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CORPORATE TRANSACTIONS & COMPLIANCE BLOG

What To Do If You Missed the March 1st Deadline for Delaware Annual Report and Franchise Tax

By: Colleen A. DeVries, COGENCY GLOBAL on Mon, Mar 09, 2015

Delaware annual reports that were not filed and franchise taxes not paid for domestic corporations by March 1st will result in the Delaware Division of Corporations assessing a $125 penalty in addition to the tax and annual report fee, plus interest at 1.5% per month applied to any unpaid tax balance. Note that this deadline also applies to Delaware exempt domestic corporations.

Delaware Annual ReportsAlso, it is important to note that Delaware will not issue Good Standing Certificates for corporations that have not met the annual report filing requirements.

Keep in mind that Delaware requires the annual report(s) to be filed prior to all dissolution and merger filings. For Delaware corporations that are actively conducting business, coordinating the filing of the annual report and payment of past due franchise taxes as soon as possible will help you avoid frustration and delays when other important time-sensitive filings need to be made in Delaware.

What You Should Do Now If You Missed the Deadline
You can contact your registered agent in Delaware for assistance to file your annual report and pay your franchise taxes due along with the penalty and any interest accrued. Alternatively, you can file directly online with the Delaware Division of Corporations, http://www.corp.delaware.gov/paytaxes.shtml.

Finally, you may want to consider engaging your registered agent to handle compliance filings on your behalf in Delaware and other states where you conduct business. This will ensure that all filing deadlines are met in a timely manner, give you comfort that your entities remain in good standing and eliminate the added expense of interest payments and penalties. For additional information, see our post Frequently Asked Questions about Delware Annual Reports for Corporations.

Franchise tax payments for Delaware limited liability companies, limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships are due June 1, 2015.  You should be on the lookout for notices from your registered agent soon. No annual report is due for these entity types, only the franchise tax payment in the amount of $300. 

Maintain Peace of Mind . . . File on Time!
To ensure that all of your entities remain in compliance and active in the jurisdictions where they conduct business, consider tracking upcoming compliance due dates through your entity management system or working closely with your registered agent to identify upcoming due dates well in advance. This will give you comfort knowing you won’t have to scramble when an important deadline approaches.

 

This article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered, or relied upon, as legal advice.

Topics: Annual Report Compliance, Delaware Corporate, UCC and Compliance