What a Montana LLC Costs Every Year

With us, keeping a Montana LLC alive costs $99.99 a year, or $12.50 a month, per company, however many vehicles it owns. That covers the registered agent Montana requires and the filing of the annual report, whose state fee Montana currently waives.

A single-member LLC that owns a car and earns nothing files no federal or Montana return. Permanent registrations never renew. Newer vehicles renew with the county each year, and your home state and your insurance remain your own obligations.

With us, keeping a Montana LLC alive costs $99.99 a year, or $12.50 a month. That one fee is per company. It covers the registered agent Montana requires and the filing of the LLC’s annual report, however many vehicles the company owns. A single-member LLC that owns a car and earns nothing files no federal return and no Montana return. Vehicles with permanent registration owe the county nothing further. Vehicles that are not permanent renew with the county each year, and your insurance carries on as it always did. That is the recurring list. Here is each line, and the two things that are not on our bill but might be on yours.

The recurring list

The registered agent, and why it is per company

Montana law requires every LLC to keep a registered agent with a Montana street address. That is the address where the state and anyone else serves notices on the company, and it is the address that makes the LLC a Montana company for registration purposes. We are that agent. The fee is for the company, so five vehicles in one LLC pay the same $99.99 as one vehicle. People sometimes form a second LLC for a second car; there is no reason to.

Our fee includes preparing and filing the annual report with the Secretary of State. Montana currently waives the state’s filing fee when the report is filed on time, which is why that line in the table reads zero. If the state ever reinstates a fee, we will tell you before it is due.

Why there is no tax return

A single-member LLC is a disregarded entity for federal income tax. Its activity is reported on the owner’s return, and an LLC with no income and no expenses has nothing to report.

Paraphrased from the IRS page on single-member limited liability companies, linked in the sources.

An LLC whose only asset is a car and whose only activity is owning it has no income. There is no federal return for the company, no Montana return, and no line on your personal return. If you ever use the LLC for an actual business, that changes, and so should your accountant’s involvement.

This applies to a single-member LLC owned by a U.S. person, which is what we form for almost everyone. A multi-member LLC files a partnership return even with no income, and an LLC owned by a non-U.S. person has its own IRS reporting. If either describes you, tell us before we form the company so you know what you are signing up for.

Permanent versus annual registration

Montana registers motorcycles, trailers and travel trailers permanently the first time, and lets the owner of a light vehicle eleven years old or older choose permanent registration. Permanent means what it says: no renewal, no sticker, no fee to the county again for as long as the LLC owns the vehicle. Most of our clients’ cars qualify, and all of their motorcycles and trailers do.

A newer car registers for a fixed period and renews with the county. The renewal amount depends on the vehicle, which is why the table says “we quote it in checkout” rather than giving a number here. We handle the filing when it comes due and the renewal never interrupts your driving.

Two things that are not on our bill

First, your home state. If the car is kept and used mainly in your home state, that state may hold that it is owed its own registration and use tax, whatever the title says, and a few states have started enforcing that view. We do not collect anything for your home state and we cannot tell you it owes nothing. The legality guide is honest about which states are active and what they look for.

Second, your insurance. It does not go up because of the LLC, but it is still a cost of owning the car, and it is yours. The insurance guide shows how the LLC fits on your existing policy.

What it adds up to

For a client with one eleven-year-old car on permanent registration: $99.99 a year to us, nothing to the county, nothing to the IRS, nothing to Montana. For a client with a new car: $99.99 a year to us plus the county’s annual renewal for that car. For a client with a car, a motorcycle and a boat trailer in one LLC: still $99.99 to us, and the county’s renewal only for whichever of those is not permanent.

Questions people ask about ongoing cost

Yes. $12.50 a month, or $99.99 a year, which is the cheaper of the two over twelve months. Automatic renewal is available so the annual report is never missed.

The LLC loses its registered agent and misses its annual report, and Montana eventually dissolves it. The vehicle’s registration is tied to the LLC, so keep the agent current for as long as the company owns anything. If you are done, we close the LLC properly instead.

The registration and title for the new vehicle, once. No change to the annual fee.

Not for an LLC that only owns a vehicle. If you start running a business through it, yes.

Next in the series

Sources

• IRS, single-member limited liability companies
• Montana Secretary of State, annual reports
• Mont. Code Ann. § 61-3-303(10), permanent registration of motorcycles and trailers
• Mont. Code Ann. § 61-3-562, permanent registration of light vehicles