The Real Cost of a Texas LLP — What You'll Actually Pay

The unavoidable, one-time cost is the state fee to file the Application for Registration of a Limited Liability Partnership with the Texas Secretary of State. This is what puts your LLP status on the public record and switches on the liability shield. The current amount is shown on the receipt card on this page and on the state's fee schedule.

What the registration fee buys

• Official recognition of your partnership as a limited liability partnership.
• The liability shield protecting each partner from the partnership's obligations and the other partners' conduct.
• A public record of your registered agent and registered office.

What it doesn't include

The registration fee covers only the state filing itself. It doesn't include an EIN (free from the IRS), a partnership agreement (an internal document you or your attorney prepare), registered agent service beyond the designation, or any professional licensing your firm needs. Those are separate line items, and we cover them below so nothing catches you off guard.

Filing convenience fees

When you file online through the state's portal, the state may add a small convenience charge on top of the base fee for card payments. It's minor, but it's part of the true cost of filing electronically.

Here's where Texas is different from most states, and where budgeting trips people up. Texas does not charge a Secretary of State annual report fee for for-profit filing entities. Instead, the recurring obligation is the franchise tax, administered by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

How the franchise tax works

The franchise tax is based on your LLP's revenue, not a flat annual fee. Each year you file a franchise tax report and an associated information report, generally due May 15. Critically, Texas sets a no-tax-due threshold: partnerships with total revenue below that threshold owe no franchise tax at all. Many small LLPs fall under it and pay nothing — but they still must file the report on time to remain in good standing.

Budgeting for it

• Below the threshold: you owe no franchise tax, but still file the report. The cost is your time or your accountant's fee, not a state charge.
• Above the threshold: the tax is calculated from your revenue under the Comptroller's formula. This is a real cost that scales with the size of your firm, and your CPA is the right person to project it.

Because this obligation is revenue-based rather than a fixed fee, we don't state a dollar figure for it — it depends entirely on your numbers. What matters for budgeting is knowing it exists, that the deadline is May 15, and that filing is required even when no tax is owed.

Every Texas LLP must maintain a registered agent with a physical Texas registered office. You can satisfy this for free by having a partner serve, but most firms budget for a commercial registered agent service, and there are good reasons to.

What you're paying for with a service

• Privacy: a professional Texas address on the public record instead of a partner's home or office address.
• Reliability: someone staffed and available during every business day to receive legal process, so a lawsuit is never missed.
• Continuity: one stable address that doesn't change when a partner moves or leaves the firm.
• Convenience: documents scanned and forwarded promptly, and state notices consolidated in one place.

The free alternative and its hidden costs

Serving as your own agent costs nothing in fees, but the practical costs are real: your address is public, someone has to be present during business hours, and being served with a lawsuit happens at that address. For a professional partnership, the modest cost of a service usually pays for itself in privacy and peace of mind. The receipt card reflects our registered agent service where it applies.

Beyond registration, the franchise tax, and registered agent service, a handful of situational costs may apply depending on how your firm operates.

Assumed name (DBA)

If your LLP will operate under a name different from its registered legal name, you file an assumed name certificate (Form 503) with the Secretary of State. In Texas, an entity's assumed name registration can run for up to ten years, so it's a modest cost spread over a long period. You only need it if you're using a name other than the one on your registration.

Expedited processing

If you're against a deadline, Texas offers expedited handling of filings for an additional fee per document. It's optional — standard processing is fine for most firms — but worth knowing about if timing is tight.

Foreign registration

If your LLP was formed in another state and you're registering to do business in Texas, the foreign LLP registration carries its own state fee, separate from a domestic registration.

Costs that aren't state fees

• EIN: free directly from the IRS. Anyone charging you for an EIN is charging for convenience, not the number itself.
• Partnership agreement: no state fee; the cost is your time or your attorney's if you want it drafted professionally — which, for a multi-partner firm, is money well spent.
• Professional licenses: if your partners are licensed professionals, keeping those licenses current is a separate, ongoing cost tied to your board.

The receipt card on this page shows the amounts we charge, and what we charge is what's displayed — no hidden markups buried in the process.