The South Carolina Annual Report: Most LLCs Never File One

Here is the short version: a standard South Carolina LLC files no annual report. Not a reduced one, not a cheap one, none. The state's LLC law (Title 33, Chapter 44, the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act of 1996) contains no annual report section, so there is nothing to send the Secretary of State and no yearly fee to budget.

No Annual Report for Standard South Carolina LLCs

If your LLC keeps its default federal tax classification (partnership for multi-member, disregarded entity for single-member), your Secretary of State obligations after formation are nearly zero:

• No annual report
• No annual Secretary of State fee
• No franchise tax on the LLC

Most states bill LLCs every year just for existing. South Carolina does not.

Due Dates: None by Default, Tax Deadlines If You Elected Corporate Status

A default LLC has no annual report due date, period. Due dates only appear when an LLC elects corporate taxation, and they belong to the Department of Revenue, not the Secretary of State:

The Annual Report Fee in South Carolina: $0

Zero for standard LLCs, because the filing does not exist. Corporate-taxed entities pay the annual License Fee with their return instead: $15 plus 0.1% of capital and paid-in surplus, floor of $25, collected by the Department of Revenue as part of the SC1120 or SC1120S package.

The Corporate-Tax Exception, Step by Step

Elected C-corp or S-corp taxation for your LLC? Then you picked up a real annual obligation. The sequence:

1. File Form CL-1, the one-time Initial Annual Report of Corporations, with its $25 minimum initial License Fee, due within 60 days of first doing business or deploying capital in the state.
2. Every year after, your annual report is Schedule D, built into Form SC1120 (C corp) or SC1120S (S corp), filed with the Department of Revenue through MyDORWAY.
3. Pay the License Fee ($25 minimum) with that return by the deadline for your election. S-corp specifics live on the Department of Revenue's S corporation page.

Filing Late

Standard LLCs cannot be late; there is no report and no dissolution countdown tied to one. Corporate-taxed filers face the Department of Revenue's penalty stack on a late SC1120 or SC1120S: 5% per month (capped at 25%) for late filing, 0.5% per month (capped at 25%) for late payment, plus interest at the federal underpayment rate.

The One True Periodic SoS Filing in South Carolina

Trivia worth knowing: the only South Carolina entity with a genuine recurring Secretary of State filing is the limited liability partnership. An LLP registration lasts one year and must be renewed for $100 during the 60 days before it expires (S.C. Code § 33-41-1110). LLCs have nothing like it.

Your Actual Compliance Calendar

As a standard South Carolina LLC:

1. Keep a registered agent with a South Carolina street address on file at all times
2. Handle federal and state income tax obligations
3. Keep business money separate from personal money
4. Respond promptly to anything the Secretary of State mails you

That is the whole list.

Where We Fit

Even with no annual report, state mail still happens: status notices, administrative questions, service of process. We receive it at our South Carolina address, scan it the same business day, and email it to you. $99/year, flat.

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No annual reports to track, no franchise tax to calculate. Keep it that way and let us cover the registered agent piece.

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