Delaware
Delaware C-corp bookkeeping and franchise tax
Almost nobody operates in Delaware. Most US startups are incorporated there, and that alone creates a filing you cannot skip.
Almost nobody operates in Delaware. Most US startups are incorporated there, and that alone creates a filing you cannot skip.
At a glance
Delaware is not a location page in the way New York or Austin is. Nobody runs their company from Delaware. They incorporate there, and then owe Delaware something every year regardless of where the work happens.
Delaware calculates franchise tax two ways and you pay the lower — but only if you file under it. The notice the state sends quotes the Authorized Shares figure, which for a venture-backed startup with a large authorised share count is wildly higher than the alternative.
Same company, same year. The difference is which method you file under. Our Delaware franchise tax calculator runs both against your own numbers.
The Assumed Par Value method needs your total gross assets as reported on Schedule L of the federal Form 1120, and your issued share count. If the books are not closed and the balance sheet is not final, you cannot compute the cheaper method — so companies default to the expensive one out of time pressure rather than choice.
Owe $5,000 or more and Delaware requires estimated payments through the year: 40% by 1 June, 20% by 1 September, 20% by 1 December, and the remainder by 1 March.
Books closed early enough that the balance sheet supports the cheaper method, the 1 March deadline tracked, and the state filing handled alongside wherever you actually operate — New York, San Francisco, or Austin.
Where these numbers come from