Staying compliant in Kansas

When is the Kansas information report due, and what does it ask?

The Information Report is due every other year, by April 15 of the even or odd year matching the year the LLC was formed, so an LLC formed in an even year files in even years and one formed in an odd year files in odd years.¹

The Secretary of State says: "Information reports are filed biennially." Its information reports page adds that "All for profit businesses are due by April 15th of their respective odd or even year", and spells out the pattern: "Businesses forming in even years file reports in each succeeding even year" and "Businesses forming in odd years file reports in each succeeding odd year".¹

Your first report year

The word "succeeding" does the work. Read literally, an LLC formed in an odd year does not file in the following year, which is even. Its first report falls in the next odd year after formation. The same logic applies to even-year LLCs. The two easy mistakes run in opposite directions: paying a service to file a report on the first anniversary, when none is due, or missing the real deadline because nothing happened the year before. If you are unsure which April applies to you, check your LLC's record with the Secretary of State.

What the report asks for

The report form, Form ILC, collects a short list of details (Business ID, LLC name, principal office address, reporting year, and name/address of each member owning 5% or more of capital).²

• the business ID and LLC name
• the principal office address
• the reporting year
• the name/address of each member owning 5% or more of capital²

The report asks for members above the ownership threshold by name and address, so decide in advance which address you will give for each member. This guide's sources do not say how much of the report the state shows publicly. If you want a business address in place of a home address, see what stays public with a resident agent.

Where to file and the fee

The Secretary of State's information reports page is the place to start a filing and to confirm the fee. Kansas changed its business filing fees by regulation this year, after the current version of Form ILC was issued, and the checked pages give no per-report amount for an on-time filing yet. Do not rely on older figures quoted elsewhere. How reports compare across states is covered in annual reports explained, and for neighbouring states see staying compliant in Missouri and staying compliant in Oklahoma.²

Does Kansas charge LLCs a franchise tax?

None of the official pages reviewed for this guide state whether Kansas imposes a franchise tax on LLCs, so this page does not cover one.

The Information Report is the recurring Secretary of State filing. Taxes are run by other agencies. Ask the Kansas Department of Revenue which state registrations and returns apply to your business, based on what you sell, where you sell it and whether you have employees. Federal filings go through the IRS, and a tax professional can explain how your LLC's income is taxed given its ownership and any election to be taxed as a corporation. Keep those dates on their own list; filing the Information Report on time does not settle any tax obligation.¹

What happens if a Kansas LLC misses its report, and how do you reinstate it?

Kansas gives a short grace period after the April deadline and then forfeits an LLC that still has not filed, in the state's words: "If the three-month delinquency interval has passed, a business will forfeit."¹

The state doesn't publish a late fee for the three-month delinquency interval, but once that window ends the LLC forfeits. A forfeiture shows on the state's record, which a bank, a landlord or a licensing office may check.¹

The agent is the second route to forfeiture, because the state can also forfeit an LLC that fails to maintain an active Kansas resident agent and registered office. The Kansas resident agent guide covers that route.³

What reinstatement costs

Reinstatement runs through Form RL, the Certificate of Reinstatement, and RL must be filed with all past-due reports. The form sets out the arithmetic as $35 + $85 + $110 x each report.⁴

1. Every reinstatement carries the $35 filing fee.⁴
2. The $85 penalty fee applies where the LLC forfeited for not filing an information report.⁴
3. Missed reports are charged at $110 per past-due information report, so the bill grows with every cycle you let pass.⁴

Businesses forfeited only for lacking a resident agent may ignore the $85 penalty fee. An LLC that kept its reports current and lost only its agent pays less than one that also skipped filings. Because each missed report adds to the total, fixing a forfeiture in the same cycle costs less than leaving it. Talk to a lawyer if the LLC kept trading or signed contracts while forfeited, and ask the Secretary of State which past-due items its record shows.⁴

How do you keep your resident agent and registered office current?

Keep a resident agent and a Kansas registered office on the record at all times, and file a Certificate of Amendment to Change of Resident Agent and/or Registered Office (Form ROA) whenever either changes (K.S.A. 17-7925).^{5, 6}

The registered office has to stay a place where the agent can be found: the state's form says it "Must be an address in Kansas where the resident agent may be regularly present". If the agent moves, retires or leaves the state, the record needs updating, because an out-of-date office can let state notices and lawsuit papers go astray.⁷

The fee for the Form ROA is not confirmed on the state pages checked for this guide, following this year's fee changes. File the change before cancelling an old service, so the record never shows a gap. If your agent resigns, it must give you at least 30 days' notice before filing, and the resignation takes effect 30 days after the certificate is filed. Act on the notice, not the effective date. Step-by-step help is in our guides to changing a resident agent and cancelling an agent service.^{5, 8}

A foreign LLC registered in Kansas (registration costs $115) should confirm its report year and agent duties with the Kansas Secretary of State (Business Services Division). The information reports page says "All for profit businesses are due by April 15th of their respective odd or even year", and this guide's sources do not treat foreign LLCs separately.^{1, 9}

What a provider's compliance features cover in Kansas

Several of the plans below bill by the year, while Kansas asks for a report every other year, so a plan's billing cycle affects what you pay.

• Per-report pricing. Northwest Registered Agent charges $100 + state fees, charged at filing; LegalZoom lists $99 + state filing fees, bills once; and ZenBusiness lists Annual Report Filing $100 per report. Priced this way, you pay in report years only.^{10, 11, 12}
• InCorp Services lists $89 + state fees without saying whether that is per report or per year, so ask before you buy.¹³
• Yearly subscriptions. Harbor Compliance charges $199 per state per year plus filing fees, Swyft Filings sells ComplianceGuard $199/year, and ZenBusiness also lists Worry-Free Compliance $199/year. In Kansas, a yearly plan bills in the off year too, when no report is due. Ask what the plan does for you in that year before you buy.^{12, 14, 15}
• Plan inclusion. Tailor Brands lists annual report filing as Included in Essential and Elite (annual compliance report filing and updates); not in Lite. Rocket Lawyer charges $100 with Pro membership, excluding state fees. Ask either one in writing whether its plan follows the Kansas every-other-year cycle.^{16, 17}
• Reminders only. LegalZoom lists alerts and deadline reminders with RA service, doola lists annual report notifications, and Harbor Compliance lists annual report reminders included with registered agent service. A reminder tied to an anniversary can fire in the wrong year here; check that it follows the even-and-odd rule.^{18, 19, 20}

None of these features changes who is legally responsible for the report, which stays with the LLC. Ask each provider how it forwards state notices. Provider prices side by side are on the Kansas resident agent comparison, and services that file reports for you are grouped on best resident agents for compliance.

What does a Kansas LLC compliance calendar look like?

The first calendar year carries formation tasks, the second usually carries nothing at the state, and the first report comes in the next year that matches your formation year's parity.

Year one

1. File the Articles ($85 online, $90 by paper); online filings process within minutes. The Kansas LLC formation guide covers the steps and the cheapest Kansas LLC options total the fees.^{7, 21}
2. Note your formation year as even or odd. That one fact sets every future report date.
3. Confirm your resident agent's contact details for you, and the renewal date of any paid service.
4. Ask the Kansas Department of Revenue and the IRS which registrations apply, and list their dates separately.

Year two

1. No Information Report is due, because the year's parity does not match your formation year.¹
2. Renew or replace your agent service. As examples, Harbor Compliance renews at $159 annually, Northwest Registered Agent lists $125 per year, and Tailor Brands lists renewal as $199/year (renews at the same price).^{20, 22, 23}
3. Look up your LLC's record once and confirm the agent and registered office are right.

The first report year and after

1. File the Information Report by April 15 of the even or odd year matching the year the LLC was formed, with the member details ready.¹
2. If you miss April, file before the three-month delinquency interval runs out to avoid forfeiture.¹
3. Repeat every other year, and check the agent record each time you file.

Terms on this page, such as forfeiture and service of process, are defined in the glossary. For what a resident agent does day to day, see what a resident agent is.