Vermont LLC Annual Report and Entity Tax (2026)

Q: When is the Vermont LLC annual report due?

Within three months following the end of the fiscal year recorded for the business with the Vermont Secretary of State. A calendar-year LLC with a December 31 fiscal year end files by March 31. Confirm the fiscal year end the state actually has on record before assuming a date, because it drives the deadline.

Q: How much is the Vermont LLC annual report fee?

The Secretary of State's filing-fee comparison table prepared for the Legislature lists the LLC annual report fee at $45, and shows a proposed schedule of $50 domestic and $175 foreign under consideration. Because fee legislation was active, confirm the current amount on the Secretary of State's fees page before filing.

Q: Does a Vermont LLC pay a minimum tax?

Yes. A pass-through entity is liable for a minimum annual entity tax of $250 for each taxable year, paid to the Vermont Department of Taxes with Form BI-471. The minimum is owed whether or not the LLC made a profit, which makes it the largest fixed annual cost of holding a Vermont LLC.

Q: What is Vermont Form BI-471?

Form BI-471 is the Business Entity Income Tax Return, the first page of the return filed by S corporations, partnerships, and LLCs treated as pass-through entities for federal and Vermont income tax. The Department of Taxes states that the return is incomplete without it. Supporting schedules include BI-472, BI-473, and BI-477.

Q: What happens if a Vermont LLC does not file its annual report?

The Secretary of State can terminate the company's registration. A terminated entity loses the authority to operate under that registration and must be reinstated to restore it, which is more expensive and slower than filing on time. Confirm the current reinstatement procedure with the Secretary of State.

Fact-checked by the LegalGlass editorial team against primary sources · Published Aug 20, 2026 · Last updated Aug 20, 2026

Every Vermont LLC must file an annual report with the Vermont Secretary of State within three months following the end of the fiscal year on record for the company. Separately, a Vermont pass-through entity owes the Department of Taxes a $250 minimum annual entity tax with Form BI-471.

Quick Answer

Annual report: Required - Vermont Secretary of State
Deadline: Within 3 months after the fiscal year end on record
Who files: Domestic and foreign LLCs authorized in Vermont
Minimum entity tax: $250 per year - Vermont Department of Taxes
Entity tax return: Form BI-471, Business Entity Income Tax Return
Nonresident withholding rate: 6.6% for tax years 2018 forward
Failure to file: Termination of the entity's registration

What the Vermont Annual Report Does

The Vermont annual report is a renewal of the company's business registration with the Vermont Secretary of State. Vermont law requires each domestic limited liability company and each foreign limited liability company authorized to transact business in Vermont to file an annual report with the Secretary of State. The report confirms the entity's name, principal office, registered agent, and management details on the public record.

It is a registry filing, not a tax return. Filing it does not satisfy any Vermont Department of Taxes obligation, and paying the entity tax does not satisfy the annual report. The two run on separate calendars with separate agencies, which is the most common source of Vermont compliance failures for small LLCs.

The Fiscal-Year Deadline

Vermont does not use a single statewide due date. The Secretary of State requires the annual report to be filed within three months following the end of the fiscal year recorded for the business. A calendar-year LLC whose fiscal year ends December 31 therefore files between January 1 and March 31. An LLC with a June 30 fiscal year end files by September 30.

Because the deadline is derived from the fiscal year on the Secretary of State's record - not from your formation date and not necessarily from your federal tax year - the first step every year is to confirm what fiscal year end the state actually has on file for your company. Look the entity up in the Secretary of State's business search before assuming December 31.

Missing the window puts the registration at risk. A Vermont LLC that does not file can have its registration terminated by the Secretary of State, at which point it loses its authority to operate under that registration and must go through reinstatement to restore it. Confirm the current reinstatement procedure and any associated charge directly with the Secretary of State.

The Annual Report Fee

Vermont charges a fee to file the LLC annual report, and the amount differs for domestic and foreign companies. The Secretary of State's own filing-fee comparison table, prepared by the Business Services Division for the Vermont Legislature in February 2025, lists the LLC annual report fee at $45. That table also shows proposed changes under consideration - a standard schedule of $50 for domestic annual reports and $175 for foreign annual reports - which had not replaced the existing amounts as published.

Because fee legislation was actively moving, confirm the amount that applies to your filing on the Secretary of State's fees page before you submit, rather than relying on a figure quoted anywhere else. The Secretary of State also maintains an important notices page where fee changes are announced.

The $250 Minimum Entity Tax

Vermont's second annual obligation runs through the Vermont Department of Taxes. S corporations, partnerships, and LLCs that file as pass-through entities for federal and Vermont income tax must file a Business Entity Income Tax return. Form BI-471 is the first page of that return, and the Department states that the return is incomplete without it.

The pass-through entity is liable for a minimum annual entity tax of $250 for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 1998. That minimum is owed whether or not the LLC was profitable, which makes it the true recurring cost of holding a Vermont LLC - larger than the annual report fee.

Vermont taxes the income itself at the owner level: tax is imposed on the business's income only at the shareholder, partner, or member level. But the entity has withholding duties for nonresident owners. The entity must make payments for nonresident shareholders, partners, or members - individually or on a composite basis - on income attributable to Vermont, at the second lowest marginal individual income tax rate, which is 6.6% for tax years 2018 and forward. Schedule BI-472 supports nonresident estimated payments and Schedule BI-473 supports composite tax, with Schedule BI-477 required to complete both.

Vermont LLC Annual Obligations

Obligation	Agency	Form	Amount	Timing
Annual report	Secretary of State	Online renewal	Confirm current fee on the SOS fees page	Within 3 months after fiscal year end
Business entity income tax	Department of Taxes	BI-471	$250 minimum	Annually, with the entity return
Nonresident estimated payments	Department of Taxes	BI-472 / BI-477	6.6% of Vermont-source income	With the entity return
Composite return for nonresidents	Department of Taxes	BI-473 / BI-477	6.6%	Elective, with the entity return
Federal partnership return	IRS	Form 1065 + K-1	-	Federal calendar
Federal EIN	IRS	Form SS-4	$0	One-time

How to File the Annual Report

Vermont routes annual reports through the Secretary of State's online business services system. The steps are short:

Look up the business and confirm the fiscal year end the state has on record.
Open the annual report renewal for the current period.
Confirm or update the principal office address, mailing address, and registered agent.
Confirm the managers or members shown on the record.
Pay the fee shown at checkout and submit.

Update the Vermont registered agent details at the same time if anything has changed. The registered agent is where service of process and state notices arrive, so an out-of-date agent address is how a company misses both a lawsuit and the reminder that its annual report is due. The national registered agent guide explains the role.

Foreign LLCs Registered in Vermont

An LLC formed in another state that is authorized to transact business in Vermont files the same annual report as a domestic Vermont LLC, on the same three-month-after-fiscal-year-end schedule. Its home state's obligations continue in parallel, so a two-state company runs two compliance calendars. Vermont's proposed fee schedule would charge foreign annual reports substantially more than domestic ones, which is another reason to confirm the current amount at filing time. If Vermont activity ends, withdraw the registration rather than abandoning it, so the annual report obligation stops. The general framework is in how to form an LLC and what an LLC is.

Federal Filings Sit on Top

Vermont's requirements are additional to federal ones. Under IRS rules, a domestic multi-member LLC defaults to partnership treatment and files Form 1065 with Schedules K-1, while a single-member LLC is disregarded and reports on the owner's individual return. An LLC may elect corporate or S corporation treatment instead, which changes the federal return and can change the Vermont entity return, but does not remove the Secretary of State's annual report obligation. See S-corp vs LLC, how to get an EIN, and what an ITIN is for owners without a Social Security number. Federal self-employment tax on pass-through income can be estimated with the self-employment tax calculator, and the national picture is at business tax.

Planning Around the Two Deadlines

Because Vermont's registry deadline floats with the fiscal year and the tax deadline follows the tax year, the safest habit is to write both dates down once and review them annually:

Annual report - three months after the fiscal year end shown on the Secretary of State's record.
Form BI-471 and the $250 minimum tax - on the Department of Taxes calendar for the entity's tax year.
Nonresident withholding - budget 6.6% of Vermont-source income allocable to nonresident members.
Registered agent - verify annually that the agent and address are current.

If the LLC is dormant, note that neither obligation switches off automatically: the $250 minimum entity tax and the annual report both continue while the entity exists. Winding the company up properly is the only way to end them - see how to dissolve an LLC. Formation costs across states are compared at how much an LLC costs, licensing at business licenses, trade names at what a DBA is, brand protection at trademark registration, and terminology in the glossary.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the Vermont LLC annual report due?

Within three months after the end of the fiscal year on record with the Secretary of State - March 31 for a calendar-year LLC.

How much is the Vermont LLC annual report fee?

The Secretary of State's fee comparison table for the Legislature lists $45, with changes proposed. Confirm the current amount on the SOS fees page before filing.

Does a Vermont LLC pay a minimum tax?

Yes - a $250 minimum annual entity tax to the Department of Taxes, owed whether or not the LLC was profitable.

What is Vermont Form BI-471?

The Business Entity Income Tax Return filed by pass-through S corporations, partnerships, and LLCs. The return is incomplete without it.

How does Vermont tax nonresident LLC members?

The entity pays on their Vermont-source income at the second lowest marginal individual rate, 6.6% for tax years 2018 forward.

What happens if a Vermont LLC does not file its annual report?

The Secretary of State can terminate the registration, and reinstatement is required to restore it.

Sources

Vermont Secretary of State - Annual/Biennial Reports (LLCs file within three months following the fiscal year end on record).
Vermont Secretary of State - Fees & Statutes (current filing fee schedule).
Vermont Secretary of State - Important Notices for Vermont Businesses (fee change announcements).
Vermont Secretary of State - Limited Liability Company formation.
Vermont Legislature - Business Services Division filing fee comparison table (Feb 2025) ($45 LLC annual report; proposed $50 domestic / $175 foreign).
Vermont Legislature - 11 V.S.A. §4012 (annual report requirement).
Vermont Legislature - 11 V.S.A. Chapter 25, Vermont Limited Liability Company Act.
Vermont Department of Taxes - Business Entity Income Tax ($250 minimum entity tax; pass-through treatment).
Vermont Department of Taxes - Form BI-471 Instructions (minimum tax; 6.6% nonresident rate; schedules BI-472, BI-473, BI-477).
Vermont Department of Taxes - Business and Corporate Due Dates.
IRS - Limited Liability Company (LLC) (default federal classification).
IRS - Get an Employer Identification Number (free EIN).

LegalGlass provides general information for educational purposes and is not legal advice, is not a law firm, and is not a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney or tax professional. Laws, fees, and thresholds change; verify current amounts with the Vermont Secretary of State and the Vermont Department of Taxes before acting.