Annual Compliance Checklist by Entity Type

Forming an entity is a one-time event; keeping it alive is a calendar. Most small businesses that lose their good standing don't do anything wrong — they just miss a deadline they didn't know existed. Here's the recurring landscape, organized by what applies to whom.

Every LLC and corporation, every state

State report, if your state has one. Most states require an annual or biennial report — same information every time (address, agent, management), with fees from $0 (Idaho, Minnesota) to $500/yr (Massachusetts LLCs). Deadlines follow three patterns: a fixed date for everyone (Florida's May 1, with a brutal $400 late fee), your formation anniversary (Wyoming, Oregon), or your fiscal year end (Tennessee, Vermont). Your state's exact fee and schedule are on its state cost page — with sources.
Registered agent continuity. If you hire a registered agent service, its $100–$300 renewal is effectively part of your compliance calendar; letting the agent lapse invites administrative dissolution.
Licenses and permits. City business licenses, professional licenses, and sales-tax permits renew on their own schedules, separate from the Secretary of State.
Federal and state tax returns. Even a no-activity LLC may have filing obligations depending on its classification.

LLC-specific items

Franchise-style taxes that aren't income taxes. California's $800 annual tax, Delaware's flat $300 due June 1, Arkansas's flat $150 — these hit LLCs regardless of profit. Kentucky's $175-minimum LLET and Tennessee's franchise & excise tax reach LLCs too, which surprises owners who thought only corporations paid such things.
Income-scaled fees. California adds an LLC fee starting at $900 once gross receipts hit $250,000; New York's LLC filing fee scales $25–$4,500 with income.

Corporation-specific items

Franchise taxes with minimums. Delaware corporations owe a $50 annual report fee plus franchise tax (minimum $175, due March 1 — and Delaware's default calculation method can produce an alarming five-figure bill that an alternative method usually shrinks; run the state's calculator before panicking). North Carolina's minimum is $200; Rhode Island's minimum corporate tax is $400.
Corporate formalities. Annual shareholder and director meetings (or written consents) and minutes aren't filed anywhere, but they're the evidence that preserves the liability shield.
Share-based fees. Virginia's annual registration fee and several states' franchise taxes scale with authorized shares — authorizing millions of shares "just in case" has a carrying cost.

What falling behind actually looks like

The failure sequence is gradual and well-signposted. Miss a report and most states first mark the entity "delinquent" or "not in good standing" — often with a late fee (Florida's $400 is the famous one). Stay delinquent long enough — 60 days in Wyoming, months in most states — and the state administratively dissolves or revokes the entity. At that point you can't get a certificate of good standing (banks and lenders ask for these), your name protection can lapse, and in some states contracts signed during the gap get legally murky. Reinstatement exists nearly everywhere but means back-filing every missed report plus penalties.

A one-hour system that prevents most failures

Open your state's page on this site and note the recurring fees and due dates listed there (Delaware and California are the ones that bite hardest).
Put every deadline in your calendar with a 30-day advance reminder — include agent renewal and license renewals.
Once a year, verify your registered agent and address on the state's public database are current.
If you're registered in multiple states (foreign qualification), repeat for each.

Miss a filing anyway? Most states offer reinstatement — file the missed reports, pay fees plus penalties — but reinstatement always costs more than compliance. Deadlines and amounts change; confirm current requirements with your state or a professional rather than relying on any static list, this one included.