Wisconsin LLC Annual Report

"Set up an LLC," they said. "You need an LLC," they said. "An LLC will save you money on taxes," they said.

They should've said, "Talk to your accountant and/or attorney to determine whether an LLC makes sense for your situation," but they didn't. And you set up an LLC. And now, you're getting all these emails offering to help you with your LLC.

You can ignore most of those emails. They're mostly spam or services you probably don't need to pay for. Just don't ignore emails that come from an address that ends in ".gov" - those are from the government, and it's usually best not to ignore the government.

So, what are these emails trying to tell you? Well, it turns out that you can't just set up an LLC and then forget about it. Some notes before we get into the details:

• This article is about WISCONSIN LLCs. Different states have different requirements. Since I live in Wisconsin (as do most of my clients), that's what I'm sticking with here. If you have a specific question about another state, reach out. I may be able to help, and if I can't I can find someone who will.
• This is not legal advice. I'm not a lawyer. This is a legal topic, and it lays out the steps that I follow to keep my LLCs in good standing in the state of Wisconsin. If you have questions about your specific requirements and/or what answers you should provide, you should talk to a professional who is familiar with your situation.
• This is being written in July of 2026. It's possible that things will change, and we'll try to keep this updated, but if you're not sure this is up to date, please reach out via the contact page with any questions you have.

Now, some of the base information:

• When you create an LLC in the state of Wisconsin, you have to file an annual report (this needs to be filed annually, in case that wasn't clear).
• Your annual report is due at the end of the calendar quarter in which you initially filed your Domestic LLC. For instance, I initially filed one of mine on 6/8/2023, so the annual report is due on 6/30 every year. Foreign LLCs are required to file by 3/31 every year, regardless of when they initially registered.
• Filing the report online costs $26. $25 for the online filing, and $1 for the portal fee.
• If you don't file your annual report, it could lead to the dissolution of your LLC. If that happens, you have to pay to get it reinstated, which is more expensive than just filing the annual report.

Here are the steps I take to file my annual reports:

1. Go to the State of Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions Entity Search Tool and search the name of the LLC (I never remember the url, so I just Google "wi entity search" to find it, but you can just click here).
2. Click on the name of the LLC.
3. Right at the top, click on "File an Annual Report." It's the first hyperlink.

From there, it's pretty self-explanatory. Before starting, it will tell you what you need, but I'll list it here, too - just note that it could change.

• The name of your entity
• The name, email, and address of your registered agent
• The principal office address of the entity
• Name, title, and post office address of each manager (if the LLC is manager-managed)
• Your email address
• Payment (credit card or e-check/ACH)

When you go to pay, it will ask you to log in or register. Note that you do not have to log in or register - there's a link to pay without registering.

I promise you can do this. I did it in the middle of writing this article, and the whole process (including the writing and intermittent Googling to make sure I got the information right) took about 30 minutes. It will probably take you less than 5-10 minutes to get this filed.

As always, keep in mind that you don't have to go it alone. I’m Austin Preece, a financial planner with offices near Eau Claire, and Madison, Wisconsin, and I work virtually with people across the US. Check out my website to see what it's like to work with me and reach out if you have any questions.

If you found this post helpful, help spread the word! Share with friends and family that you think may benefit as well. But remember, this is solely for educational purposes - it's not advice.