges.
- ✓Review address-use rules and privacy policies; a service does not remove all information from public filings.
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Michigan LLC — FAQ
Ahmad Adil is the founder and CEO of LLC School. For filing and ongoing compliance, confirm the requirements with the responsible state agency. This is educational information, not legal or tax advice.
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