Mississippi LLC vs Washington LLC (2026)
Written for owners based in Mississippi.
Based in Washington? Read Washington LLC vs Mississippi LLC →
Compare Mississippi LLC vs Washington 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
Washington is one of the few states where filing online costs more: $200 through the portal, because WAC 434-112-075(1) adds a $20 processing fee, or $180 by mail, against $50 either way in Mississippi. The annual report is $70 and is exempt from that surcharge, where the Mississippi report is free. Two Washington costs sit outside the report, a $50 Business License Application and $5 a year to renew it, plus Business and Occupation tax on gross receipts with no deduction for costs. Registering a Washington LLC in Mississippi costs $250 and $250 for every foreign annual report.
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| Factor | Mississippi | Washington |
|---|---|---|
| Filing Fee | $50 | $180 by mail, $200 online ($20 online surcharge) |
| Processing Time | Same day (online) | Within 15 business days (paper) |
| Annual Report Fee | $0 | $70 |
| Annual Report Due | April 15 | Last day of anniversary month |
| State Income Tax | Yes | No |
| 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 Washington LLC cost.
Business Climate: Mississippi vs Washington
| Factor | Mississippi | Washington |
|---|---|---|
| 5-year business survival rate | 53.5% (#15 of 51) | 42.2% (#51 of 51) |
| Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Jul) vs 2025 YTD (same months)) | +29.5% YoY (#32 of 51 by volume) | -25.5% YoY (#15 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 Washington
Mississippi
Washington
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 Washington charges $200. Mississippi is $150 cheaper upfront. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in Washington but operate in Mississippi, you must also register as a foreign LLC in Mississippi (a $250 filing) and maintain a registered agent in Washington (typically around $150 per year). That puts the realistic first-year cost of the Washington route at roughly $600, versus $50 for simply forming in Mississippi. Both states publish a turnaround, which is unusual, Mississippi at same day (online), and Washington at within 15 business days (paper).
Taxes: Mississippi vs Washington
Washington has no personal income tax while Mississippi does, but forming your LLC in Washington won't change that. LLC profits pass through to you and are taxed where you live and operate (in Mississippi), not where the LLC is registered, so a Washington LLC offers no income-tax savings for a Mississippi-based business. 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. Washington imposes the Business & Occupation (B&O) tax on gross receipts.
Privacy & Asset Protection
Neither Mississippi nor Washington offers anonymous LLC formation: both states require owner or manager information on public filings. Washington's report records the LLC's governors (members/managers) on the public record. 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 Washington LLCs file an annual report ($70, due in the anniversary month). If you form in Washington while operating in Mississippi, you maintain filings in both states, Washington's report plus Mississippi's equivalent for your foreign registration, and pay a Washington registered agent roughly $150 per year. Counting report fees, the agent and any entity-level tax, that brings the Washington route to roughly $220 a year, versus about $0 to keep a domestic Mississippi LLC in good standing. The taxes 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. Washington imposes the Business & Occupation (B&O) tax on gross receipts.
When Washington Actually Makes Sense
Forming in Washington makes sense in a few specific situations: your business genuinely operates in Washington, with a real office, employees, or property there, or you're relocating to Washington in the near future, which would also move you out of Mississippi's personal income tax. For a typical small business based in Mississippi, none of these usually apply. Registering a Washington LLC to do business back home means $250 in Mississippi foreign-registration fees, on top of Washington's $200 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=WA" width="100%" height="720" frameborder="0" style="border:0;max-width:900px;display:block;margin:0 auto;" title="Mississippi vs Washington 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-washington-llc">IncACA, Mississippi vs Washington LLC Comparison</a></p>