What does it cost to runa company in New York.
New York entities owe an annual franchise tax and ongoing state filings. Teamed's EOR lets you hire in New York without running or funding one.
At a glance
New York running costs in brief
New York charges a minimum franchise tax and a formation fee to register a domestic LLC, then keeps you inside its franchise tax and filing regime for as long as the entity exists. None of this is a one-time cost. It repeats every year, whether or not you have payroll running through the entity.
- Minimum franchise tax
- $25
- Franchise tax basis
- gross receipts
- Formation / registration fee
- $200
Formation
Setting up costs money before you hire anyone
Registering a domestic LLC in New York means filing Articles of Organization with the New York Department of State, which carries a formation fee of $200. That fee is paid once, at setup, but it is only the entry cost. It does not cover legal drafting, registered agent service, or the tax registrations you still need before payroll can run.
Because this fee is fixed and non-negotiable, it is one of the few numbers you can plan around exactly. The bigger unknown is everything that follows: franchise tax, annual filings, and the ongoing administrative load of keeping a New York entity in good standing.
Franchise tax
The franchise tax does not go away
New York's Article 9-A franchise tax applies a minimum franchise tax of $25 to corporations doing business in the state, with the tax calculated on a gross receipts basis. That minimum applies even in a year with no profit, no growth, and barely any activity, which surprises a lot of first-time founders.
This is the part of running a New York entity that people underestimate. It is not a one-off cost tied to launch, it is a recurring obligation tied to the entity's existence, and it keeps accruing whether the entity is actively employing people or just sitting there registered.
Ongoing filings
Compliance is a standing commitment, not a checkbox
Beyond the franchise tax itself, a New York entity has to stay current with state filings to remain in good standing. Missed or late filings can trigger penalties and put the entity's status at risk, which then complicates payroll, banking, and anything else that depends on the entity being valid.
None of this is dramatic on its own. What adds up is the combination: franchise tax due every year, filings that need tracking, and a registered agent or internal owner who has to actually manage the calendar. For a company hiring one or two people in New York, that overhead can outweigh the reason you set the entity up in the first place.
Before you commit
Sometimes an employer of record is the better fit
An employer of record is sometimes genuinely the better answer, not a lesser one, especially for a small or still-changing headcount in New York or when you are testing the market before committing. Talk to a member of the team about your specific situation, or run the numbers yourself with the crossover calculator, since the right answer depends on salaries and how long you plan to stay.
Contractors, employer of record and your own entity all run on one platform at Teamed, so moving between them later does not mean changing provider or re-onboarding anybody. Real HR and legal experts handle the work rather than a ticket queue.
Talk to a member of the team and we will tell you plainly which one suits where you are. If you would rather look at the numbers yourself first, the crossover calculator models it on local salaries and employer costs rather than on a headcount rule of thumb.
Who carries it
Your own entity, when it's time. We set it up, migrate you in, and hand it back intact.
Global Entity and Employment Operations, which we call GEMO, is how Teamed forms your company, registers it for tax and payroll, runs it month to month and keeps its filings current, across 100+ countries. You stay the employer. We do the work behind it.
In New York, that means we handle the Department of State filing, get the entity into good standing, and keep it current on franchise tax and filings while you're still deciding whether you need it long-term. When the moment comes to take it over, in New York or across our 100+ country GEMO footprint, we hand it back fully compliant and ready for you to run.
They set up our EU entity and moved hires across without missing a payroll.
Questions
New York running costs, answered
What does it cost to register an LLC in New York?
Filing Articles of Organization with the New York Department of State carries a formation fee of $200. That is a one-time cost at setup, separate from the ongoing franchise tax and filing obligations that follow.
Do I owe franchise tax even if my New York entity has no profit?
Yes. New York applies a minimum franchise tax of $25 under Article 9-A, and the tax is calculated on a gross receipts basis, so a low-activity or unprofitable year still triggers an obligation.
Is the franchise tax a one-time cost?
No, it recurs every year the entity exists, independent of whether you're actively employing people through it. It is one of the ongoing costs that makes a dormant or lightly used entity more expensive than it looks.
What happens if I miss a New York filing deadline?
Missed filings put the entity's good standing at risk, which can complicate payroll, banking, and other operations tied to the entity's valid status. Staying current requires someone actively tracking the state's filing calendar.
Can I avoid these costs entirely by using an EOR instead?
Using an employer of record means you don't register or maintain a New York entity yourself, so you avoid the formation fee and the ongoing franchise tax and filing burden. Whether that's the right call long-term depends on your headcount and plans, which is what the crossover calculator is for.
Where these figures come from
Sources
Figures on this page are drawn from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and the New York Department of State.
Looking for a job in Entity Running Costs And Filings yourself? Teamed does not hire people directly. Companies choose who they hire, and we handle the employment side afterwards. Here is why we cannot help with your search.