Staying compliant in Washington

How does the Washington annual report work?

The Annual Report is the yearly filing a Washington LLC uses to affirm or update business entity information on the state's record; it costs $70 and is due by the last day of the month in which the LLC was originally formed.^{1, 2, 3}

Your due date is set by your formation month, not by a single statewide day. An LLC formed in March files by the end of March each year; one formed in October files by the end of October. The Division's Annual Report page ties the deadline to the entity's expiration date, so ask the Division if you can't tell which date applies to your LLC. You don't have to wait for the month itself: a report can be filed up to 180 days early.¹

The form walks through the same items every year (Registered agent, principal office, governors, nature of business, and real estate excise tax controlling-interest questions). Most owners spend their time on three of them.⁶

• The registered agent and principal office. Check both against reality, because a stale address here is how notices go missing.
• The governors, which the instructions describe as the current people or businesses responsible for governing the LLC. Add anyone who joined and remove anyone who left.
• The controlling-interest questions, which relate to real estate excise tax. Read them carefully if the LLC owns property in Washington and ownership changed hands.

The facts used here don't list how the Annual Report can be submitted, so check the Division's filing page. The annual reports explainer covers how yearly reports differ from state to state, and if you also run an LLC elsewhere, compare this page with compliance in Oregon or compliance in California.

Does Washington charge LLCs a franchise tax?

No. Washington doesn't charge LLCs a franchise tax (No franchise tax). What most businesses do meet is the business and occupation (B&O) gross receipts tax, run by the Department of Revenue.⁵

B&O tax is based on gross receipts, not profit, so a business can owe it in a year it loses money. How much you owe, how often you file and whether a threshold or credit applies depend on your activity and income, and the facts used for this page don't cover those details. Ask the Department of Revenue which registrations and returns apply to you, and ask the IRS or a tax professional about federal filings.

Keep the Department of Revenue's dates on their own calendar. The Division's Annual Report and the department's tax returns are separate systems, and filing one does nothing for the other.

What happens if a Washington LLC misses its annual report?

A missed report first costs money: a $25 delinquency fee is added if the entity's status is Delinquent, so the bill comes to $95 total instead of $70.^{1, 3}

The facts behind this page don't state how long an LLC can stay delinquent before the Division moves to administrative dissolution, so treat a delinquent status as a warning and file as soon as you see it. If the Division sends a notice, respond promptly.

Reinstatement after administrative dissolution

Washington lets a dissolved LLC come back, and the cost grows with time.

1. The Division charges a $140 penalty.⁴
2. On top of that, you pay all missed annual report fees, one for each year a report went unfiled.⁴
3. The deadline is firm: an LLC must reinstate within 5 years of dissolution.⁴

So an LLC that lapsed briefly pays less to reinstate than one that sat dissolved for several years. Ask the Division which items apply to your record before you file, and talk to a lawyer if the business kept signing contracts or trading while dissolved. The Washington registered agent guide explains how a lapsed agent can add to the problem.

How do you keep your registered agent and records current?

A Washington LLC must continuously maintain a registered agent (RCW 23.95.415), and any new agent must give prior consent in a record before you name them. You switch agents on a Statement of Change/Designation of Agent, which the Division processes free of charge (No fee).^{1, 3, 7}

The Annual Report is your yearly check on the agent, since the form asks about it. Between reports, file the Statement of Change whenever your agent changes, and do it before cancelling an old service so the record never shows a gap. Foreign LLCs registered here (the registration costs $180) file the Annual Report too: the deadline counts from the month the business was formed or registered. The free filing makes the switch itself easy; the guide to changing your agent covers the steps that apply everywhere.^{2, 4}

What compliance features cover in Washington

Because the report is due every year, a filing service has work to do here each year. Providers appear in our score order. Several list the state fee as extra; where a provider doesn't say, ask whether the Division's $70 is included.³

• Tailor Brands includes annual report filing in its Essential and Elite plans and states its agent can file the annual report if instructed.^{8, 9}
• ZenBusiness files a single report for $100 per report, or sells its Worry-Free Compliance plan at $199/year.¹⁰
• LegalZoom charges $99 + state filing fees for a one-time report, or sells an auto-renewing subscription starting at $199/year. Washington isn't among the states its auto-filing leaves out (auto-filing excludes Indiana, Maryland, Wyoming).^{11, 12}
• Bizee (formerly Incfile) advertises free lifetime compliance notifications with its agent service. It sells annual report filing but doesn't publish a price (no standalone price stated).^{13, 14}
• Swyft Filings sells ComplianceGuard for $199/year. Every Swyft LLC plan includes a 14-day trial of ComplianceGuard, which becomes a paid subscription unless cancelled, so an owner who plans to file personally would cancel within the trial.¹⁵
• doola has Annual State Report Filing included in the Tax and Compliance and Business-in-a-Box™ plans.¹⁶
• Northwest Registered Agent lists $100 + state fees, charged at filing, and says its registered agent customers are auto-enrolled in that renewal service, so ask Northwest how to opt out if you would rather file yourself.¹⁷
• Rocket Lawyer charges $100 with Pro membership, excluding state fees.¹⁸
• InCorp Services charges $89 + state fees.¹⁹
• Harbor Compliance charges $199 per state per year plus filing fees. Its agent service needs notice of non-renewal at least 90 days before the end of the current term.^{20, 21}

None of these plans changes what the state requires. If a plan files for you, confirm in writing that it tracks your expiration date and keep your contact details current, because notices still go to the address the provider holds. Prices and agent terms side by side are on the Washington registered agent comparison, and the broader list is under services with compliance tools.

What does a Washington LLC compliance calendar look like in the first year and after?

The first year has one extra filing and a check on your tax registrations; from the second year on, the pattern is a single report each year in your formation month.

Year one

1. Certificate of Formation approved. The steps are covered in our Washington LLC formation guide, and the fees are added up on the cheapest ways to form a Washington LLC.
2. Initial Report. Due within 120 days of formation. It is free if filed with the Certificate of Formation, or $10 if filed later, so check whether yours went in with the Certificate.⁴
3. Department of Revenue. Ask whether you need to register for B&O tax or other returns, and how often you would file.
4. Work out your first Annual Report deadline from your formation month, and ask the Division if you are unsure of the date.
5. Confirm your agent's contact details and renewal date.

Year two and after

1. Annual Report, by the last day of the month in which the LLC was originally formed. Filing is allowed early, so a reminder a couple of months ahead gives you room.²
2. Review the governors and principal office on the form, and update them if anything changed.
3. B&O returns, if the Department of Revenue requires them, on the schedule that applies to you.
4. Agent renewal, if you pay for a service. Decide before any notice deadline in its terms.
5. Any agent or address change during the year goes on a Statement of Change/Designation of Agent, which carries no state fee (No fee).^{1, 3}

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