How to Start a Business in Massachusetts (2026): Fees, Filings and Taxes

Massachusetts is one of the most expensive states to form and keep an LLC. To start a business in Massachusetts, file a Certificate of Organization ($500 by mail or $520 online) or a corporation’s Articles of Organization (from $275) with the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Corporations Division, get an EIN, register with the Department of Revenue on MassTaxConnect, and file a business certificate with your city or town if you use a trade name. LLCs then pay $500 for every annual report.

Because a Massachusetts LLC costs at least $1,000 in state fees over its first two years, some small owners compare it against a corporation or sole proprietorship first. Figures below are current as of October 2026.

Updated October 2026.

Best Business Formation Services in Massachusetts (2026)

Comparing services for forming a business in Massachusetts? Start with this ranked shortlist; details for each pick follow the table.

1. Mainstay Filing

Mainstay Filing is our top pick in Massachusetts. It costs $199/year + state fee at cost and covers lLC formation filing, registered agent for the year, EIN application, annual report preparation and filing. The price stays the same every year, with no add-on menu.

2. MA Registered Agent.org

MA Registered Agent.org is a Massachusetts registered agent service at $99/year. It provides $99 per year, flat; in-state street address for the registered office; legal documents served on the company are scanned and sent to the owner online. It’s a fit if you only need a registered agent rather than full formation help.

3. Massachusetts Registered Agent.co

Massachusetts Registered Agent.co is a Massachusetts registered agent service at $99/year. It provides in-state street address for the registered office; legal documents served on the company are scanned and sent to the owner online. It’s a fit if you only need a registered agent rather than full formation help.

How much does it cost to start a business in Massachusetts?

Which structure makes sense in Massachusetts?

• Sole proprietorship: no state formation and no annual report fee, but no liability protection. File a business certificate with your town if you use a business name.
• General partnership: also no state formation; partners share liability.
• LLC: liability protection and flexible taxation, but $500 to form and $500 a year to maintain. That’s still the most common choice for owner-run businesses that want separation from personal assets.
• Corporation: cheaper on paper ($275 to form for most small companies, $100 online for the annual report), though corporations pay Massachusetts corporate excise and must follow formal governance rules.

The fee gap is large enough that it’s worth running the numbers with an accountant. Our Massachusetts LLC guide goes deeper on the LLC route.

Massachusetts LLC costs over two years

An LLC filed online pays $520 to form and $520 for its first annual report on the next anniversary, or $1,040 in state fees over two years. Filing both by mail saves $40. Business certificates, local licenses and professional licenses are extra.

Forming in Massachusetts from another state

Massachusetts doesn’t require LLC members or managers to live in the Commonwealth, but the LLC must keep an office and a resident agent there. If you operate mainly from another state, check whether that state also requires a foreign registration, and compare that cost against simply forming at home, especially given Massachusetts’ $500 annual report.

Naming your Massachusetts business

Search the Corporations Division’s online business entity database before you file. A Massachusetts LLC name must include “Limited Liability Company,” “Limited Company,” “L.L.C.,” “LLC,” “L.C.” or “LC,” and corporations need “Corporation,” “Incorporated,” “Limited” or an abbreviation. Our Massachusetts business name search guide explains the search.

Brainstorm with the Namechk business name generator, and check domains and social handles on Namechk before you spend $500 on a filing.

Business certificates (DBAs)

In Massachusetts, a DBA is a business certificate, and it’s filed locally. Mass.gov explains that each city and town has its own process, usually through the clerk’s office in the community where the business is principally located. Sole proprietors, partnerships and entities operating under another name should check their town’s requirements.

Who can be a Massachusetts resident agent?

Every Massachusetts LLC must keep an office in the Commonwealth and a resident agent. Under M.G.L. c. 156C, section 5, the agent can be an individual Massachusetts resident, a domestic corporation, or a foreign corporation authorized to do business in Massachusetts, and 950 CMR 112.13 also allows other qualified business entities. The agent’s office must be a street address; the regulation says a post office address isn’t enough.

An owner who lives in Massachusetts can serve personally. If you’d rather keep your address off public filings, Mainstay Filing includes a resident agent for the first year with its formation service. Changing your agent is free when filed online, or $25 on paper. Our Massachusetts registered agent guide covers more.

Filing your Certificate of Organization

1. Prepare the LLC Certificate of Organization (Massachusetts calls it a certificate, not articles), filed under M.G.L. c. 156C, section 12.
2. List the LLC’s name, office address, resident agent, and the managers or people authorized to sign documents filed with the Corporations Division. Massachusetts also asks you to name anyone authorized to sign documents affecting real property.
3. File online through the Corporations Division’s system ($520, including the $20 expedite fee) or by mail ($500).
4. Corporations file Articles of Organization instead, starting at $275 for up to 275,000 authorized shares, plus $100 for each additional 100,000 shares.

Then adopt an operating agreement or bylaws. Massachusetts doesn’t collect them, but they settle ownership and decisions. Once filed, your certificate and later annual reports become public on the Corporations Division’s database, so think about which addresses you list for managers and the office. For a full cost breakdown, see Mainstay’s Massachusetts LLC cost guide.

Getting an EIN

Apply free on the IRS website. MassTaxConnect registration, payroll and banks will ask for it.

Federal BOI reports no longer apply to U.S. companies; FinCEN’s final rule took effect August 14, 2026.

Registering with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue

The Department of Revenue requires businesses to register on MassTaxConnect to collect and pay state taxes.

• Sales and use tax: Massachusetts sales tax is 6.25% of the sales price of tangible personal property and certain telecommunications services, according to mass.gov.
• Meals, room occupancy and other excises: restaurants, lodging operators and some other businesses register for additional accounts on MassTaxConnect.
• Withholding: register before your first Massachusetts payroll.
• Unemployment insurance and paid leave: employers also register with the Department of Unemployment Assistance and the Department of Family and Medical Leave.

Licenses and permits in Massachusetts

There’s no general statewide business license. Licensing happens mainly at the local level and through state boards:

• Cities and towns: business certificates, zoning approvals, building permits and health permits. Mass.gov advises checking local bylaws for home businesses, including zoning, signage and parking rules.
• State licensing boards: the Division of Occupational Licensure and other agencies license trades and professions from electricians to cosmetologists.
• Alcohol: local licensing authorities and the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission.

Banking, insurance and a website

Open a business bank account with your filed certificate and EIN, and keep all business transactions there. Separating business and personal money is one of the simplest ways to protect an LLC’s liability shield, and it makes the annual tax filings far easier for you or your accountant.

Massachusetts requires most employers to carry workers’ compensation, so set that up before your first hire, along with general liability and, for service businesses, professional liability coverage. Then claim a matching domain and launch your website.

With a $500 annual report on the calendar, set a reminder for your certificate’s anniversary date as soon as the LLC is approved, so the filing never catches you by surprise.

Annual requirements in Massachusetts

• LLCs file an annual report by the anniversary date of their Certificate of Organization: $500 by mail or $520 online. Entities that don’t file can be administratively dissolved.
• Corporations file their annual report within two and a half months after their fiscal year ends ($100 online, $125 on paper; March 15 for calendar-year companies).
• Resident agent changes are free online and $25 on paper.
• File sales, withholding and excise returns through MassTaxConnect, and renew business certificates with your town when they expire.

FAQs

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