Compliance Cost Calculator
Estimate the yearly compliance and statutory filing cost for your business — including ROC filings, audit, ITR, GST returns, TDS, payroll and add-on registrations.
EPF applies at 20 or more employees (Section 1(3), EPF & MP Act). ESI applies at 10 or more employees, or 20 in some states (Section 1(5), ESI Act).
A registered trademark is renewed once every 10 years, not annually. Tick it only if your renewal falls due this year.
Indicative professional fee estimate for FY 2025-26. Government penalties, late fees, and one-off advisory work are not included. Actual quotes may vary by city and the complexity of your books.
What is Annual Compliance Cost?
Annual compliance cost refers to the recurring costs of meeting a business's statutory and regulatory compliance requirements annually. It can include professional fees for compliance services as well as government fees for required filings, forms, applications, and registrations.
Professional fees may be paid to a CA, CS, or other compliance professional for preparing returns, making filings, and handling other compliance work. Government fees are paid to authorities such as the MCA, ROC, or Income Tax Department, where required.
The total annual compliance cost depends on the business structure, compliance requirements, and services needed.
Types/Components of Annual Compliance Costs
Your annual compliance cost can include several recurring professional services. The relevant costs depend on your business structure, turnover, employees, and registrations.
- ROC Filing and Audit: Annual ROC filings, such as AOC-4 and MGT-7, along with applicable statutory audit fees. LLPs file Form 11 by 30 May and Form 8 by 30 October. OPCs and small companies file the abridged annual return in Form MGT-7A.
- Income Tax Compliance: Annual income tax return filing and tax audit fees, where applicable.
- GST and TDS Compliance: Regular GST returns, annual GST filings, and TDS returns when you are required to deduct tax.
- Payroll Compliance: Payroll-related compliance, including PF, ESI, TDS, and other statutory requirements based on your employee and registration details.
- GST on Professional Fees: GST charged by the compliance provider on relevant professional fees.
- FSSAI Annual Fee and Returns: FSSAI licences now have perpetual validity, but the annual fee remains payable. Applicable food businesses must also file annual or half-yearly returns, as prescribed.
Who Should Use the Compliance Cost Calculator?
The Compliance Cost Calculator is useful for businesses and professionals who want to estimate recurring annual compliance expenses. It can be useful in the following situations:
- New businesses: Estimate recurring compliance costs while planning your annual budget.
- Existing businesses: Review the compliance costs associated with your current requirements.
- Businesses comparing service quotes: Use the estimate as a reference when evaluating professional fees.
- Accountants and consultants: Get a quick estimate while planning compliance services for a client.
How to Use Our Compliance Cost Calculator?
Using RegisterKaro’s Compliance Cost Calculator requires a few basic details about your business and its compliance requirements.
Follow these steps to get your estimated annual compliance cost:
- Select your entity type: Choose your business structure from the available options.
- Select your annual turnover: Choose the turnover range that matches your business, such as below ₹20 lakh, ₹20 lakh–₹40 lakh, ₹40 lakh–₹1.5 crore, ₹1.5 crore–₹5 crore, ₹5 crore–₹10 crore, or above ₹10 crore.
- Enter your employee count: Enter the number of employees in your business. The calculator considers payroll costs based on your employee count.
- Select GST registration: Indicate whether your business is registered under GST.
- Select TDS applicability: Indicate whether TDS compliance applies to your business.
- Select FSSAI License: Choose this option if your business has an FSSAI license and the related compliance cost needs to be included.
- Select Trademark Renewal (Optional): Choose this option if trademark renewal is part of your recurring compliance costs.
- View your estimate: Click Calculate to see the estimated annual compliance cost and its cost breakdown.
The result is an estimate. Actual professional fees may vary based on your business requirements, transaction volume, location, and scope of services. This makes the calculator useful for businesses planning or reviewing their recurring compliance expenses.
Professional Compliance Cost vs Government Fees
Annual compliance expenses can include both professional service costs and government charges. The two are separate and are calculated differently.
| Parameter | Professional Compliance Cost | Government Fees |
| Who charges it | CA, CS, or compliance provider | Government authorities such as MCA or ROC |
| What it covers | Compliance preparation, filing, and related professional work | Processing required government forms and filings |
| Varies by | Provider, business requirements, and complexity | Form type and government fee structure |
| Where to check | This calculator | MCA and ROC Fees Calculator |
Key takeaway: This calculator estimates professional compliance costs. It does not include government filing fees.
What Does the Compliance Cost Calculator Include?
The calculator estimates recurring compliance costs that may apply to your business, including:
- ROC Filings: Annual company compliance filings, including AOC-4 and MGT-7 where required.
- Statutory Audit: Annual audit fees and related compliance work where required.
- Income Tax Return: Annual income tax return filing, including tax audit costs where required.
- GST Returns: Regular GST return filing and annual filings where required.
- TDS Returns: Quarterly TDS filing, where required.
- Payroll Compliance: PF return filing and related compliance costs where required.
- GST on Professional Fees: GST charged on the professional services included in the estimate.
- FSSAI License Annual Check: Annual maintenance or compliance costs for businesses holding an FSSAI license, where required.
- Trademark Renewal: Renewal costs for a registered trademark when the 10-year renewal period becomes due.
The calculator uses your business details to identify the relevant cost heads and provide an estimated annual cost.
What Does the Calculator Not Include?
The calculator focuses on routine annual compliance costs. It does not include certain separate or one-time expenses, such as:
- Penalties and late fees for missed compliance deadlines.
- Government filing fees payable to authorities. Use the MCA and ROC Fees Calculator for applicable MCA fees.
- One-time compliance work, such as a director change or increase in authorized capital.
- Company incorporation costs; use the Company Incorporation Fees Calculator if you are setting up a new company and need a breakdown for the registration charge.
- Separate compliance cycles: DIR-3 KYC is required once every three financial years for eligible directors, with the filing due by 30 June. Changes to mobile number, email, or residential address must still be updated within 30 days.
- Additional filing fees: The Companies Compliance Facilitation Scheme 2026 (CCFS), which reduced additional fees on pending annual filings to 10% of normal rates, ended on 15 September 2026. Delayed annual returns and financial statements are subject to the applicable additional fees, including ₹100 per day without an upper limit.
How to Calculate Your Compliance Cost?
To estimate your annual compliance cost, add the applicable cost heads for your business.
Total Compliance Cost = ROC & Audit + Income Tax + GST/TDS + Payroll + GST on Professional Fees
This calculation includes only the cost heads that apply to your business.
Not every business will have all these costs. For example, a private limited company without GST registration or employees may only have ROC, audit, and income tax costs.
A GST-registered company with employees may have additional GST, TDS, and payroll outsourcing costs.
Example:
Consider a private limited company with ₹50 lakh annual turnover, GST registration, and five employees. Its estimated cost heads may include:
- ROC filing and audit: Included
- Income tax return: Included
- GST returns: Included
- TDS returns: Included, if tax is deducted
- Payroll compliance: Included
The total annual cost will depend on the professional fees and other recurring compliance charges for each service.
If the same company has no employees and no GST registration, fewer cost heads would be included.
The calculator uses these business details to estimate the total compliance cost.
Factors That Affect Your Compliance Cost
Your business structure and day-to-day operations can affect the professional costs of maintaining annual compliance. The following factors can influence the compliance requirements and costs included in your annual estimate:
- Entity Type: Your business structure determines the compliance requirements that apply to you. Private limited companies, LLPs, OPCs, partnership firms, and sole proprietorships have different requirements.
- Turnover: Your turnover can affect the applicability of certain tax and compliance requirements, including GST registration and tax audit requirements.
- Employee Count: The number of employees can increase payroll compliance costs. EPF generally applies to establishments with 20 or more employees, subject to applicable conditions. ESI generally applies to covered establishments meeting the prescribed employee threshold, which can vary by establishment type and notified coverage.
- Registrations and Licenses: Registrations and licenses such as GST, PF, ESI, and FSSAI can create recurring or periodic compliance requirements.
- Periodic Renewals: Certain compliances do not occur every year. For example, a registered trademark is generally renewed every 10 years.
- EPF Wage Ceiling: The EPF wage ceiling rose from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 in September 2026. The maximum monthly employer contribution increased from ₹1,800 to ₹3,000 per covered employee, increasing payroll compliance work and contribution outflow for affected businesses.
Company Compliance Cost Calculation: Estimated Annual Compliance Cost by Entity Type
The annual compliance cost varies based on your business structure, turnover, transactions, registrations, and compliance requirements. The following ranges are indicative professional costs.
| Entity Type | Estimated Annual Compliance Cost |
| Private Limited Company | ₹25,000–₹1,50,000+ |
| One Person Company (OPC) | ₹25,000–₹80,000 |
| LLP | ₹15,000–₹60,000 |
| Partnership Firm | ₹5,000–₹25,000 |
| Sole Proprietorship | ₹5,000–₹25,000 |
These ranges are indicative professional cost ranges and do not represent government-prescribed fees. Actual costs may vary based on turnover, transaction volume, GST registration, payroll, audit requirements, and the scope of services required.
These estimates assume MCA V3 filing, which became the only filing route after the legacy V2 portal was decommissioned on 30 June 2026. V3 also requires registered office photographs and incorporates MGT-8 certification into MGT-7.
Use the calculator above to estimate the compliance costs relevant to your business.
Why Use RegisterKaro's Compliance Cost Calculator?
Estimating recurring compliance costs can be difficult when different requirements involve different services and expenses. The calculator helps you understand your estimated annual compliance cost through the following benefits:
- Get one combined estimate: Calculate your recurring compliance costs in one place.
- Identify applicable costs: The calculator uses your business details to identify relevant compliance cost heads.
- Plan your budget: Get an estimated annual cost to help plan your compliance budget.
- Compare professional quotes: Use the estimate as a reference when reviewing compliance service quotes.
Enter a few basic business details to get your estimated annual compliance cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
The calculator estimates your annual professional compliance cost based on factors such as entity type, turnover, employees, GST registration, and other applicable compliances.