Free tool
Delaware franchise tax calculator
Enter your authorized and issued shares, par value and gross assets at December 31 to see the tax both ways. Delaware bills by authorized shares by default, but most startups owe less by the Assumed Par Value Capital method. You pay the lower one, plus the $50 annual report fee.
Your shares and assets at December 31
0 for no-par stock
From your cap table at December 31
Total assets on your December 31 balance sheet
You'd owe Delaware
$850
$800 franchise tax + $50 annual report, by March 1
- Assumed Par Value CapitalLower
- $800
- Authorized Shares (Delaware's default bill)
- $85,165
Assumed par $0.1250 a share; assumed par value capital $1,250,000.
Filing with your gross assets and issued shares saves $84,365 against Delaware's default bill.
Assumes 10,000,000 authorized shares at $0.00001 par, 8,000,000 issued and $1,000,000 of gross assets at December 31, due March 1. Rules checked Sep 30, 2026. Accountable estimates both from your books.
How it's calculated
- Authorized Shares method: $175 for 5,000 shares or less, $250 for up to 10,000, and $85 for each further 10,000 or part of it, up to $200,000.
- Assumed Par Value Capital method: gross assets divided by issued shares gives an assumed par per share. Shares with a lower par (and no-par shares) count at the assumed par, the rest at their own par.
- That total is rounded up to the next $1,000,000, and each million costs $400, from $400 up to $200,000.
- The annual report fee is $50, and both are due by March 1. A tax of $5,000 or more is paid in estimated installments.
Questions founders ask
Which method should my startup use?
Whichever is lower, and for most venture-backed startups that is the Assumed Par Value Capital method. You choose it by entering total gross assets and issued shares in the annual report; Delaware then recalculates the tax.
What counts as total gross assets?
Everything on your balance sheet at December 31, before liabilities: cash, receivables, equipment and other assets. It is the same figure as total assets on Schedule L of Form 1120.
Does this work for LLCs?
No. Delaware LLCs pay a flat $400 a year, due June 1, and do not file an annual report.
Is this calculator official?
No. It follows the rules Delaware publishes, checked on the date shown. Delaware's own filing system computes the amount you owe.
Rules from, checked September 30, 2026: