Mississippi LLC vs Vermont LLC (2026)
Written for owners based in Mississippi.
Based in Vermont? Read Vermont LLC vs Mississippi LLC →
Compare Mississippi LLC vs Vermont 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
Vermont's $45 annual report is not Vermont's annual cost. Under 32 V.S.A. 5921 an LLC taxed as a partnership owes a flat $250 minimum business entity tax every year, profit or loss, while a single-member LLC treated as a disregarded entity does not. Filing articles costs $155 against $50 in Mississippi, and the report is due within three months of the fiscal year end rather than on an anniversary, where the free Mississippi report is due April 15. Missing one Vermont report terminates the articles outright. A Vermont LLC operating here pays $250 to register plus $250 for each annual report.
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| Factor | Mississippi | Vermont |
|---|---|---|
| Filing Fee | $50 | $155 |
| Processing Time | Same day (online) | Under 1 business day online; 7 to 10 by mail |
| Annual Report Fee | $0 | $45 |
| Annual Report Due | April 15 | Within 3 months of fiscal year end |
| 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 | $250 + registered agent ~$150/yr |
Full fee breakdown for either state: Mississippi LLC cost and Vermont LLC cost.
Business Climate: Mississippi vs Vermont
| Factor | Mississippi | Vermont |
|---|---|---|
| 5-year business survival rate | 53.5% (#15 of 51) | 46.6% (#44 of 51) |
| Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Jul) vs 2025 YTD (same months)) | +29.5% YoY (#32 of 51 by volume) | +15.4% YoY (#51 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: Mississippi vs Vermont
Mississippi
Vermont
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
Mississippi charges $50 to form an LLC, while Vermont charges $155. Mississippi is $105 cheaper upfront. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in Vermont but operate in Mississippi, you must also register as a foreign LLC in Mississippi (a $250 filing) and maintain a registered agent in Vermont (typically around $150 per year). That puts the realistic first-year cost of the Vermont route at roughly $555, versus $50 for simply forming in Mississippi. Both states publish a turnaround, which is unusual, Mississippi at same day (online), and Vermont at under 1 business day online, 7-10 by mail.
Taxes: Mississippi vs Vermont
Both Mississippi and Vermont 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 Vermont doesn't change what a Mississippi-based owner pays. Mississippi taxes individual income at a flat 4.0% on taxable income over $10,000 for tax year 2026 (down from 4.4% in 2025); the 2025 'Build Up Mississippi Act' (HB 1) schedules further phase-down toward eventual elimination, subject to revenue triggers. No franchise or privilege tax on LLCs (Mississippi's franchise tax applies to corporations and is being phased out); note the foreign LLC annual report carries a $250 fee while the domestic LLC annual report is $0.
Privacy & Asset Protection
Neither Mississippi nor Vermont offers anonymous LLC formation: both states require owner or manager information on public filings. Vermont's annual report must state only the company name, designated office and registered agent (11 V.S.A. § 4033(a)), and the articles and foreign application make owner or principal names optional (§ 4023(b)(2), § 4112(b)(2)), but the Secretary of State treats up-to-date principal personnel as part of good standing and its public business record displays the principals on file, so whether an LLC can keep member and manager names off its filings in practice isn't confirmed. 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
Mississippi LLCs file a free annual report (due April 15), and Vermont LLCs file an annual report ($45, due within 3 months of fiscal year end). If you form in Vermont while operating in Mississippi, you maintain filings in both states, Vermont's report plus Mississippi's equivalent for your foreign registration, and pay a Vermont registered agent roughly $150 per year. Counting report fees, the agent and any entity-level tax, that brings the Vermont route to roughly $195 a year, versus about $0 to keep a domestic Mississippi LLC in good standing. The tax inside those totals: No franchise or privilege tax on LLCs (Mississippi's franchise tax applies to corporations and is being phased out); note the foreign LLC annual report carries a $250 fee while the domestic LLC annual report is $0.
When Vermont Actually Makes Sense
Forming in Vermont makes sense in a few specific situations: your business genuinely operates in Vermont, with a real office, employees, or property there, or you're relocating to Vermont in the near future. For a typical small business based in Mississippi, none of these usually apply. Registering a Vermont LLC to do business back home means $250 in Mississippi foreign-registration fees, on top of Vermont's $155 formation fee, while Mississippi's own annual report stays free to file and is due April 15. 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=MS&stateB=VT" width="100%" height="720" frameborder="0" style="border:0;max-width:900px;display:block;margin:0 auto;" title="Mississippi vs Vermont 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/mississippi-llc-vs-vermont-llc">IncACA, Mississippi vs Vermont LLC Comparison</a></p>