Wisconsin LLC Annual Report: Due Date, Fee and What Happens If You Miss It

How the Annual Report works in Wisconsin

Wisconsin's annual report goes to the Department of Financial Institutions, and its deadline works by calendar quarter rather than month. A domestic LLC files by the last day of the quarter containing its formation anniversary, so an LLC formed on February 10 or March 25 files by March 31, and one formed in August files by September 30. The first report is due in the year after formation. Online filing costs $25, while paper Form 5 costs $40, a $15 surcharge that catches people who mail it in. DFI sends a reminder by email rather than mail, so an outdated email address can mean no notice at all. There is no late fee: a late LLC is marked Delinquent and cures it by filing the current report and paying any back report fees. Foreign LLCs follow a different calendar and file by March 31 each year.

First report: The first report is due by the end of the anniversary quarter in the calendar year after the LLC's articles of organization took effect.

If you miss the deadline

• No separate late fee; a late filer pays the current report fee plus any back annual report fees, and DFI states there are no late penalties tied to administrative dissolution.
• The LLC becomes Delinquent once the quarter ends; if the report is still not on file a year after it was due, DFI may begin administrative dissolution under Wis. Stat. 183.0708 by mailing notice and then publishing a Notice of Administrative Dissolution, and the LLC is dissolved 60 days after that publication if no report is filed.
• Fixing a dissolved or forfeited LLC is covered in our Wisconsin LLC reinstatement guide.

How to file the Wisconsin Annual Report

• File online through DFI's Corporations Annual Reports application (linked from the DFI File Online page) using the LLC's entity ID; DFI emails a Notice of Annual Report Filing Requirement with instructions. Paper Form 5 costs $15 more.
• What becomes public: The report updates the LLC's registered agent, registered office, and principal office address on the public DFI record.
• Filed or paid alongside it: Wisconsin does not charge an annual franchise fee on LLCs through DFI; income and sales tax filings with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue are separate, and filing a final tax return does not dissolve the LLC at DFI.
• Official filing page: file with the state

What Wisconsin charges over five years

Counts only the formation fee and the Annual Report fee. Wisconsin does not charge an annual franchise fee on LLCs through DFI; income and sales tax filings with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue are separate, and filing a final tax return does not dissolve the LLC at DFI. Registered agent service, if you use one, typically adds $100 to $300 a year.

Wisconsin compared with nearby states

Mistakes Wisconsin owners make

• Looking for a due date in the formation month, when Wisconsin uses the end of the calendar quarter that contains the anniversary.
• Filing on paper and paying $40 instead of the $25 online fee.
• Letting the email address on file go stale, since DFI sends the annual report notice by email.
• Assuming a foreign LLC follows the quarterly rule, when foreign LLCs must file by March 31 every year.