Some links on this website may be affiliate links. If you purchase through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The Short Answer
If you’re a non-US resident forming a US LLC in 2026, form in Wyoming. It costs around $100 to file, about $60 a year to maintain, charges no state income tax, and doesn’t list owner names on the public record. It’s the best all-round package of low cost, privacy, and universal acceptance for freelancers, agencies, SaaS founders, e-commerce sellers, and digital nomads running a business from abroad.
The only real exceptions: choose New Mexico if your top priority is the absolute lowest long-term cost (around $50 to file, with no annual report fee at all), or Delaware if you’re specifically planning to raise money from US venture capital investors.
That’s the verdict. Below: the real costs, the trade-offs most articles gloss over, the states to avoid, and how to file once you’ve decided.
Table of Contents
- How to Choose the Right State: 3 Factors That Actually Matter
- At-a-Glance Comparison: Wyoming vs New Mexico vs Delaware
- Wyoming: The Best All-Rounder for Non-Residents
- New Mexico: The Cheapest Option Long-Term
- Delaware: Only If You’re Raising Venture Capital
- Decision Framework: Which State Should YOU Choose?
- States to Avoid as a Non-Resident
- Once You’ve Chosen: How to Actually File Your LLC
- Common Mistakes Non-Residents Make
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Final Verdict
How to Choose the Right State: 3 Factors That Actually Matter
Here’s something most guides won’t tell you upfront: as a non-resident, you can legally form an LLC in any US state — no need to live there, visit, or have a Social Security Number. The only legal requirement is appointing a registered agent with a physical address in the state.
So the “best state” question really comes down to three factors:
1. Total cost — not just the filing fee
This is where most founders get tripped up. They compare the one-time filing fee and ignore what the state charges every single year after that. Always do the real math:
Filing fee + (annual fee × number of years) + registered agent cost
A state with a $50 filing fee and a $300 annual franchise tax costs far more over five years than one with a $100 filing fee and a $60 annual report fee. The filing fee is a one-time event; the annual fee is forever.
And don’t forget the registered agent. Every state legally requires one, and commercial services typically cost around $100–200 per year — unless it’s bundled into your formation package, which is one reason bundled formation deals deserve a close look.
2. Privacy
Some states publish LLC member (owner) names in a publicly searchable database. Others only require the registered agent’s name on filings, keeping your name off the public record entirely.
If you’d rather not have your name easily searchable in a US state database — and most international founders prefer that — this factor alone narrows your shortlist considerably. Wyoming and New Mexico are both strong on privacy; Delaware is decent but no better than Wyoming here.
3. Fundraising and credibility
This one only matters for a specific type of founder. If you plan to raise money from US venture capital firms, Delaware has a genuine advantage: investors know Delaware corporate law cold, and its Court of Chancery is the most respected business court in the country. Familiarity reduces friction in a funding round.
For everyone else — freelancers, consultants, agencies, SaaS founders, e-commerce sellers — this factor is irrelevant, and Delaware’s $300 annual franchise tax becomes a pure sunk cost.
One thing that does NOT depend on the state: your federal US tax situation. Whether your LLC owes US federal tax depends on your business structure and whether your income is “effectively connected” with a US trade or business — not on which state you filed in. Don’t pick a state for federal tax reasons.
At-a-Glance Comparison: Wyoming vs New Mexico vs Delaware
| Wyoming | New Mexico | Delaware | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filing fee | ~$100 | ~$50 | ~$110 |
| Annual state fee | ~$60/yr (annual report) | None — no annual report | $300/yr (franchise tax) |
| State income tax on LLCs | None | None (pass-through) | None if not operating in DE |
| Owner privacy | Strong — member names not on public record | Strong — member names not on public record | Moderate |
| Asset protection | Strong, incl. charging-order protection | Standard | Standard |
| Familiarity with banks & processors | Very high | Good | Very high |
| Best for | Most non-resident founders | Lowest lifetime cost | Raising US venture capital |
State fees change periodically, so treat the numbers above as approximate — always confirm the current fee on the state’s Secretary of State website before you file. The relative ranking, though, has been stable for years: New Mexico cheapest, Wyoming the best value, Delaware the priciest unless you need what it offers.
Wyoming: The Best All-Rounder for Non-Residents
Wyoming is the default recommendation for non-resident founders, and it’s not close. Here’s why.
Cost. Around $100 to file the Articles of Organization, plus an annual report fee of about $60 a year (it’s asset-based, with $60 as the minimum — virtually every small online business pays the minimum). Over five years, your total state cost is roughly $340 — versus Delaware’s $300-a-year franchise tax alone.
Taxes. Wyoming has no state corporate income tax and no personal income tax. As a non-resident owner of a pass-through LLC, the state simply isn’t a tax factor for you.
Privacy. Wyoming does not require LLC member or manager names to be listed in public filings — only the registered agent’s information appears. Your name stays out of the searchable state database.
Asset protection. Wyoming has some of the strongest LLC asset-protection laws in the country, including charging-order protection that extends to single-member LLCs.
Friction-free operations. Because Wyoming is the most popular choice among international founders, every part of the ecosystem knows how to work with Wyoming LLCs: banks, payment processors like Stripe, Mercury, and Wise, accountants, and formation services. You’ll never have to explain what a Wyoming LLC is to a compliance department.
Choose Wyoming if you’re a freelancer, consultant, agency owner, SaaS founder, e-commerce seller, or digital nomad running an online business from abroad and you want a credible, low-cost, low-hassle US entity. That describes the large majority of non-resident founders.
New Mexico: The Cheapest Option Long-Term
New Mexico’s pitch is simple and powerful: it’s the only state on this shortlist with no annual report and no annual fee whatsoever. You pay around $50 once to file your Articles of Organization, and then you never pay the state another dollar in recurring fees. Year after year.
Run the ten-year math: New Mexico costs you about $50 total in state fees. Wyoming costs roughly $640. Delaware costs over $3,000. If your sole optimization criterion is lifetime cost, New Mexico wins by a landslide.
Privacy is also strong — like Wyoming, New Mexico doesn’t require member names on public filings.
So why doesn’t everyone choose New Mexico? Two honest caveats: it’s less of a household name, so you may occasionally meet a bank compliance team that has to double-check it (rarely a real problem), and the state’s filing systems and processing times are less polished than Wyoming’s.
Choose New Mexico if your top priority is minimizing lifetime cost — for example, a lean side project or a holding entity where the state name on the paperwork genuinely doesn’t matter.
Delaware: Only If You’re Raising Venture Capital
Delaware’s reputation is real, but it’s narrow. Let’s be precise about what you’re paying for.
The Court of Chancery is the most sophisticated business court in the United States, with centuries of case law. US venture capital firms know Delaware entities intimately — their lawyers have templated documents for them, and their partnership agreements often effectively require portfolio companies to be Delaware entities. If you’re raising institutional money, forming in Delaware removes an entire category of friction from the process.
Here’s the catch: most VCs who care about Delaware will want a Delaware C-Corporation, not a Delaware LLC. And everyone else pays around $110 to file plus a $300 annual franchise tax — every year, regardless of revenue — for prestige they can’t use. Privacy in Delaware is fine but not exceptional, and for tax purposes there’s no advantage over Wyoming for a non-resident LLC owner.
Choose Delaware if you’re building a venture-scale startup and are actively raising — or are highly confident you will raise — from US investors. If that’s not you, Delaware is the most expensive way to get nothing extra.
Decision Framework: Which State Should YOU Choose?
Enough analysis. Here’s the decisive version:
- Choose Wyoming if you run an online business from abroad — freelancing, consulting, agency, SaaS, e-commerce, content — and want the best all-round combination of low cost, privacy, and universal acceptance. This is most non-resident founders, and it’s the right answer most of the time.
- Choose New Mexico if your number-one goal is the lowest possible lifetime cost and you don’t care about the familiarity of the state name.
- Choose Delaware if you’re building a venture-backed startup and plan to raise capital from US investors.
- Choose your home state if you’re a US resident. If you physically live and work in a US state, forming there usually beats forming out of state — otherwise you can end up registering (and paying fees) in two states instead of one.
Once you’ve decided, the next step is straightforward: file your Articles of Organization and appoint a registered agent in that state. The easiest way to do both at once is a bundled formation service — for example, Registered Agents Inc’s Business Formation package ($100 + state fee) includes the state filing, a domain name, a website, and one year of free registered agent service.
States to Avoid as a Non-Resident
Not every state is a reasonable option. As a non-resident with no physical presence, steer clear of these:
- California — $800/year minimum franchise tax. Every California LLC pays at least $800 per year in franchise tax, even with zero revenue and zero activity. There is no scenario where a non-resident with no California presence should form here.
- New York — the publication requirement. Newly formed LLCs must publish a notice of formation in two designated newspapers for six consecutive weeks — an archaic requirement that can cost hundreds to well over a thousand dollars depending on the county, before you pay a single state fee.
- Nevada — the overpriced “privacy haven.” Nevada is heavily marketed to founders chasing privacy, but its filing and annual fees run into the hundreds of dollars per year. Wyoming offers equivalent privacy and stronger asset protection for a fraction of the ongoing cost.
Once You’ve Chosen: How to Actually File Your LLC
The process is the same in every state, and as a non-resident you can do all of it online without visiting the US:
- Pick a name and check availability. Search the state’s business registry to make sure your desired LLC name isn’t taken.
- Appoint a registered agent with a physical address in the formation state. This is legally required — it’s the address where the state and courts send official mail.
- File the Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State and pay the state filing fee (~$100 in Wyoming, ~$50 in New Mexico, ~$110 in Delaware).
- Get your EIN from the IRS. This is the step that trips up most non-residents: without a Social Security Number, you can’t use the IRS online application. You file Form SS-4 by fax or mail instead, and processing typically takes several weeks. Start early — you need the EIN to open a bank account and to use most payment processors properly.
- Sign an Operating Agreement. It’s an internal document, but banks and payment processors expect to see one.
You can do all of this yourself, but most non-residents bundle steps 1–3 (plus the registered agent) into a single checkout with a formation service. Registered Agents Inc offers Business Formation for $100 + state fee, which covers the state filing, a domain name, a website setup, and one year of free registered agent service — essentially the whole “choose a state and file” portion handled for you.
Common Mistakes Non-Residents Make
- Forming in California or New York “because they’re big states.” State size has nothing to do with where you should form. See the $800 California franchise tax above.
- Choosing Delaware with no fundraising plan. Paying $300 a year for investor credibility you never use is the most common wasted expense in this space.
- Forgetting the annual filing. Wyoming’s $60 annual report, Delaware’s $300 franchise tax — miss them and the state can dissolve your LLC. Set a calendar reminder the day you form.
- Delaying the EIN application. The SS-4 fax/mail process takes weeks for non-residents, so founders who wait until they “need” the EIN end up stalled — unable to open a bank account or fully activate Stripe. Apply the moment your LLC is approved.
- Ignoring Form 5472. A foreign-owned single-member US LLC must file Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, even with zero activity. It’s an information return, not a tax payment — but the penalties for skipping it are severe. This surprises nearly every first-time non-resident founder, so put it on your compliance checklist now.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a non-US resident really form a US LLC?
Yes. There is no citizenship or residency requirement — no Social Security Number, ITIN, or US address needed to form the LLC itself. You only need a registered agent with a physical address in the formation state. (You’ll need an EIN from the IRS afterward for banking and taxes, which is a separate step.)
Do I need to visit the US to form an LLC?
No. The entire formation process — name search, registered agent appointment, filing the Articles of Organization — can be completed online from anywhere in the world.
Which state is cheapest overall for a non-resident?
New Mexico: around $50 to file, with no annual report and no annual fee. Wyoming is the runner-up at around $100 to file plus about $60 per year.
Is Wyoming really better than Delaware for most founders?
For non-residents who aren’t raising venture capital, yes. Wyoming costs dramatically less to maintain (~$60/year vs $300/year), offers stronger privacy, and is universally accepted by banks and payment processors. Delaware’s advantages only matter in a fundraising context.
Will I owe US taxes on my Wyoming or New Mexico LLC?
It depends on your situation, not your state. A single-member LLC is a pass-through entity for US federal tax purposes, and whether you owe US tax turns on whether your income is “effectively connected” with a US trade or business — not on where you filed. Many non-residents with no US presence owe zero US federal income tax, but you must still file required information returns (like Form 5472). Talk to a qualified tax advisor — this article isn’t tax advice.
Can I change states later if I choose wrong?
Yes, through domestication (where allowed) or by forming a new LLC and winding down the old one. But it costs time and money — simpler to choose correctly the first time using the framework above.
Do I need a registered agent if I don’t live in the US?
Yes — it’s a legal requirement in every state. As a non-resident you can’t serve as your own agent (you have no in-state address), so you’ll use a commercial registered agent service.
Final Verdict
For most non-US residents forming a US LLC in 2026, Wyoming is the best state: around $100 to file, about $60 a year to maintain, no state income tax, strong privacy, and universal acceptance by banks and payment processors. Choose New Mexico if you want the absolute lowest lifetime cost, and Delaware only if you’re on the venture-capital path.
Whatever you choose, don’t overthink it — founders waste more money delaying than they’d ever save hunting for the “perfect” state. Pick Wyoming (or your runner-up), file, get your EIN started, and get back to building the business.