Staying compliant in Alaska

How does Alaska's biennial report work?

Alaska LLCs report to the Division of Corporations every second year rather than every year, due by January 2, and the fee is $100 for each report.^{2, 3}

Which years your report is due

Your cycle follows the year your LLC was formed. Reports fall due in January of even years if the LLC first filed in an even year, odd years if odd. An LLC formed in an even-numbered year reports in even-numbered Januaries for as long as it exists. The Division's record for your LLC is the place to confirm the exact year.²

What the report asks for

The report is mainly a check of who runs and owns the company. The Division's FAQ says "Please update your officials/ownership when a Biennial Report is due for your entity." The industry code on file can be changed too (NAICS can be updated). One thing it cannot do is change your agent: per the same FAQ, the registered agent cannot be changed on it. That needs its own filing, covered further down.¹

How to file and when it counts as late

Reports can be filed online or by hardcopy (Biennial Reports page). The Division states that reports marked after February 1st incur late fee penalties, and its FAQ prices an LLC's report at $100, or $137.50 on or after February 2.^{1, 2}

Paper takes time. Hardcopy filings normally take 10 to 15 business days and run longer during biennial report periods, so a mailed report can take weeks to show on your record. Filing online avoids the mail.³

For how reporting works in states with a yearly cycle, see annual reports explained. If you also run an LLC in a neighbouring state, compare staying compliant in Washington and staying compliant in Oregon.

Does Alaska charge LLCs a franchise tax?

The Division's Biennial Report fee ($100) is the recurring state charge this guide could confirm for an Alaska LLC, and the official sources checked here list no LLC franchise tax or minimum tax.³

They also include no page stating that none applies. Treat the absence as unconfirmed and ask the Alaska Department of Revenue which taxes, if any, reach your business based on what you do and where. Federal filings go to the IRS on their own calendar. A tax professional can tell you how the LLC's income is taxed given how it is owned. None of those dates line up with the Biennial Report, so keep them on a separate list.

What happens if an Alaska LLC files late or loses its agent?

A late Biennial Report first costs money: the fee rises to $137.50 on or after February 2. Leave it longer and the state can dissolve the LLC.¹

The statute's grounds for involuntary dissolution include three that small LLCs trip over.

1. A report left unfiled too long. Six months' delinquency on the biennial report is also a ground for involuntary dissolution (AS 10.50.408(a)(1)).¹
2. No agent. The company fails for 30 days to appoint and maintain a registered agent.⁴
3. An unfiled change. The LLC does not file a change of registered office or agent within 30 days.⁴

The last two are short clocks. When an agent resigns, the resignation is effective 30 days after filing, and the statute says "The department shall immediately mail a copy of the notice to the company at its principal office." If that principal office address is out of date, the notice goes nowhere useful while the days run.⁵

Reinstatement

An LLC that has been involuntarily dissolved can come back within 2 years of involuntary dissolution, and not after. Alaska publishes no flat fee. Instead, the LLC cures whatever caused the dissolution, such as filing the missing report or appointing an agent, and must pay double the delinquent amount plus what would have been due. The Division's reinstatement page confirms the time limit and accepts applications by email submission.⁴

Ask the Division to tell you the exact delinquent amount for your record before you apply. If the business kept trading or signed contracts while dissolved, talk to a lawyer about where that leaves you. The Alaska registered agent guide covers the agent side of dissolution in more detail.

How do you keep your Alaska registered agent and records current?

Keep an agent who meets the state's test on record without a break (AS 10.50.055), and file the Change of Registered Agent (Statement of Change) (Form 08-409, $25) whenever the agent changes. The statute separately lists failing to file a change of registered office or agent within 30 days as a ground for dissolution.^{4, 6, 7}

Alaska makes this a separate job from reporting: because agent changes cannot be made on the biennial report, a new agent waits for no reporting cycle and is filed on its own. Allow for the post, too. The Forms and Fees page lists the form for paper (PDF) filing only. File it and wait for the Division's record to update before you cancel the old service. The full order of steps is in our guide to changing a registered agent, and how to cancel an agent service covers the notice terms.⁷

The Division lists that form for "All Entity Types", so foreign LLCs registered here (registration costs $350) use it too.^{7, 8}

What provider compliance plans do for an Alaska LLC

The plans below are priced by the year or by the filing, and Alaska's report comes every other year, which changes the arithmetic.

Some plans bill every year. Harbor Compliance charges $199 per state per year plus filing fees, Swyft Filings sells ComplianceGuard $199/year, and ZenBusiness lists Worry-Free Compliance $199/year. In Alaska, a yearly plan bills twice for each report the state requires, so ask what the plan covers in the year with no report due.^{9, 10, 11}

Others charge per filing, which tracks Alaska's cycle more closely. Northwest Registered Agent charges $100 + state fees at each filing, and its site says registered agent customers are auto-enrolled. LegalZoom sells a single filing at $99 + state filing fees, billed once, and ZenBusiness also offers Annual Report Filing $100 per report. InCorp Services lists annual report filing at $89 + state fees without saying here whether that is per filing or per year. Tailor Brands prices it inside its plans instead: report filing is included in Essential and Elite and not in Lite. None of the provider facts checked here says how a service handles a biennial state, so confirm in writing that Alaska's report is filed in the right January.^{11, 12, 13, 14, 15}

The Initial Report is the other filing a plan might touch. LegalZoom's Compliance Filings plan lists initial report filing and auto-filing of annual reports, and it starts at $199/year. In Alaska that report carries no fee and is filed online, so a plan saves no state fee there.^{1, 16}

Reminder features vary. InCorp Services lists email reminders before deadlines, and ZenBusiness's agent page says its agent passes on state compliance notices and annual report reminders. A reminder only helps if it follows your LLC's even or odd year. Renewal terms count too: Harbor Compliance needs notice of non-renewal at least 90 days before the end of the current term.^{17, 18, 19}

Prices side by side are in the Alaska registered agent comparison, and the services with compliance tools list explains how those features are grouped.

What does an Alaska LLC compliance calendar look like?

Alaska's calendar is light in most years, with one early deadline and then a report every other January.

Year one

1. Articles filed. The clock for the Initial Report starts on the date your LLC is created. Formation steps are on our Alaska LLC formation guide.
2. Initial Report, due within 6 months of formation. It is filed online with no fee, to add the ownership and/or officers of the entity.¹
3. Agent setup. Confirm the email and mailing address your agent will use, and note the agent's renewal date.
4. Taxes. Ask the Alaska Department of Revenue and the IRS which registrations apply and record their dates separately.

Year two and later

1. Biennial Report in your cycle year, due by January 2. Filing on or after February 2 costs $137.50 instead of $100.^{1, 2}
2. In the off year, the facts checked here show no Division filing due unless something changed. Use it to check your record.
3. Any change of agent or registered office is filed within the statute's window, not on the report.
4. Each year, decide on your agent's renewal before any notice date in its terms.

Startup costs, including the Articles fee and what services charge to file them, are on the cheapest ways to form an Alaska LLC. Terms such as involuntary dissolution are defined in our glossary.