Arizona vs Connecticut LLC: fees, taxes, and which to pick

Key differences at a glance

• Arizona costs $70 less to form ($50 vs $120).
• Arizona is $80 per year cheaper to maintain ($100 vs $180).
• Arizona requires newly formed LLCs to publish a formation notice in local newspapers; this can add $50 to $1,800 depending on county.
• Arizona has no annual report filing at all. Connecticut requires an annual (or biennial) report every reporting period.

Where each state fits

For most filers, forming in the state you actually operate from is the right call. The side-by-side below shows where the two states meaningfully diverge.

What each state offers that the other does not

Three-year cost, side by side

Rough estimate of the state-facing cost to form and keep an LLC through three years. Both totals include a $100 per year registered-agent estimate.

What it costs under your specific situation

The table below runs the same LLC through four common scenarios. "Non-resident" rows assume a typical home-state foreign LLC registration adds about $200 per year of stacked cost; the real number depends on which state you live in and ranges from $50 to over $800 depending on jurisdiction.

Arizona vs Connecticut: full comparison

Taxes in Arizona and Connecticut

How each state handles entity-level tax on LLCs. Pass-through classification means member-level income tax also applies at each member's residence state.

Ongoing compliance

The recurring filings each state requires after formation.

Formation process, side by side

What actually happens from the moment you start filing to the moment you're in good standing. Use this as a checklist.

Before you pick either state

Agency contacts

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is it cheaper to form an LLC in Arizona or Connecticut?

  Arizona is cheaper at formation ($50) than Connecticut ($120). Ongoing costs are also different: $100 vs $180 per year. Total over three years: $350 vs $660.

• Can I form an LLC in Arizona if I live in Connecticut?

  Yes, but your Connecticut business will almost certainly need to register as a foreign LLC in Connecticut too, which means paying Connecticut's foreign registration fee and any ongoing Connecticut obligations on top of the Arizona ones. The "form elsewhere to save" math usually doesn't work for operating businesses; it only works when you have no physical operations tied to any specific state.

• How long does it take to form an LLC in Arizona vs Connecticut?

  Arizona online: 14 business days; Connecticut online: 5 business days. Arizona offers paid expedite from $35. Connecticut offers paid expedite from $50.

• Which state has lower taxes for an LLC, Arizona or Connecticut?

  Arizona: state income tax applies to member-level pass-through income, no entity-level franchise or LLC tax. Connecticut: state income tax applies to member-level pass-through income, no entity-level franchise or LLC tax.

• Do both states require a registered agent?

  Yes. Every US state (and DC) requires every LLC to maintain a registered agent with a physical street address in the state. Arizona and Connecticut both have this requirement. You can serve as your own agent if you live in the state; most out-of-state filers use a commercial agent for $50 to $125 per year.

• Does Arizona or Connecticut have a publication requirement?

  Arizona does. New LLCs must publish a formation notice in approved newspapers, which can add $50 to $1,800 to your first-year cost depending on the county where the LLC is based. Connecticut has no publication requirement.

• Which state should I pick if I run an online business from home?

  Form in the state you actually live in. Your home state's Department of Revenue treats your residence as nexus regardless of where the LLC is filed, which means you owe state income tax there anyway. Forming in Arizona or Connecticut to escape your home state's tax doesn't work; it adds paperwork. The non-resident filings make sense when you genuinely operate nowhere in particular: international founders, purely passive holding entities, or real-estate LLCs owning property in other states.

Full state guides

• ArizonaOpen Arizona LLC guide →
• ConnecticutOpen Connecticut LLC guide →

More Arizona and Connecticut comparisons

Sources

• Filing fee: azcc.gov/docs/default-source/corps-files/fee-schedules/fee-schedule-ll… · verified April 21, 2026
  Arizona Corporation Commission Schedule of Fees - Limited Liability Companies (A.R.S. Title 29), Rev. 3.2026. 'Articles of Organization' = $50 regular, $85 expedited (the $85 figure is the total, i.e. $50 base + $35 expedited surcharge).
• Expedited filing: azcc.gov/docs/default-source/corps-files/fee-schedules/fee-schedule-ll… · verified April 21, 2026
  Regular expedited processing for Articles of Organization totals $85 ($35 surcharge on top of the $50 base fee) and is generally completed within 3-5 business days. Arizona also offers Same Day/Next Day Accelerated Processing on top of expedited: Next Day = $100, Same Day = $200, 2-Hour = $400. We record the cheapest expedited tier (the $35 surcharge, approx 5 business days) in the struct.
• Foreign LLC registration fee: azcc.gov/docs/default-source/corps-files/fee-schedules/fee-schedule-ll… · verified April 21, 2026
  Foreign Registration Statement = $150 regular, $185 expedited. We record the regular fee.
• Operating agreement requirement: www.azleg.gov/ars/29/03105.htm · verified April 21, 2026
  A.R.S. §29-3105 (Arizona Limited Liability Company Act) recognizes an operating agreement as the governing document among members and permits it to be oral, written, implied, or any combination. There is no statutory requirement that an LLC adopt an operating agreement, so this is recorded as not required.
• Publication requirement: www.azleg.gov/ars/29/03201.htm · verified April 21, 2026
  A.R.S. §29-3201(G) requires newspaper publication of the notice of LLC formation in the county of the statutory agent's street address for three consecutive publications within 60 days after filing the Articles of Organization, unless the statutory agent's street address is in a county with a population of more than 800,000, in which case the Commission inputs the notice into its public notice database. Only Maricopa County and Pima County exceed that population threshold, so LLCs with statutory agents in those two counties are exempt (covering roughly 75% of Arizona's population). LLCs in the remaining 13 counties must arrange publication; typical newspaper cost is $60-$120.
• Franchise tax: azdor.gov/forms/corporate-income-tax-highlights · verified April 21, 2026
  Arizona has no franchise tax on LLCs or corporations. The Arizona Department of Revenue levies only a corporate income tax (4.9% on C-corp taxable income, $50 minimum) and the Transaction Privilege Tax (a gross-receipts-style sales tax at 5.6% statewide plus local rates), neither of which functions as a traditional franchise tax.
• Corporate income tax rate: azdor.gov/forms/corporate-income-tax-highlights · verified April 21, 2026
  Arizona corporate income tax is a flat 4.9% of Arizona taxable income (A.R.S. §43-1111) with a $50 minimum tax. LLCs are pass-through by default and do not owe corporate income tax unless they elect to be taxed as a C-corp. Recorded here for the maxCorporateRate informational field.
• Sales tax rate: azdor.gov/business/transaction-privilege-tax · verified April 21, 2026
  Arizona's statewide Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) rate is 5.6%. TPT is technically a tax on the vendor's privilege of doing business rather than a consumer sales tax, but it functions as the state's sales tax. Counties and municipalities add their own TPT rates, with combined effective rates commonly ranging 7.5% to 11.2% across Arizona. Only the 5.6% statewide rate is recorded in salesTaxRate.
• Business name search: arizonabusinesscenter.azcc.gov/businesssearch · verified April 21, 2026
  The Arizona Corporation Commission retired the legacy eCorp system on January 12, 2026 and replaced it with the Arizona Business Center (ABC). The ABC portal hosts the current public business entity search and online filing system. The previous ecorp.azcc.gov URLs no longer resolve.
• Online filing portal: arizonabusinesscenter.azcc.gov/homepage · verified April 21, 2026
  Arizona Business Center is the ACC's official online business filing portal as of January 12, 2026. Articles of Organization, foreign registrations, and most maintenance filings are submitted here. Approval times are generally 12-15 business days for regular online filings, faster with the expedited surcharge.
• Certificate of Formation name: www.azcc.gov/docs/default-source/corps-files/forms/l010-articles-of-or… · verified April 21, 2026
  Form L010 - Articles of Organization (domestic LLC). Filers using the online Arizona Business Center portal complete an equivalent on-screen form. Instructions are published at azcc.gov as form L010i.
• Annual report: www.azcc.gov/corporations/forms/llc-forms · verified April 21, 2026
  Unlike Arizona corporations, Arizona LLCs do not file an annual report. The Arizona Corporation Commission's LLC forms page lists no annual report form for LLCs, and the LLC fee schedule does not include an annual report fee. This is confirmed by A.R.S. Title 29, Chapter 7, which imposes no annual report duty on LLCs.
• Filing fee: business.ct.gov/knowledge-base/articles/domestic-limited-liability-com… · verified April 21, 2026
  Connecticut Secretary of the State Business Services: Certificate of Organization (formation of a domestic LLC) fee is $120. Same fee applies whether filed online through Business.CT.gov or by mail.
• Expedited filing: business.ct.gov/knowledge-base/articles/expedited-services · verified April 21, 2026
  Connecticut expedited service fee is $50 per transaction. Expedited service is only available for online filings through Business.CT.gov (not available for mail). Expedited filings typically process within 24 hours.
• Annual report fee: business.ct.gov/knowledge-base/articles/domestic-limited-liability-com… · verified April 21, 2026
  Annual Report fee = $80, filed online between January 1 and March 31 each year. Same $80 fee applies to foreign LLCs (Foreign Annual Report).
• Franchise tax: www.cttaxalert.com/2019/08/business-entity-tax-repeal/ · verified April 21, 2026
  Connecticut Public Act 19-117 (2019 budget bill) repealed the $250 biennial Business Entity Tax (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 12-284b) effective for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2020. Connecticut no longer imposes a franchise tax or business entity tax on LLCs. Flagged as applies: false per the instructions.
• Foreign LLC registration fee: business.ct.gov/knowledge-base/articles/foreign-limited-liability-comp… · verified April 21, 2026
  Connecticut Foreign Registration Statement (foreign LLC): $120 filing fee, matching the domestic Certificate of Organization. Foreign LLCs also file the $80 Annual Report between January 1 and March 31.
• Sales tax rate: portal.ct.gov/drs/sales-tax/sales-and-use-tax-information · verified April 21, 2026
  Connecticut Department of Revenue Services: statewide general sales and use tax rate is 6.35%. Connecticut does not authorize local sales taxes. A higher 7.75% rate applies to certain luxury goods and a 1% rate applies to computer and data processing services.
• Corporate income tax rate: portal.ct.gov/drs/corporation-tax/corporation-business-tax · verified April 21, 2026
  Connecticut Corporation Business Tax (CBT) base rate is 7.5% on net income. A 10% CBT surtax has been extended through income years beginning before January 1, 2026 by Public Act 24-151. The 7.5% is Connecticut's income-only corporate rate; the surtax and PTET are noted in taxes.notes rather than folded into this number.
• Business name search: service.ct.gov/business/s/onlinebusinesssearch?language=en_US · verified April 21, 2026
  Connecticut Business Records Search via the CT.gov portal. Use before filing to confirm name availability.
• Online filing portal: business.ct.gov/ · verified April 21, 2026
  Business.CT.gov is the official online filing portal for Connecticut business formation, annual reports, and amendments. Filings typically complete within 3 to 5 business days (standard) or about 1 business day with the $50 expedited fee.
• Operating agreement requirement: law.justia.com/codes/connecticut/title-34/chapter-613a/section-34-243d… · verified April 21, 2026
  Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 34-243a defines an operating agreement as the agreement of all members whether oral, implied, in a record, or any combination. No statutory requirement that the agreement be written or filed. Recorded as not required.
• Publication requirement: law.justia.com/codes/connecticut/title-34/chapter-613a/ · verified April 21, 2026
  Connecticut Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (Chapter 613a) contains no newspaper publication requirement. LLCs are not required to publish notice of formation.