Montana LLC Registration: Fees, Steps, and April 15

Anyone asking how to start an LLC in Montana hits the same two numbers as of 2026: $35 to file, and no general state sales tax. The annual report that follows costs nothing when it lands before April 15. Those two facts pull in local founders and, for a very different reason, out-of-state owners registering vehicles.

Why form an LLC in Montana? No sales tax, $35 to file

An LLC is there to keep business debts off your personal balance sheet, and that protection holds only while you keep the company’s money and your own apart. What differs here is the running cost. The benefits of forming an LLC in Montana show up on the maintenance side: no general sales tax to collect, and an annual report the Secretary of State waives when it is filed before April 15.

A sole proprietor skips the $35, keeps unlimited personal liability, and still pays $20 to register a trading name.

How to start an LLC in Montana: 7 steps on biz.sosmt.gov

The Montana LLC requirements are short: a distinguishable name, a registered agent with a physical Montana address, a stated management structure, and $35. Everything runs through the Secretary of State’s online filing portal.

1. Check the name on the Secretary of State’s records

Montana law (MCA 35-8-103) wants a designator: LLC, L.L.C., limited liability company, limited company, or LC. Limited can be shortened to ltd. and company to co. The name also has to be distinguishable from everything on file, including reserved names, assumed business names, and trademarks.

Run it through the Montana business entity search first. Trading under a name other than the legal one is a separate assumed business name registration at $20. The search costs nothing, and running it before you pay is cheaper than an Articles of Correction at $15.

2. Appoint a registered agent with a Montana street address

Montana splits agents into two types under MCA 35-7-105. A Montana registered agent listed with the state is commercial and appointed by name; anyone else is noncommercial, and you supply their name and address. Either way the address has to be a physical place in Montana, and naming someone affirms they consented.

Worth flagging: changing agents later carries no fee. If you have no address in the state, weigh the registered agent options in Montana before filing.

3. File the Articles of Organization and pay $35

This is the filing that creates the entity. Montana LLC registration asks for the agent details and whether the company is member-managed or manager-managed, with the matching names. Two special cases get their own boxes: a professional limited liability company names the service it renders, and a series LLC lists its series members.

The fee is $35 on the Secretary of State fee schedule, plus $50 per series member. If you are on a deadline, 24-hour processing adds $20 and one hour adds $100, worth weighing against how long standard approval takes.

For anyone who would rather hand it off, check how the Montana formation services compare against that $35 first.

4. Write an operating agreement, on paper if you use series

Montana does not make you file one, and MCA 35-8-109 says a Montana LLC operating agreement need not even be written for a standard company. That is the letter of the law, not advice. Without one, state default rules decide what happens when a member leaves or two owners disagree about money.

One exception: a series LLC has to include each series’ agreement in writing inside the Articles. Here is how to draft one for a Montana company.

5. Get the EIN from the IRS

Form first, EIN second, so the federal record matches the name the state approved. You apply through the IRS free of charge, and getting an EIN for a Montana LLC usually takes one online session.

6. Open the business bank account

Banks ask for the approved Articles, the EIN, and often the operating agreement Montana does not require. Open it before money moves, since mixed funds are what erode the protection.

7. Skip the sales tax permit, then check what the DOR still wants

Here is the thing most guides gloss over: there is no sales tax permit step in Montana, because there is no general sales tax to collect. That does not clear you with the Department of Revenue. Payroll withholding, pass-through information returns, composite filings, and the entity tax election all run through its TransAction Portal, and which ones apply depends on your facts. Local licensing is a separate question for your city.

How much does an LLC cost in Montana? $35

The Montana LLC cost starts and mostly ends at $35 for the Articles of Organization as of 2026. The recurring state cost after that is the annual report, which the Secretary of State waives when it lands before April 15.

Optional extras: $10 to reserve a name, $20 or $100 to jump the queue, $50 per series member, plus any agent fee. For the line-by-line version, see the full Montana LLC cost breakdown.

Montana LLC annual report and taxes: due April 15

Ongoing compliance in Montana comes down to one filing a year. Every LLC files an annual report with the Secretary of State between January 1 and April 15 under MCA 35-8-208. Inside that window the Montana LLC annual report fee is waived; after it, the fee is $35. Plenty of guides still publish $20, which is the rate for associations and cooperatives.

Worth knowing: the waiver is the Secretary of State’s own decision, renewed year to year, and the office has confirmed it for 2026 and again for 2027. It is not a permanent rate.

Miss the date and the company drifts out of good standing. Reinstatement then runs $35 plus $35 for every delinquent year, so a forgotten free filing gets expensive fast. A Certificate of Existence, the proof lenders ask for, costs $5. Full walkthrough: filing the Montana annual report.

On the tax side, Montana LLC taxes mostly land on the owners rather than the company, and there is no general state sales tax. The Department of Revenue treats LLCs as pass-through entities, which can still mean information returns, withholding, or composite filings. The one entity-level choice worth knowing is the elective pass-through entity tax, at 5.9% as of 2026, made annually on Form PTE.

Montana LLC vehicle registration: cars, RVs, and the risk

Search Montana LLC for a car and you will find services selling the strategy as a clean way to skip sales tax. The Montana side is straightforward. Montana has no general sales tax, MCA 35-8-201 sets no residency requirement, and an LLC can hold title to a vehicle in its own name.

The catch sits in the other state. Registering in Montana settles the question under Montana law and nothing more. Whether the vehicle also owes use tax and registration where you live is decided by that state, and the usual test is where it is principally kept and driven, not whose name is on the title. If your state reaches that conclusion, a Montana plate does not change what you owe there.

Forming here for a business you genuinely run in Montana is a different and much simpler question.

Montana LLC mistakes: April 15 and the anonymity myth

Four problems come up again and again, and the first is a myth the marketing keeps alive.

• The anonymity myth: Montana publishes principal names and addresses on the Secretary of State’s site. Low cost is not low visibility.
• Treating April 15 as soft: a free filing gets postponed, and postponed becomes $35 plus reinstatement exposure.
• A name that is close but not distinguishable: the screen checks reserved names, assumed business names, and marks on record.
• A series without paperwork: each series needs its operating agreement in writing inside the Articles.

Montana LLC FAQ: fees, timing, and non-residents

These are the questions that come up most once the Articles are filed. Several are specific to how Montana handles fees and out-of-state owners.