Delaware QuickBooks ProAdvisor & bookkeeping
The Delaware page: services, industries and state terms.
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.
State rule
Delaware rule: a Delaware corporation files its annual report and pays franchise tax by March 1 for the prior year, at least $175 (Authorized Shares method) or $400 (Assumed Par Value Capital method); the books reserve for it from year one. Source: Delaware Division of Corporations.
What you can check before you sign
- Fixed fee, written first
- Your own QuickBooks file
- No hourly billing
If your file needs our paid diagnostic first, its fee is credited in full against the cleanup. Either way, you get a fixed fee in writing before any work starts.
§ 01 · TL;DR
§ TL;DR
After you incorporate in Delaware, year one has fixed dates: a corporation files its annual report and pays franchise tax by March 1 (minimum $175, plus a $50 report fee); an LLC, LP or GP pays a $400 annual tax by June 1. TechBrot keeps the books those filings depend on; it is not a registered agent.
They took something that felt overwhelming to me as a first-year business owner and made it simple.
What stood out the most was TechBrot Inc’s attention to detail.
Intuit QuickBooks Certification Level 2 and QuickBooks Workforce Certification,
§ 02 · The first year
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.
§ 03 · The Delaware and federal facts
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.
§ 04 · The books
What the books need so every filing comes out right.
- STEP 1
Open the business bank account
Before money moves, so the books start from a clean first statement and nothing personal is mixed in. - STEP 2
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. - STEP 3
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. - STEP 4
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. - STEP 5
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.
§ 05 · Checklist
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.
§ 06 · Pricing
What TechBrot does here, and what it costs.
QuickBooks setup is published at $750–$5,000+ and monthly bookkeeping at $500–$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.
§ 08 · Questions
Questions about a new Delaware company’s first year.
When is the Delaware franchise tax due?
For corporations, the annual report and franchise tax are due on or before March 1 for the prior year. LLCs, LPs and GPs pay a $400 annual tax on or before June 1.
Which franchise-tax method should my corporation use?
Delaware calculates the tax under the Authorized Shares method or the Assumed Par Value Capital method, and the two can give very different amounts. The Assumed Par Value Capital method works from the balance sheet, so current books matter; your CPA or registered agent advises on the filing.
Is there a penalty for paying late?
Yes: a $200 penalty plus 1.5% interest per month, for corporations and for LLCs, LPs and GPs.
Do I need a Delaware business license?
Any person or entity conducting a trade or business in Delaware must obtain a State of Delaware business license. Whether your company conducts business there is a question for your attorney or CPA.
Is TechBrot a registered agent or a law firm?
No. TechBrot is a bookkeeping and advisory firm — not a law firm, registered agent or CPA firm — and does not form companies or file returns. We keep the books.
Newly formed in Delaware?
Start the books before the first filing needs them.
Tell us where the books stand. We’ll tell you which engagement fits, if any.
Or send the details instead