Staying compliant in Kentucky

How does the Kentucky annual report work?

The report is due January 1 to June 30, costs $15, and asks you to confirm your LLC's principal office, registered agent and registered office, plus the names and addresses of members or managers.¹

The Secretary of State's annual reports page gives the rules. Reports can be filed any time between January 1 and June 30, so the deadline is a window of several months rather than a date tied to the day you formed. Every Kentucky LLC shares the same deadline. The page also says "Your annual report must be signed, dated and accompanied by a $15 filing fee."¹

What the report asks for

• The principal office, registered agent and registered office. The Secretary of State's wording is that you must confirm the principal and registered agent/office.¹
• The members or managers. You submit or confirm names and addresses of members/managers.¹

The report confirms; it does not change. For a new agent or a new principal office, a separate statement of change is required. If your agent or registered office changed since last year, file the Statement of Change of Registered Agent and Office (Form RAC, $10) first, then file the report. A new principal office also needs its own filing outside the report; the facts behind this page don't name that form, so ask the Secretary of State.^{1, 3, 4}

How long the report takes to process

The Secretary of State usually processes filings the day they arrive, with annual reports excepted. The FAQ gives no processing time for reports, so filing early in the window leaves room to fix a rejected report before June.⁵

Other states set report deadlines differently. If you also run an LLC elsewhere, see staying compliant in Ohio or staying compliant in Tennessee, and the general explainer on how annual reports work.

Does Kentucky charge LLCs a franchise tax or entity tax?

Yes. Kentucky's Limited Liability Entity Tax (LLET) applies to every corporation and every limited liability pass-through entity under KRS 141.0401(2)(a), with a minimum $175 per year, and the Department of Revenue handles it, not the Secretary of State.²

The minimum applies regardless of the application of any tax credits, so tax credits do not reduce it below that floor. The statute lists entities the tax does not apply to, and the facts behind this page did not review those exemptions. Ask the Kentucky Department of Revenue whether your LLC owes the tax, how it is calculated above the minimum, and when the return is due.²

This tax is separate from the annual report. The Secretary of State collects the report fee; the Department of Revenue collects the LLET. Paying one does not satisfy the other, and the two agencies keep their own calendars.

The tax also turns up again at reinstatement. The Secretary of State says letters of good standing from the Department of Revenue (and, for profit companies, the Division of Unemployment Insurance) are required, so an unpaid LLET balance can hold up getting your LLC back. Federal filings and any sales or payroll registrations are outside this page; a tax professional can tell you which apply.³

What happens if a Kentucky LLC misses the June deadline?

The Secretary of State lists no late fee for a domestic LLC. Instead, domestic entities that fail to file their annual reports by June 30 are administratively dissolved, so missing the deadline costs you good standing and a reinstatement bill.¹

The facts behind this page include no extension option, so ask the Secretary of State promptly if you are close to the deadline.

The registered agent can trigger dissolution too. Under KRS 14A.7-010, an LLC without a registered office or agent in Kentucky for 60 days or more can be dissolved, and so can one that fails to tell the Secretary of State within 60 days that the agent resigned or the office changed.⁶

Reinstatement after dissolution

The Secretary of State lists a $100 reinstatement penalty plus any delinquent filing fees, and its annual reports page also asks you to "Pay any delinquent filing fees". It adds that letters of good standing from the Department of Revenue (and, for profit companies, the Division of Unemployment Insurance) are required. Put together, those requirements make the work look like this.³

1. Settle any balance with the Department of Revenue and, for a profit LLC, the Division of Unemployment Insurance, so each can issue its letter.
2. Request the good standing letters.
3. File for reinstatement with the Secretary of State, with the penalty and any delinquent filing fees.

Ask the Secretary of State which past-due items apply to your record, and talk to a lawyer if the LLC signed contracts while dissolved. For the agent side of dissolution, see the Kentucky registered agent guide.

How do you keep your registered agent and office current?

Keep a registered agent whose business address is your Kentucky registered office on file at all times (KRS 14A.4-010), confirm both on each annual report, and file Form RAC for any change during the year.^{4, 7}

Watch for resignations. A resignation is effective on appointment of a successor or the 31st day after filing, whichever is earlier, and the SOS mails copies to the registered office and the LLC's principal office. Because the registered office is the departing agent's own address, the only copy likely to reach you is the one mailed to your principal office. Keep that address current. Foreign LLCs registered here (the certificate of authority costs $90) follow the same agent rules. Step-by-step instructions are in our guide to changing a registered agent.^{3, 8}

What a provider's compliance features do in Kentucky

Kentucky's yearly report is something these services can file. Check what each covers before paying.

• Report filing included in a plan. Tailor Brands puts annual report filing in Essential and Elite, not in Lite, and its agent page says the agent can file the annual report if instructed.^{9, 10}
• Report filing sold per report. Northwest Registered Agent charges $100 + state fees for its report service and enrolls its agent customers in it automatically; its page says "you'll automatically be enrolled in our renewal service". InCorp Services lists $89 + state fees, LegalZoom $99 + state filing fees and ZenBusiness Annual Report Filing $100 per report. Bizee (formerly Incfile) says "we handle annual report filings for you" but doesn't publish a standalone price. Where a price says state fees are extra, Kentucky's $15 fee is added on top.^{11, 12, 13, 14, 15}
• Subscription plans. Swyft Filings sells ComplianceGuard $199/year, which starts with a 14-day free trial and then charges automatically, so note the trial's end date.¹⁶
• Reminders. LegalZoom says its agent customers get reminders when tax and annual report deadlines are approaching. A reminder is useful only if it reaches an inbox you read before June.¹⁷

None of the filing services quoted here say they file the LLET return; the tax deadline reminders LegalZoom mentions are reminders, not a filing. Treat report filing and entity tax as two jobs unless a provider confirms in writing that it handles both.

Renewal terms belong on your calendar too. Harbor Compliance's terms require notice of non-renewal at least 90 days before the end of the current term. Provider prices side by side are on the Kentucky registered agent comparison, and services with compliance tools groups the providers that file reports. Read how to cancel an agent service before dropping one.¹⁸

What does a Kentucky LLC compliance calendar look like?

Kentucky's calendar centres on one window in the first half of the year, with the entity tax and agent upkeep running alongside it.

Year one

1. Articles filed. Forming the LLC comes first; see the Kentucky LLC formation guide for that step and the cheapest ways to form a Kentucky LLC for the costs.
2. First annual report. The facts behind this page do not say in which calendar year a new LLC files its first report. Ask the Secretary of State when you form, and note the January to June window on your calendar.
3. Department of Revenue registration. Ask whether your LLC owes the LLET and when the first return is due.
4. Agent details. Save your agent's contact information and renewal date, and confirm the principal office on record is one where mail reaches you.

Year two and later

1. January: the reporting window opens. File early in the window.
2. June: reports are due by June 30 each year. Domestic LLCs that miss it are dissolved; there is no late fee to pay instead.¹
3. Tax dates set by the Department of Revenue, kept on a separate list.
4. Agent renewal. Decide on renewal before any notice deadline in your provider's terms.
5. Any time something changes: file Form RAC for $10. The report cannot make the change for you.^{3, 4}

Terms such as administrative dissolution are defined in our glossary, and what a registered agent is covers the agent's role.