Montana LLC annual report — $20 by April 15 or $35 after the deadline?

Both numbers are right, just at different times. Montana LLCs file the annual report through the Secretary of State's online portal. For 2026 the Secretary of State waived the fee for annual reports filed from January 1 through April 15, 2026 — an on-time 2026 report costs $0. A report filed after April 15 costs $35. In ordinary (non-waiver) years the on-time fee is $20, so budget $20 by April 15 as the standing rule and treat 2026 as the exception. (Reviewed 2026-08-13 against the Montana SOS fee schedule.)

Montana's enforcement cadence is unusually slow. The annual report is due April 15, the late fee schedule applies after that, and the Secretary of State's standing practice is to send dissolution notices around September 1 each year for entities that still have not filed. The notice gives a 90-day cure window, pointing to administrative dissolution around December 1 if the report remains unfiled. So a Montana LLC that misses April 15 still has roughly 7.5 months before the entity is administratively dissolved.

After administrative dissolution, a domestic Montana LLC may reinstate within 5 years. Reinstatement requires the $35 reinstatement fee plus $35 for each delinquent annual report year. Most reinstatements need a Title 15 certificate from the Department of Revenue, except single-member LLCs not taxed as corporations — that exception is convenient for typical foreign-owned single-member LLCs. Foreign entities registered in Montana are NOT eligible to reinstate after administrative dissolution; they must requalify, which is more expensive.