Stripe Atlas is $500 once, but a Delaware company keeps costing money every year. Enter your entity type and holding period to get the year-one and per-year total, compare an LLC against a C-corp, and see how much the Delaware franchise tax election is worth.
| Input | Result |
|---|---|
| Year 1, Delaware LLC, no Treasury refund | $900.00 |
| Year 1, Delaware LLC, with the $500 Treasury refund | $400.00 |
| Year 1, Delaware C-corp, 10,000,000 authorised shares | $950.00 |
| Three years, Delaware LLC | $1,900.00 |
| Three years, Delaware C-corp | $2,050.00 |
| Five years, Delaware C-corp | $3,150.00 |
| Charge | Amount | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe Atlas (one-time) | $500.00 | Delaware filing fee, EIN, founder equity, 83(b), Cooley templates, first year of registered agent |
| Registered agent renewal | $100.00 / year | From year 2 onward; year 1 is included in the Atlas fee |
| Delaware LLC annual tax | $400.00 / year | Flat, due 1 June; raised from $300 to $400 effective 1 January 2026 |
| Delaware C-corp annual report fee | $50.00 / year | Paid by every non-exempt domestic corporation, on top of franchise tax |
| Franchise tax, Authorized Shares | $175 minimum | $175 up to 5,000 shares; $250 for 5,001–10,000; +$85 per further 10,000; capped at $200,000 |
| Franchise tax, Assumed Par Value | $400.00 minimum | $400 per $1,000,000 of assumed par value capital; capped at $200,000 |
Every figure above is published by Stripe or by the Delaware Division of Corporations. Nothing here is estimated.
Atlas is $500, once. Stripe's own pricing page states it, and Stripe's Atlas documentation repeats it: the fee covers incorporation plus state fees, and the first year of registered agent service. Stripe also states in that same document that after the first year it charges $100 a year to maintain the registered agent. That $100 is the charge most founders never see coming, because it is not on the pricing page.
Delaware raised the LLC annual tax to $400, and one official page still says $300. The Division of Corporations' tax instruction page states that LLCs, LPs and GPs must pay an annual tax of $400, due on or before 1 June. House Bill 400 (85 Del. Laws c. 273, signed 21 May 2026) raised it from $300 with effect from 1 January 2026. But the Division's own FAQ page has not been updated and still prints $300. This calculator uses $400, because the statute, the tax instruction page and three independent professional sources agree on it; if you were budgeting against $300, that is a $100 a year gap you should correct.
The C-corp franchise tax has two methods, and Delaware does not pick the cheap one for you. The Authorized Shares method charges $175 for up to 5,000 authorised shares, $250 for 5,001 to 10,000, and a further $85 for every additional 10,000 shares or part of one. A company that authorised 10,000,000 shares, completely standard for a venture-backed startup, owes $85,165 under this method even if only a fraction of those shares were ever issued. The Assumed Par Value Capital method instead divides total gross assets by issued shares, multiplies by authorised shares, and charges $400 per $1,000,000 with a $400 minimum. For the same company that is usually the $400 floor. Delaware issues its notice using whichever method produces the higher bill, and you must elect the other one when you file. This calculator shows the lower figure as your cost, and shows you the size of the election you need to make.
What is deliberately left out. Accounting, bookkeeping, federal returns and Form 5472 for foreign-owned single-member LLCs are all real costs and none of them have a published price, so they are not modelled, and they are usually larger than the state charges above. Delaware corporate income tax and gross receipts tax depend on how the business actually operates and are administered by a different agency, so they are excluded too. Stripe processing fees are not part of holding an entity; Stripe does grant $2,500 in product credits for the first year to companies incorporated from 16 October 2025, which is a separate benefit and not a reduction in the costs shown here.
This is an estimate, not tax or legal advice. Not a Stripe tool and not affiliated with Stripe, Inc. Stripe and Stripe Atlas are trademarks of Stripe, Inc.; the names are used only to identify which product is being estimated. Filing deadlines, electing a franchise tax method and foreign-owner reporting obligations are matters for a qualified adviser.
$500.00, once. That covers the Delaware filing fee, your EIN, founder equity issuance, your 83(b) election, Cooley-drafted document templates, and your first year of registered agent service. You can get the $500.00 back: deposit $5,000 into a Stripe Treasury account within 90 days of incorporating and leave it there for 30 days.
The recurring bill is $100.00 a year for the registered agent, which Stripe states in its Atlas documentation but not on its pricing page, plus the Delaware state charge. For an LLC that state charge is $400.00 a year, so you are looking at $500.00 a year from year two. For a C-corp it is the $50.00 annual report fee plus franchise tax.
It is $400.00 from 1 January 2026, and this is worth checking carefully because Delaware has not updated every page. The Division of Corporations' tax instruction page states $400, and House Bill 400 (signed 21 May 2026) raised it from $300 with effect from 1 January 2026. The Division's FAQ page, however, still prints the old $300. Three independent professional sources also report $400. Budget for $400.00: if your plan was built on $300, you are $100 a year short. The tax is due on or before 1 June and is not prorated for part years.
It depends entirely on which of two methods you file under, and the difference can be enormous. The Authorized Shares method charges $175 for up to 5,000 shares, $250 for 5,001 to 10,000, and $85 more per additional 10,000 shares, so a company with 10,000,000 authorised shares owes $85,165.00, even if almost none were issued. The Assumed Par Value Capital method charges $400 per $1,000,000 of assumed par value capital with a $400.00 minimum, which for the same early-stage company is usually just the minimum. Delaware bills the higher method by default; you must elect the lower one.
On state charges alone, the LLC is usually slightly cheaper: a flat $400.00 a year against $50.00 annual report fee plus franchise tax for a C-corp, which floors at $450.00 a year. At 10,000,000 authorised shares with the election made, three years comes to $1,900.00 for an LLC against $2,050.00 for a C-corp. But that gap is small next to everything else, the structure decision is driven by investors and taxes, not by a $150.00-a-year state difference, and for foreign-owned single-member LLCs the federal Form 5472 filing costs more than either state charge.
Accounting, bookkeeping, federal returns and Form 5472 for foreign-owned single-member LLCs, none of which have published prices, and which routinely exceed the Delaware charges shown here. Delaware corporate income tax and gross receipts tax are excluded because they depend on actual trading. Stripe's own processing fees are separate; Stripe does grant $2,500 in product credits for the first year to companies incorporated from 16 October 2025, but that is a benefit, not a reduction in the costs above.