Wyoming, Delaware or New Mexico: a US LLC for non-residents
For most non-resident founders the state matters less than it seems. It changes the yearly cost and paperwork. It does not change the federal filings, or how you are taxed where you live.
Last checked October 27, 2026 · 3 min read
What the state decides, and what it does not
The state you form in sets the formation fee, the yearly fee or tax, the reports it wants and the registered agent you keep there. It does not set your federal obligations, which are the same in every state, and it does not decide where your profit is taxed.
A single-member LLC owned by a non-resident is, by default, disregarded for US income tax. If it has no trade or business in the United States, it usually owes no US income tax, and its profit is taxed where you are tax resident. Your home country’s rules decide how: some look through the LLC to you, others treat it as a foreign company you control.
Wyoming
- Formation
- A $100 state fee for the articles of organization.
- Every year
- An annual report with a license tax of $60, or two-tenths of a mill on the dollar of the company’s assets located and employed in Wyoming, whichever is greater. With no assets in the state, that is $60.
- Why founders choose it
- Low running costs, no state income tax, and formation and annual reports that can be filed online.
Delaware
- Formation
- A $110 state fee for the certificate of formation.
- Every year
- An annual tax of $400, due by June 1. Paying late adds a $200 penalty and interest of 1.5% a month. There is no annual report.
- Why founders choose it
- Its company law and courts are the reference for US investors. If you plan to raise money from them, they usually expect a Delaware corporation rather than an LLC, which is a different setup.
New Mexico
The third common choice. Its formation fee is low and it asks LLCs for no annual report, so the yearly cost is mostly the registered agent. Its business filings are online only. Check the current requirements with the Secretary of State before filing.
What applies in every state
- Registered agent
- Every state requires an agent with a physical address in the state to receive official mail. It is a yearly cost wherever you form.
- EIN
- The LLC needs its own employer identification number for banks, payment providers and the IRS. Without a US tax number of your own, the application goes outside the IRS online system and can take several weeks.
- Form 5472
- A single-member LLC with a foreign owner files a pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 every year. Missing it costs $25,000.
- Beneficial ownership
- Under FinCEN’s final rule, in force since August 14, 2026, companies formed in the United States file no beneficial ownership (BOI) report. Banks still ask who owns and controls the company.
- Banking and payments
- Banks and payment providers decide for themselves whether to accept a company, based on its owner, its activity and where it is managed. We check before choosing where to form.
How to choose
For a non-resident running an online business with no US staff, office or property, Wyoming or New Mexico usually keeps the yearly cost lowest. Delaware is worth its higher annual tax when US investors or partners ask for it.
Choose the state last. First decide where you will live, where the company will be managed from and which banks and payment providers you need. Those answers decide whether a US LLC is the right vehicle at all.
Sources
- Wyoming Secretary of State: Business Division filing fee schedule, effective July 1, 2026
- Delaware Division of Corporations: fee schedule, revised August 1, 2026
- Delaware Division of Corporations: annual tax for LLCs, LPs and GPs
- New Mexico Secretary of State: Business services
- FinCEN: Beneficial ownership information
- IRS: Instructions for Form 5472
Checked against these sources on October 27, 2026. Rules change: check them again before you act.
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Questions, answered.
01Do I need to travel to the US to form an LLC?
No. Formation, the EIN and most business bank accounts can be done remotely. Some banks ask to meet in person; we tell you which before you apply.
02Will my LLC pay US tax?
If it has no trade or business in the US, usually not, but it still files Form 5472 every year. Where you live then decides how its profit is taxed, which is why we start there.
03Can I move the LLC to another state later?
Usually, by continuance or conversion, but it means filings and fees in two states. It is cheaper to choose once.
The rule is the start. Your facts decide the rest.
Tell us where you live, where you earn and what you are setting up. We will go through how the rules apply to you on a call.