Delaware · After incorporation
You incorporated in Delaware. Here is the first year, from the books’ side.
Forming the company took a day. The first year brings a Delaware tax deadline, a registered agent to keep, an EIN to get, and books that have to exist before any of those filings can be right. Every date and amount below is from the Delaware and federal agencies’ own pages, read September 28, 2026. It is not legal advice.
After you incorporate in Delaware: a corporation files its annual report and pays franchise tax by March 1 each year (minimum $175 under the Authorized Shares method or $400 under the Assumed Par Value Capital method, plus a $50 report fee); an LLC, LP or GP pays a $400 annual tax by June 1 and files no annual report. Every entity keeps a Delaware registered agent. U.S. companies are no longer required to file BOI reports (FinCEN final rule, August 2026). A company run from another state registers there as a foreign entity when that state requires it. TechBrot sets up and keeps the books those filings depend on; it is not a law firm, a registered agent or a CPA firm.
TechBrot Inc. · independent bookkeeping and advisory firm led by a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor — not a CPA firm and not affiliated with Intuit Inc.
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Every engagement is reviewed by a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor (QuickBooks Online Level 2, Payroll) — verification on request. Intuit’s ProAdvisor program becomes ProPartner Accountants in early 2027; the certifications continue.
After incorporating in Delaware, in five questions.
What does a new Delaware company owe in its first year?
A corporation: annual report and franchise tax by March 1 (minimum $175 or $400 depending on the method, plus a $50 report fee). An LLC, LP or GP: a $400 annual tax by June 1, with no annual report. Every entity keeps a Delaware registered agent.
Does a Delaware company that operates elsewhere owe Delaware income tax?
A corporation maintaining a statutory corporate office in Delaware and not doing business within the State is exempt from Delaware corporate income tax under 30 Del. C. §1902(b)(6). It still owes the franchise tax.
Does my Delaware company need to file a BOI report?
No. Under FinCEN’s final rule of August 2026, U.S. companies are exempt from beneficial ownership information reporting.
Do I need to register in my home state too?
When the company transacts business in another state and that state requires it, it registers there as a foreign entity — Texas, for example, under Business Organizations Code §9.001.
What does TechBrot do for a new Delaware company?
Sets up and keeps the books — QuickBooks for the entity, formation and funding recorded, monthly closes — so the Delaware tax, home-state filings and federal return have correct numbers behind them. TechBrot does not form companies or file returns.
What a new Delaware company owes in year one.
Delaware charges every company formed there, whether or not it does business in the state. For a corporation that is the annual franchise tax and annual report, due March 1; for an LLC, LP or GP it is a flat annual tax due June 1. Both are paid for the prior year, and late payment costs a $200 penalty plus 1.5% interest per month.
Doing business somewhere else — the case for a company formed in Delaware but run from another state — brings that state’s registration and taxes on top. Delaware’s own business license and gross receipts tax apply to a company conducting a trade or business in Delaware.
Dates and amounts, from the agencies’ own pages.
Read September 28, 2026. Amounts change — check the linked page before you pay.
Corporations: annual report and franchise tax
Due on or before March 1 for the prior year. Minimum tax $175 under the Authorized Shares method or $400 under the Assumed Par Value Capital method; the annual report fee is $50 for non-exempt domestic corporations. Late: $200 penalty plus 1.5% interest per month. More on the Delaware franchise tax page.
LLCs, LPs and GPs: annual tax
$400, due on or before June 1 for the prior year; there is no annual report requirement. Late: $200 penalty plus 1.5% interest per month.
Registered agent
Delaware law requires every entity to have and maintain a registered agent in the State.
Business license and gross receipts tax
Any person or entity conducting a trade or business in Delaware must obtain a State of Delaware business license, and sellers of goods or providers of services in the state pay gross receipts tax, at rates from 0.0945% to 1.9914% after monthly exclusions. New businesses start as quarterly filers. More on the Delaware gross receipts tax page.
Delaware corporate income tax
8.7% — but a corporation maintaining a statutory corporate office in Delaware and not doing business within the State is exempt (30 Del. C. §1902(b)(6)).
EIN
Issued by the IRS at no cost; the online application is for businesses whose principal place of business is in the United States.
Beneficial ownership (BOI) reporting
Under FinCEN’s final rule of August 2026, U.S. companies are exempt and no longer required to file BOI reports.
Your home state
A company formed in Delaware but transacting business in another state registers there as a foreign entity when that state requires it — Texas, for example, requires registration with its secretary of state under Business Organizations Code §9.001.
Sources, read 2026-09-28:Delaware Division of Corporations: franchise tax · Division of Corporations: LLC / LP / GP tax · Division of Corporations: FAQs · Division of Revenue: business license · Division of Revenue: gross receipts tax · 30 Del. C. §1902 · IRS: get an EIN · FinCEN: beneficial ownership information · Texas SOS: foreign entities.
What the books need so every filing comes out right.
Open the business bank account
Before money moves, so the books start from a clean first statement and nothing personal is mixed in.
Set up QuickBooks for the entity
A chart of accounts built for how you will report, with the equity accounts your entity type needs. See Delaware QuickBooks setup.
Record formation and funding
Formation costs, capital contributions and founder loans recorded as what they are, with the documents behind them; their tax treatment is your CPA’s call.
Keep the franchise-tax inputs current
For a corporation, the Assumed Par Value Capital method works from figures on the balance sheet, so the balance sheet has to exist and be right before March 1.
Close monthly, hand the year to your CPA
Reconciled months make the Delaware tax, the home-state filings and the federal return straightforward to prepare.
The first-year list.
- Registered agent in Delaware, kept current.
- EIN from the IRS, before opening the bank account.
- A business bank account used only for the company.
- QuickBooks set up for the entity type, with formation and funding recorded.
- Home-state registration as a foreign entity, where that state requires it.
- Delaware business license and gross receipts tax registration, if the company conducts business in Delaware.
- The Delaware tax on the calendar: March 1 for a corporation, June 1 for an LLC, LP or GP.
- A monthly close, and the year-end files to your CPA.
What TechBrot does here, and what it costs.
QuickBooks setup is published at $750–$5,000+ and monthly bookkeeping at $400–$2,500+/mo, each a fixed fee against a written scope.
TechBrot is not a law firm, a registered agent or a CPA firm. It does not form companies, give legal advice, or file tax returns, annual reports or franchise-tax payments; your registered agent, attorney and CPA do. We keep the books those filings depend on.
Questions about a new Delaware company’s first year.
When is the Delaware franchise tax due?
Which franchise-tax method should my corporation use?
Is there a penalty for paying late?
Do I need a Delaware business license?
Is TechBrot a registered agent or a law firm?
Newly formed in Delaware?
Start the books before the first filing needs them.
Book a free 30-minute discovery call. We look at the entity, where it operates and what it owes, and if the fit is right you get a written fixed-fee scope for setup and monthly books within 3 business days.
Tell us what’s wrong with the books. We’ll tell you whether cleanup, catch-up or monthly bookkeeping fits.
Call (877) 751-5575. If we miss you, a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor returns your call within one business day. Written fixed-fee scope within 3 business days. No hourly billing.