What are my ongoing compliance obligations after formation?

Every US business has ongoing filing and compliance obligations that start the moment it's formed, even before it earns revenue. Staying on top of these helps you avoid late fees, penalties, and issues with your registered agent or bank. The main ongoing obligations are: - Annual report filing: Most states require an annual (or biennial) report to keep your entity in good standing. Requirements, deadlines, and fees vary by state. - Federal tax filing: Your LLC or corporation generally needs to file a federal return each year. If you're a foreign-owned Single-Member LLC with reportable transactions, that includes Form 5472 alongside a pro forma Form 1120. - Registered agent and address maintenance: You need to keep an active registered agent and up-to-date business address on file with your state. - State and local licenses or sales tax registration: Depending on what you sell and where, you may need to register for sales tax or maintain specific business licenses. - Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting: Under FinCEN's interim final rule (March 2025), later finalized in August 2026, U.S.-formed companies are permanently exempt from BOI reporting. This requirement now applies only to foreign entities that register to do business in a US state or tribal jurisdiction after being formed under foreign law. If you elected S-Corp status, you also take on payroll obligations (paying yourself a reasonable salary subject to payroll taxes) and must file Form 1120-S annually. If you can't file your federal return by the original deadline, you can request more time by filing IRS Form 7004 (Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File) before that deadline. An extension gives you more time to file the paperwork, but any tax you owe is still due by the original deadline, interest and penalties can still apply to unpaid tax even with an approved extension. ## How doola helps with compliance doola keeps your business compliant by tracking your state and federal compliance requirements, sending you reminders before deadlines, and offering filing services so those requirements actually get handled on time.