Stay compliant in Kentucky

Kentucky’s recurring dates are an annual report by June 30², income tax in the spring, sales tax on the schedule the Department assigns, and employer accounts if you have people on the payroll. Secretary of State mail goes to the principal office, so keep that address current. The registered agent is who gets a lawsuit.

What’s different in Kentucky

• The annual report is the same $15¹ for an LLC and a corporation, due in the same January-to-June window. A miss on June 30² brings a notice before the company is dissolved.
• The limited liability entity tax comes back with the income tax return. At $3 million or less, it is $175¹¹. A sole proprietor does not pay it.
• Workers’ compensation starts at one employee. An all-states endorsement on an out-of-state policy does not count.
• The minimum wage matches the federal rate on the wages page, $7.25¹⁷ an hour.

Do this

1. File the annual report during January 1 through June 30. Most businesses file one. Sole proprietorships do not². The fee is $15. The first one is the year after the calendar year the business was formed²¹, which the filings page states as June 30 of each year after the year the entity is formed³. A postcard arrives in January. You cannot change the principal office or the registered agent on the annual report postcard. Those changes need a statement of change¹. The change of agent or office is $10⁶.
2. Treat June 30 as the deadline, and read the notice if you are late. State law sets the order. A missed annual report lets the Secretary of State start a proceeding to dissolve the company⁴. The company gets a notice first, and is dissolved if it does not file within 60 days of the date the notice was mailed⁵. The One Stop page says a miss on June 30 is bad standing, a 60-day notice goes out July 1, a filing by August 31 returns the company to good standing without penalty, and a miss on August 31 is dissolution or revocation. The annual reports page says a domestic entity that misses June 30 is administratively dissolved¹, but under the statute the notice comes first. File by June 30², and follow the notice you receive.
3. A veteran-owned business may owe no fee and still owe the report. A veteran-owned business organized after August 1, 2018, does not pay the annual report fee for the first four years. It still has to file on time⁷. The fee schedule lists $15¹ and does not restate the exemption. Confirm it is applied when you file.
4. If the company was dissolved, reinstate before you assume the name is still yours. The Secretary of State will ask the Department of Revenue for a letter of good standing and, for a profit company, the Division of Unemployment Insurance as well, unless you get the letters yourself. You also pay any delinquent filing fees. The penalty is $100. A foreign entity that misses the annual report has its certificate of authority revoked¹. A foreign entity requalifies with a new certificate of authority. That application is $90⁶ for a corporation or LLC.
5. File income tax and the entity tax. People: Form 740 by April 15, 2027, for tax year 2026, at 3.5%, with a $3,360 standard deduction. C corporations: Form 720 by the 15th day of the fourth month after the taxable year ends, tax at 5%. Pass-through entities: Form PTE by the same entity due date. A single-member LLC owned by an individual: Form 725²². A Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday moves the due date to the next business day. An extension gives more time to file, not more time to pay¹². The estimated payments printed on the corporation page are April 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15, each for 25% of the estimated tax¹¹.
6. Pay the limited liability entity tax with that return if it applies. It covers corporations, LLCs, S corporations, limited partnerships, and other businesses that have limited liability. Sole proprietorships and general partnerships do not pay it. Some businesses are exempt by statute. The minimum is $175 at $3 million or less. Above $6 million, compare 0.095% of Kentucky gross receipts with 0.75% of Kentucky gross profits and pay the smaller. Between $3 million and $6 million, a sliding-scale formula applies. A corporation that also owes income tax can reduce that income tax by the LLET above the $175 minimum¹¹. An S corporation pays corporation income tax only on built-in gains, passive investment income, or LIFO recapture installments¹². The handbook’s entity-level election is Form 740-PTET-ELECT, an election to pay income tax at the entity level²². The handbook does not say whether you should make it.* Ask a CPA.
7. File sales tax on the assigned schedule if you are registered. Returns are due monthly, unless the Department of Revenue assigns a less frequent schedule. It resets the schedules each June⁹. A monthly return is due on or before the twentieth day of the following month¹⁰. The FAQ does not print the due day for a quarterly or annual schedule.* Check the filing system. Late is 2% for each 30 days or part, up to 20%, ordinary minimum $10²³. Rates and the remote-seller test are on Get your tax IDs.
8. If you have employees, keep the employer accounts current. Withholding is 3.5% for 2026, filed electronically, with statements due January 31¹³. Unemployment reports are due the last day of the month after the quarter. First quarter is due by the last day of April¹⁴. The wage base is $12,000. The Service Capacity Upgrade Fund charge is not in effect for 2026²⁴. Report new hires and rehires within 20 days from the date the person first performs services for pay²⁵. Nonresident owners of a pass-through entity: Withholding is required only for nonresident individual partners, shareholders, or members. A nonresident corporation partner is not withheld on, and still may have to file. The withholding return is Form 740NP-WH¹².
9. Renew the local occupational license and any trade license on their own dates. The city or county sets the occupational tax. Licenses and permits has the form list. An assumed name filed with the Secretary of State lasts five years from the date it is filed with the Secretary of State. Renew it within the six months before it expires. The Secretary of State is not required to send a renewal certificate. The renewal fee is $20²⁰.
10. Replace a registered agent who leaves. The change is $10⁶. The agent receives lawsuits and other process. Service on the agent counts as service on the business even if the agent never forwards it³. You cannot make that change on the annual report postcard.

Employer rules

Workers’ compensation: required when you have one or more employees. Family members, temporary workers, and part-time workers count. An out-of-state policy's all-states endorsement does not qualify. The policy has to pay the employer's entire Kentucky liability¹⁵. A partnership or LLC made up only of qualified partners or members, with no employees, can be exempt in some circumstances. A qualified member has a partnership agreement or articles that show a contribution, a real share of profits or losses, and a part in decisions. Coverage is required for a member who is not qualified. Corporate officers are employees. An officer can reject coverage by filing Form 4. The rejection is not effective until the original notarized form is filed with the Department of Workers' Claims¹⁶. The compliance page says filing the rejection gives up the right to benefits, and it recommends talking with an attorney before you reject coverage. There is also a path for the Commissioner to authorize an employer to pay claims directly.

Minimum wage, from the wages and hours page: $7.25 an hour. Overtime is time and a half after 40 hours in a work week¹⁷. For a worker who regularly gets more than $30 a month in tips, state law lets you pay the cash wage federal law sets for a tipped employee. The U.S. Department of Labor puts that at $2.13¹⁹ an hour. Your records have to show that wages plus tips reached the minimum wage in each week you pay the lower cash wage¹⁸. Check with the department if you think a job is exempt.

Unemployment: a non-farm employer is liable at $1,500 in a quarter or 20 different weeks in a calendar year, not necessarily the same worker and not necessarily in a row. The new-employer rate is at least 2.7%. A new construction employer is assigned the highest rate on the schedule, not the 2.7% new-employer rate¹⁴. Late reports and late payments are charged. Penalty amounts in the employer guide depend on how many reports were late and how many days late. Read that table in the guide rather than a summary. Interest on unpaid Department of Revenue tax for 2026 is 9%. A 25 percent collection fee can be added 60 days after the original notice date²³.

What you get back

A filed annual report, filed tax returns, and current employer accounts. If the report is missed long enough for the Secretary of State to dissolve the company, reinstatement needs the good-standing letters and the $100⁶ penalty on top of the unpaid fees. If you are late, the notice in your hand is the date to trust.