Why Wyoming became the default
Wyoming invented the LLC in 1977 and has spent decades keeping it attractive:
- No state income tax, corporate or personal. Your LLC's profits face no Wyoming-level tax at all.
- No citizenship or residency requirement, an non-US resident can own 100% from day one.
- Low, predictable fees, $100 to file, and an annual report that starts at $60.
- Strong privacy, member and manager names don't have to appear in the public formation record.
- Serious liability protection, Wyoming's charging-order protection extends even to single-member LLCs, which many states don't offer.
- Fast processing, filings are typically approved in days, which is what makes a 7-day launch realistic.
For a location-independent business, SaaS, services, digital products, selling to US customers from outside the US, there's rarely a reason to pay more elsewhere.
What it costs, year one and every year after
| Item | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| State filing fee (Articles of Organization) | $100 | Once, at formation |
| Registered agent | Included year one with PowerLaunch; market rate $50-$150/yr after | Annual |
| Annual report ("license tax") | $60 minimum (or $0.0002 per dollar of Wyoming-located assets, whichever is greater, $60 for virtually every online business) | Every year, first day of your anniversary month |
| State income tax | $0 | Never |
Compare: Delaware's flat $300 annual franchise tax, or California's $800 minimum. Over five years, Wyoming saves four figures for no loss of function.
The privacy advantage, honestly stated
Wyoming doesn't publish member names in the formation record, searches show the company and its registered agent, not you. But be clear about the limits: your bank knows who you are (KYC), the IRS knows (EIN + Form 5472 reporting for foreign-owned LLCs), and non-US authorities know (Schedule FA disclosure). Wyoming privacy is protection from casual public lookup and data scrapers, not anonymity from governments, and it shouldn't be bought for that reason.
When Wyoming is the wrong choice
- You're raising US venture capital. Institutional investors overwhelmingly expect a Delaware C-Corporation. Fighting that expectation costs more than the Delaware fees. (See our Delaware vs Wyoming comparison.)
- You have physical operations in another state. An office, warehouse or employees in, say, Texas means registering there anyway, a Wyoming LLC would just add a second set of fees as a "foreign LLC".
- Amazon FBA with heavy inventory nexus. Usually still fine, marketplace facilitator laws mean Amazon collects sales tax, but the analysis deserves ten minutes, not an assumption.
- Absolute lowest running cost wins. New Mexico has no annual report at all. Its trade-offs (less case law, fewer banking conveniences) are real but small; for ultra-lean solo operations it's worth a look.
Forming a Wyoming LLC from outside the US: the steps
Name check, must be distinguishable in Wyoming's registry and end with "LLC" or an accepted variant.
File Articles of Organization, the $100 filing that creates the company.
Operating agreement, not filed with the state but essential: banks ask for it, and it's your governance document.
EIN from the IRS, no SSN needed; see the EIN guide.
US bank account, Mercury, Wise or Relay, opened remotely; see the banking comparison.
Life after formation: the annual report
Wyoming wants exactly one thing from you each year: the annual report, due on the first day of your anniversary month, $60 minimum. File it and keep a registered agent, and your LLC stays in good standing indefinitely. Miss it long enough and the state administratively dissolves the company, a fixable but thoroughly avoidable mess. It's the first line of the compliance calendar we hand every client.
