Georgia LLC vs Pennsylvania LLC (2026)
Written for owners based in Georgia.
Based in Pennsylvania? Read Pennsylvania LLC vs Georgia LLC →
Compare Georgia LLC vs Pennsylvania LLC on filing fees, taxes, privacy laws, and annual costs. Find out which state is actually better for your business.
Last updated: September 23, 2026
Verdict: for most owners, form where the business is based
Seven dollars a year is the cheapest recurring state charge in this comparison, $53 below Georgia's $60 Annual Registration, though Pennsylvania's $125 formation fee is $15 higher than Georgia's. The report itself is new. Act 122 of 2022 replaced the decennial filing with an annual one beginning in 2025, and LLCs file between January 1 and September 30, so an established Pennsylvania LLC that expected a once-a-decade filing now has a yearly deadline, with dissolution exposure starting from the 2027 report. Georgia charges $235 to register it here.
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| Factor | Georgia | Pennsylvania |
|---|---|---|
| Filing Fee | $110 | $125 |
| Processing Time | 7 to 10 business days online; 15 paper | 2 to 4 days |
| Annual Report Fee | $60 | $7 |
| Annual Report Due | April 1 | September 30 |
| State Income Tax | Yes | Yes |
| Anonymous LLC | No | No |
| Publication Requirement | No | No |
| Foreign LLC Cost (if forming out-of-state) | N/A, you're in your home state | $235 + registered agent ~$150/yr |
Full fee breakdown for either state: Georgia LLC cost and Pennsylvania LLC cost.
Business Climate: Georgia vs Pennsylvania
| Factor | Georgia | Pennsylvania |
|---|---|---|
| 5-year business survival rate | 49.9% (#32 of 51) | 57.1% (#1 of 51) |
| Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Jul) vs 2025 YTD (same months)) | +14.9% YoY (#5 of 51 by volume) | +6.5% YoY (#12 of 51 by volume) |
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics · U.S. Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (BFS)
Compare LLC Costs: Georgia vs Pennsylvania
Georgia
Pennsylvania
A figure shown as "from" is the least the state can charge, not a price. Tennessee's report is $300 for up to six members and $50 for each member above six, its franchise tax is the greater of $100 or 0.25% of Tennessee net worth, Wyoming's report is the greater of $60 or $.0002 per dollar of in-state assets, Kentucky's entity tax is $175 up to $3 million of gross receipts and graduated above it, and New York's annual filing fee is graduated on New York source gross income. A total that contains one of those is shown as "from" for the same reason. Costs include every mandatory state charge: the filing fee, the report fee (annualised where a state files biennially), any state entity-level tax shown in its own row above, a one-time publication cost where the state publishes a rate for it, and any one-time registration charge a state requires before the LLC may trade. Two exclusions follow from that wording. Arizona and Nebraska require publication and publish no rate, so no newspaper cost is carried for either and their totals are not the whole cost. Alaska's $50 annual state business licence is a separate charge from the Secretary of State fees and is not carried here either. Annualising makes the 1, 3 and 5 year rows a cost of ownership rather than a payment schedule: a biennial state charges its whole report fee in the years it falls due and nothing in between. Entity-level taxes that only apply after a corporate election, or above an owner or income threshold, are excluded and flagged on the state's own cost page. New York's publication cost is carried at a $250 floor, roughly $200 of newspaper cost in a low-cost county plus the $50 Certificate of Publication fee. No county-clerk-designated New York City newspaper publishes a rate card, so the four-figure NYC estimates in wide circulation cannot be traced to a primary source and are not asserted here; budget for materially more than the floor if you file in a NYC county. Every fee was verified against the state's own fee schedule, statute, or revenue authority on 29 July 2026. Excludes registered agent and legal fees. For informational purposes only, not legal or tax advice.
Filing Fees & Formation Costs
Georgia charges $110 to form an LLC, while Pennsylvania charges $125. Georgia is $15 cheaper upfront. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in Pennsylvania but operate in Georgia, you must also register as a foreign LLC in Georgia (a $235 filing) and maintain a registered agent in Pennsylvania (typically around $150 per year). That puts the realistic first-year cost of the Pennsylvania route at roughly $510, versus $110 for simply forming in Georgia. Both states publish a turnaround, which is unusual, Georgia at 7-10 business days online, 15 paper, and Pennsylvania at 2-4 days.
Taxes: Georgia vs Pennsylvania
Both Georgia and Pennsylvania levy a personal income tax on pass-through business income, and your LLC's profits will be taxed where you live and operate. Forming in Pennsylvania doesn't change what a Georgia-based owner pays. Pennsylvania levies a flat 3.07% personal income tax. Neither state imposes a separate franchise or privilege tax on LLCs beyond standard filing fees.
Privacy & Asset Protection
Neither Georgia nor Pennsylvania offers anonymous LLC formation: both states require owner or manager information on public filings. Pennsylvania's annual report names at least one governor (a member or manager with management responsibility). Business owners who prioritize privacy typically form a holding company in a state like Wyoming or New Mexico instead. Both states provide charging-order protection for LLC members, and for most small businesses the practical difference in asset protection between the two is minimal.
Annual Maintenance Costs
Georgia LLCs file an annual report ($60, due April 1), and Pennsylvania LLCs file an annual report ($7, due September 30). If you form in Pennsylvania while operating in Georgia, you maintain filings in both states, Pennsylvania's report plus Georgia's equivalent for your foreign registration, and pay a Pennsylvania registered agent roughly $150 per year. Counting report fees, the agent and any entity-level tax, that brings the Pennsylvania route to roughly $217 a year, versus about $60 to keep a domestic Georgia LLC in good standing.
When Pennsylvania Actually Makes Sense
Forming in Pennsylvania makes sense in a few specific situations: your business genuinely operates in Pennsylvania, with a real office, employees, or property there, or you're relocating to Pennsylvania in the near future. For a typical small business based in Georgia, none of these usually apply. Registering a Pennsylvania LLC to do business back home means $235 in Georgia foreign-registration fees, on top of Pennsylvania's $125 formation fee, while Georgia's own annual report runs $60 a year and is due April 1. When in doubt, form where you actually do business.
Frequently Asked Questions
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<iframe src="https://www.incaca.com/tools/compare-states?embed=1&stateA=GA&stateB=PA" width="100%" height="720" frameborder="0" style="border:0;max-width:900px;display:block;margin:0 auto;" title="Georgia vs Pennsylvania LLC Cost Comparison" loading="lazy"></iframe> <p style="text-align:center;font-size:.8125rem;color:#6b7280">Source: <a href="https://www.incaca.com/llc/compare/georgia-llc-vs-pennsylvania-llc">IncACA, Georgia vs Pennsylvania LLC Comparison</a></p>