Act No. 2024-213
By Rep. Margie Wilcox, R-Mobile

As of Oct. 1, corporations no longer are required to file an annual report with the Secretary of State under Act No. 2024-213.

Rep. Margie Wilcox, R-Mobile, the chief sponsor of the legislation, said repeal of the report “makes operating a business in Alabama more manageable for business owners.”

Before this year, corporations filed annual reports with their business privilege tax returns. A 2022 law gradually eliminated the minimum business privilege tax for some 230,000 small businesses. As of Jan. 1, the Alabama Secretary of State, rather than the Alabama Revenue Department, began processing annual reports from for-profit and professional corporations.

The revision, which the governor signed Monday, “prevents business owners from needing to pay accountants up to 15 times the cost of the $10 report to navigate the confusing filing requirement,” said Wilcox. Rep. Kerry Underwood, R-Tuscumbia, co-sponsored the repeal. The Senate authors were Sens. David Sessions, R-Grand Bay, and Gerald Allen, R-Cottondale.

The Alabama Retail Association, along with other business groups and Secretary of State Wes Allen, supported the legislation.

Corporations will continue to have to register and pay taxes, Act 2024-213 only removes the need to file an annual report. No annual report will be due in 2025 and beyond, under the act. Previously, failure to file an annual report was grounds to revoke the corporation’s registration.

“Simplifying the requirements put on small businesses, especially when an error in compliance could result in the loss of a business’s registration, is a worthwhile cause,” Allen said in May 7 statement.

The legislation received unanimous approval from both the Alabama Senate (April 25) and House (March 19).

>> Secretary of State full statement on Act No. 2024-213

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Originally posted 1:15 p.m. May 7, 2024