Business taxes

Learn everything you need to know about business taxes.

Companies formed in Delaware are subject to yearly tax obligations, including:

US federal and state corporate income tax as applicable.
Delaware franchise tax (for C Corporations) or annual LLC tax (for Limited Liability Companies).
A similar annual tax if your Delaware company also operates in other US states.

Stripe’s partners can assist you in meeting tax requirements for states outside Delaware. Make sure to watch the calendar, and plan ahead to meet any tax deadlines that apply to your business.

Tax and accounting advice

Stripe isn’t an accounting firm and can’t provide tax or accounting advice. Consult legal and tax professionals for advice on how to meet ongoing obligations that apply to your company. Before you get started, you might want to review the Stripe Atlas guide on business taxes.

File US Income Tax

What information you need to prepare depends on whether you’re forming a C Corporation or LLC. Before working with an accountant and filing taxes, prepare as much of your company’s year-end financial data as possible. This is part of your bookkeeping responsibilities. You can use tools like Bench or Pilot to help you with this process.

Be sure to have the following information for your LLC (as of the last day of the fiscal year that you’re filing for):

General business information: This includes your EIN.
Company financials: You can learn about year-end financial reports in our guide to tax season.
Company ownership: Your LLC might have multiple owners (“members”). Make sure the information reflects the current ownership.
Additional information: If your company employs people, owns property, operates locally in the US, or operates abroad, you might have additional tax and reporting requirements. Some of the taxes you might want to ask your accountant about include:
- Transfer pricing (if you’re based outside the US).
- State taxes (if you have business activity in any US state).
- Sales taxes.
- Employment taxes.

If you’re still waiting for your EIN, you can enter Applied For and the application date (which you can find on your Form SS-4 in the Dashboard) in your tax forms.

Tax partners

Each US business is required to pay income taxes. We’ve partnered with tax and accounting advisors who specialize in working with startups to provide you affordable options for filing your corporate income taxes. Top startups use these services and they offer discounts for Stripe Atlas users. Each service specializes in a different area—choose the one that’s right for your company.

Mosey is best for startups that want ongoing help with registration and compliance filings in multiple states without federal tax prep or bookkeeping.
Bench is best for pre-revenue startups or small startups who want recurring tax or bookkeeping services for state and federal taxes.
Pilot is best for startups planning to raise funding, who want recurring tax and bookkeeping services for state and federal taxes.
Cleer is best for startups that want one-time assistance with federal and state tax prep.

File taxes in Delaware

Your company’s tax and reporting obligations in Delaware depend on whether you’re forming a C Corporation or an LLC.

Delaware LLCs pay an annual LLC tax, sometimes referred to as the Business Entity Tax. If you want to hire a tax professional to complete this, you can work with one of our tax partners or a tax advisor of your own choosing.

Annual LLC tax

All LLCs formed or registered in Delaware must pay an annual LLC tax, currently at a flat rate of 300 USD. There’s no requirement to file an annual report. If the annual LLC tax isn’t submitted by June 1, there is a 200 USD penalty and interest of 1.5% per month on the tax amount (and penalty) originally due.

Pay the annual Delaware LLC tax

You can save your work and return to it later, just make sure to save your session number, which the Delaware portal gives you the option of sending to an email address for easier access.

Login to the state of Delaware’s website with your seven digit Delaware Business Entity File Number.
- You can easily find your company’s file number in two ways:
  1. Use Delaware’s entity search tool with your company’s legal name.
  2. Find the State of Delaware stamp on page 2 of your Filed Certificate of Incorporation, accessible in your Dashboard.
Click the green Pay taxes button. You should see a flat 300 USD fee for LLC.
- You can pay your Delaware LLC tax fee either by credit card or ACH. After inputting your payment information, push the green Submit button to finalize your Delaware state taxes.

State taxes beyond Delaware

If your company operates in any US states other than Delaware, it might be subject to annual taxation, registration, and reporting requirements in the other states. Stripe recommends that you consult legal and tax professionals about what requirements apply to your business.

2024 key tax season dates

Plan ahead to meet any tax deadlines that apply to your business. Refer to the following information if your company was active in 2023.

March 15, 2024: US LLC partnership income tax due, or due date to submit an extension to file taxes later in the year.
April 15, 2024: US individual income tax due date.
June 1, 2024: Delaware annual LLC tax due.
September 16, 2024: If you filed for an extension, this is the due date for filing US LLC partnership income tax.

Also, if your US company has employees or makes payments to US vendors, you might be required to file a US W-2 or 1099 form by January 31, 2024.

Dissolve your company

If you aren’t operating your company anymore, you might still be obligated to file taxes every year until you dissolve it. When you dissolve a company, you might have tax filings and obligations for the year that you dissolve the company. You can work with our tax partners to figure out what your obligations are.

C Corporations can be dissolved in the state of Delaware only after they pay Delaware franchise tax and file their annual report. LLCs can be dissolved only after they pay annual LLC tax (no annual report is required).

You can start the process of dissolving your company from the Company tab of your Atlas Dashboard. You should consider working with a lawyer to ensure full dissolution of your company.