What Is Delaware Franchise Tax?

Delaware Franchise Tax is an annual fee every Delaware corporation pays the state to stay in good standing. It is not a tax on income or revenue, so even a company with zero profit owes it. For a typical startup C-Corp it starts at roughly $400 plus a $50 annual report fee.

How Delaware Franchise Tax Works

Delaware lets corporations calculate the tax two ways and pay the lower amount.

The Authorized Shares Method bases the bill on how many shares your charter authorizes, while the Assumed Par Value Capital Method uses issued shares and gross assets. Most early-stage startups authorize 10 million shares to keep the cap table clean, which can produce a large Authorized Shares bill, so they switch to the Assumed Par Value method instead. That second method is what lands most funded C-Corps at the assumed-par-value minimum.

The franchise tax and the corporation's annual report are filed together, due March 1 each year.

Why It Matters for a Global or India Founder

If you incorporate in Delaware to raise venture capital, this is a fixed yearly cost you cannot skip.

Miss the March 1 deadline and the state adds a penalty plus interest, and your corporation loses good standing, which can stall financing and bank relationships. This is separate from your federal obligations: a Delaware C-Corp still pays 21% federal corporate income tax on profits, and a foreign-owned single-member LLC still files Form 5472 annually even with no activity. Franchise tax is the price of keeping the entity alive, not a tax on what it earned.

For an India-based founder, budget the franchise tax alongside your EIN setup and registered agent so nothing lapses while you are nine and a half hours away.

Where StableCorp Fits

StableCorp forms your Delaware C-Corp and keeps the recurring filings on the calendar, so the franchise tax and annual report do not slip.

All-in annual upkeep for a Delaware C-Corp typically runs ~$800–$1,500 once you add the registered agent and CPA. If you are solo or bootstrapped, a Wyoming LLC has no franchise tax and lighter upkeep, which is why StableCorp defaults VC-track founders to Delaware and everyone else to Wyoming. Then we connect compliant USDC rails so you can get paid by US clients and off-ramp to INR on the right purpose codes — compliant rails, not a grey area. See pricing for the full breakdown.

This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Franchise tax figures are current as of June 2026; confirm the latest rates on the Delaware Division of Corporations website.

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