Home / Delaware / Hair Salon / LLC Guide

Forming an LLC for Your Delaware Hair Salon: The Complete Filing Guide

The Delaware hair salon guide gives the short version: file a Certificate of Formation, pay $110, then pay a flat $400 tax every June 1 and file nothing else with the Division of Corporations. This page is the long version. It covers the entity choice in Delaware terms, the annual tax that is not an annual report, the three year cancellation clock and the revival that undoes it, trade names through Delaware One Stop, and the Revenue and unemployment accounts that follow formation.

Researched from Delaware state sources. Our guides are free. We may earn a commission when you use a partner service, at no additional cost to you.

LLC, sole proprietor, or corporation for a Delaware salon

The choice is about what your structure costs you every year and what stands between a bad day in the salon and your personal assets. A sole proprietor salon files nothing with the Division of Corporations and pays no annual tax, but there is no legal separation between the owner and the business: a judgment against the salon is a judgment against the owner. A corporation gives the separation, but Delaware corporations file an annual report with the Division and pay a franchise tax calculated under the Division's own formulas, a heavier yearly routine than most small salons need. A limited liability company sits between them: the separation of a corporation, no annual report at all, and one flat annual tax that does not grow with your revenue. That simplicity, not any exotic Delaware advantage, is why the LLC is the default for a Delaware salon.

Two cautions belong in the same breath. Forming an LLC does not replace any license on this site: the shop license, the practitioner licenses, the business license, and the trade name registration are owed by the business however it is organized, and our Delaware hair salon guide covers that chain. And a Delaware LLC is the right answer for a business operating in Delaware. Owners tempted to form in Delaware while the salon sits in another state should read the fine print first: the operating state will usually require its own foreign registration on top, which stacks two states' fees on one business.

Filing the Certificate of Formation

Formation runs through the Delaware Division of Corporations, and it is deliberately short. The certificate itself asks for little: the company's name and its Delaware registered agent. The name has to carry the designator "Limited Liability Company", "L.L.C." or "LLC", and it has to be distinguishable from the names already on the Secretary of State's records under section 18-102 of the LLC Act. The registered agent is the Delaware address, a person or a service, that receives legal papers for the company, and every Delaware LLC must maintain one for as long as it exists.

1. Choose the legal name. Check it against the Secretary of State's records for distinguishability, and make sure it carries one of the section 18-102 designators. Decide the trade name at the same time, because the shop license, the business license, and the lease will each ask for names in their own order.
2. Name a Delaware registered agent. A commercial agent service, your attorney, or an individual with a Delaware address who agrees to the role. The agent's address is the state's official channel to your company; keep it current, because a missed service of process is not a defense.
3. File the Certificate of Formation and pay $110. That fee comes from the Division of Corporations fee schedule revised August 1, 2026, and it is the only formation charge the Division makes. Filing can be done online through the Division or by mail; keep the stamped confirmation with your formation records.
4. Keep the confirmation, and know the good standing price. When a bank or landlord asks for proof the LLC is active, the document is a certificate of good standing, priced at $50 on the Division's fee schedule. It is issued only while the annual tax is current, which is one more reason the June 1 tax below is not optional.

That is the whole formation. Delaware does not require an operating agreement to be filed, does not require a list of members, and does not ask for your business purpose. What the state gives you for $110 is a legal person separate from you; what you do with the EIN, the bank accounts, and the licenses below is what makes the separation real in practice.

The trade name: Delaware One Stop's statewide registry

The name on your sign is usually not your LLC's legal name, and Delaware registers that operating name as a trade name, known everywhere else as a DBA. Until recently this was a county errand: trade names were filed with the Superior Court Prothonotary in each county where the business operated. That changed on February 2, 2026, when the Division of Revenue took over a statewide trade name registry run through Delaware One Stop. One registration now covers the whole state for a one-time fee of $25 per trade name, with no per county charges and no notarization.

Three features of the new registry matter for a salon. First, the order of operations: you must hold a valid Delaware business license issued by the Division of Revenue before you register, because the trade name attaches to that license. Second, the term: a registered trade name never expires and needs no renewal, as long as the underlying business license stays valid, which quietly removes a renewal most states charge for. Third, the history: trade names registered with a Prothonotary Office before February 2, 2026 remain registered and valid, and their owners may re-register them into the state registry at no cost using the original Superior Court filing number. What a trade name does not do is reserve the name: registration is public notice, not exclusive rights, and it is not a trademark.

The EIN: free, direct from the IRS

Your LLC needs an Employer Identification Number even if you never hire, because the bank account, the merchant account, and the state tax registrations all key off it. Apply on irs.gov, where the number is issued immediately and costs nothing. If a website offers to get your EIN for a fee, it is selling you a form the IRS gives away. File for the EIN in the LLC's exact legal name, because the name on the EIN confirmation letter is what your bank will compare against your formation documents.

Delaware taxes and employer accounts after formation

Delaware's tax shape is unusual, and three parts of it land on every salon. The annual LLC tax. In place of an annual report, every Delaware LLC pays a flat annual tax of $400, due on or before June 1st for the prior year, as the Division of Corporations' tax instructions publish it. There is no annual report filing for a domestic LLC, and no proration: the tax is assessed if the LLC was active in the Division's records at any point during the tax year. Miss it and the bill grows by a $200 penalty plus interest of 1.5 percent per month on the tax and the penalty, and the LLC stops being in good standing, which blocks filings, blocks certificates of good standing, and bars the company from maintaining an action in a Delaware court under section 18-1107. Let it run three years from the due date and section 18-1108 cancels the certificate of formation outright; revival under section 18-1109 costs a $220 filing fee plus every dollar of tax, penalty, and interest owed, and restores the company retroactively, as if the cancellation had never happened. A voluntary closing is cleaner: a Certificate of Cancellation costs $220, plus the annual taxes through the year you cancel.

The business license and gross receipts tax. Every business operating in Delaware holds a state business license from the Division of Revenue: $75 for the first location and $25 for each additional one, renewed annually on or before December 31. Delaware imposes no state or local sales tax; the revenue instrument is a gross receipts tax on the seller, with no deductions for labor, materials, or other expenses. Salon services fall in the occupations and general services category at 0.3983 percent, charged on receipts above an exclusion of the first $100,000 per month, or $300,000 per quarter. Retail product sales are a separate activity with their own $100,000 monthly exclusion at the retailer rate of 0.7468 percent, and the retailer license carries an extra $15 retail crime unit fee. Service receipts and retail receipts are tracked and filed separately, so set your point of sale categories up that way from day one.

Employer accounts. Register for Delaware income tax withholding with the Division of Revenue through Delaware One Stop, so state tax comes out of every paycheck correctly. Register separately with the Division of Unemployment Insurance at the Department of Labor: contributions are owed on the first $14,500 of each employee's wages in 2026, and the new employer rate for 2026 is 1.0 percent. Delaware's minimum wage is $15.00 an hour, which is the floor your payroll settings should carry before the first stylist clocks in.

The business bank account and keeping the shield intact

An LLC protects its owner only while the owner treats it as a separate business. Open the business bank account in the LLC's name with the formation confirmation and the EIN letter, run every dollar of salon revenue and expense through it, and keep personal spending out of it entirely. Commingled money is the fact pattern courts look for when they set an LLC aside, and it is entirely within your control. The same discipline covers the merchant account for card payments, the booking platform payouts, and any financing: our Delaware business loans page explains what lenders check, starting with exactly this separation.

The Delaware LLC annual duties calendar

Delaware's calendar is shorter than most states', and that is the point. Mark these dates:

• June 1: the $400 annual tax. Pay the Division of Corporations for the prior year. No annual report accompanies it, because Delaware does not require one. The $200 penalty and 1.5 percent monthly interest start accruing on a missed payment, and three missed years cancel the certificate of formation.
• December 31: business license renewal. Renew the Division of Revenue business license, $75 for the first location and $25 for each additional one, keeping the trade name registration attached to it in good standing.
• Monthly or quarterly: gross receipts filings. File service receipts in the occupations and general services category and retail receipts in the retailer category, each against its own $100,000 monthly exclusion, on the schedule the Division assigns your account.
• Quarterly: unemployment insurance. Report wages and pay contributions on the first $14,500 per employee for 2026, and file withholding returns on the Division of Revenue's schedule.
• On the board's clocks: license renewals. Practitioner licenses renew October 31 of even numbered years, and the shop license renews June 30 of odd numbered years, per the parent guide. Insurance renewals, covered in our Delaware salon insurance guide, belong on the same calendar.
• Not on your calendar: an annual report. Delaware LLCs file none. If a service offers to file your Delaware annual report for a fee, it is selling a document the state does not require; the June 1 tax is the real obligation.

Miss the June 1 tax once and the fix is money: the penalty, the interest, and the tax itself. Miss it for three years and the fix is a revival filing on top of the same money. The calendar above is deliberately short, because in Delaware the entire recurring state obligation for an LLC is one tax, one license renewal, and the tax filings every operating business owes anyway.

This page is general information researched from official Delaware and federal sources, not legal, tax, or insurance advice. Requirements, fees and forms change; verify the current rules with the agency or regulator linked above before you file, sign or spend.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to form an LLC in Delaware?

The Certificate of Formation costs $110 under the Delaware Division of Corporations fee schedule revised August 1, 2026. That is the only formation fee the Division charges. The ongoing cost is the flat $400 annual tax described below, not a yearly filing fee, and name reservation at $75 is optional insurance most filers skip.

Does a Delaware LLC file an annual report?

No. The Division of Corporations states that there is no requirement to file an annual report. A Delaware LLC pays a flat annual tax of $400, due on or before June 1st for the prior year. The tax is assessed if the LLC was active in the Division's records at any time during the tax year, and there is no proration.

What happens if a Delaware LLC misses the annual tax?

A $200 penalty plus interest of 1.5 percent per month on the tax and penalty. The LLC also stops being in good standing: the Secretary of State will not accept its filings or issue a certificate of good standing, and it may not maintain an action in a Delaware court. If the tax stays unpaid for three years from its due date, section 18-1108 cancels the certificate of formation. Revival costs a $220 filing fee plus all tax, penalties and interest owed.

Where does a Delaware salon register its trade name?

Through Delaware One Stop. Since February 2, 2026 the Division of Revenue runs a statewide trade name registry online: one registration covers the whole state for a one-time $25 fee, it never expires while your business license stays valid, and you must hold a valid Delaware business license before you register. Trade names filed with a county Prothonotary Office before that date remain valid and can be re-registered into the registry at no cost.

Does Delaware have a sales tax on salon services?

No. Delaware imposes no state or local sales tax. Instead, salons pay the gross receipts tax: occupations and general services, which includes beauticians, pay 0.3983 percent on receipts above the first $100,000 each month. Retail product sales are taxed as a separate activity at 0.7468 percent with their own $100,000 monthly exclusion.