Texas LLC costs and business software (October 2026)
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What it costs to form and keep an LLC in Texas, which cloud data centres are closest, how Texas's privacy rules affect your customer data, and the software and free tools for running the business.
LLC costs in Texas
Forming an LLC in Texas costs $300 in state fees in the first year and $0 a year after that. That makes Texas the 48th cheapest state to form an LLC and the 10th cheapest to keep one, above the national median of $110 to form.
| Formation filing fee | $300 |
|---|---|
| Recurring: Public Information Report (no fee for most LLCs) | No fee (every year) |
| State cost in the first year | $300 |
| State cost each later year | $0 |
Texas has no annual report fee for most LLCs: franchise tax is only due when revenue is above $2.65 million (2026 reports), though the Public Information Report must still be filed.
Work out your own total, with or without a formation service, in the LLC cost calculator, or see every state in LLC cost by state.
Forming in Texas with a service
Services file the paperwork, act as your registered agent and, on some plans, get your EIN. Their fee comes on top of the state's.
| Service | Service fee | First year with Texas fees | Each later year | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Registered Agent (Basic) | $49 | $349 | $125 | Visit site |
| doola (Starter) | $297 | $597 | $297 | Visit site |
Later years include the service's registered agent (Northwest renews at its listed price; doola's plan renews each year) plus Texas's recurring fee. You can act as your own registered agent if you have a street address in Texas.
Founders who can form anywhere often choose Delaware or Wyoming through services such as Stripe Atlas, Clerky or Firstbase; compare them in the company formation ranking.
Compared with neighbouring states
| State | First year | Each later year |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | $300 | $0 |
| Arkansas | $45 | $150 |
| New Mexico | $50 | $0 |
| Oklahoma | $100 | $25 |
| Louisiana | $125 | $35 |
An LLC formed in another state that does business in Texas usually has to register in Texas as a foreign LLC too, paying fees in both states. A cheaper neighbouring state rarely saves money if you operate here.
Cloud servers closest to Houston
Servers near your customers load pages faster. The nearest data centre of each provider in our cloud server ranking, measured in a straight line from Houston, Texas's largest city:
| Provider | Nearest data centre | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Vultr | Dallas | 225 miles |
| Akamai Cloud (Linode) | Dallas | 225 miles |
| DigitalOcean | Atlanta | 701 miles |
| Amazon Lightsail | Ohio | 994 miles |
DigitalOcean also lists Richmond, Kansas City and Memphis data centres; check which products are offered there before choosing one.
Customer data and Texas privacy law
Texas has a comprehensive consumer privacy law: the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, in force since July 1, 2024. If you collect personal data from Texas residents above the law's thresholds (usually a number of consumers a year, or a share of revenue from selling data), you must publish a privacy notice, honour opt-outs and answer requests to see or delete data.
A CRM that records consent and can export or delete a contact's data makes this routine. Compare them in the CRM ranking.
Software for Texas businesses
The same tools serve every state; these rankings compare them on published prices and features.
- CRM software
- Help desk and AI support
- Project management
- Online store builders
- Point of sale
- Business accounts
- Corporate cards and expenses
- Hiring abroad (EOR)
- Cloud servers
- Website hosting
- Company formation services
Free tools
- LLC cost calculator by state
- Business name generator
- Free QR code generator
- Email signature generator
- Discount and sale price calculator
- Break-even calculator
- Hourly to salary calculator
- Customer lifetime value (LTV) and acquisition cost (CAC) calculator
Questions
How much does it cost to start an LLC in Texas?
$300 in state fees in the first year ($300 to file), then $0 a year. A formation service adds its own fee.
Does Texas require an annual report?
Yes: the Public Information Report (no fee for most LLCs), every year, with no fee.
Sources: LLC University: LLC filing fees by state (updated June 10, 2026); LLC University: LLC annual fees by state (updated June 10, 2026); Commenda: LLC filing fees by state (updated July 16, 2026). Fees change; confirm with the Texas filing office before you file.