Best State for a Non-US Founder's LLC

For a small single-owner LLC that sells online, there is usually no strong reason. Delaware's business law and its Court of Chancery are well known to investors and lawyers, which matters most for companies raising outside investment, and those usually form a Delaware corporation rather than an LLC. If you are not raising money, Wyoming's US$60 minimum, or Missouri and Ohio with no yearly report, cost far less, and Wyoming and Ohio keep members out of the public record just like Delaware.

To form, yes: Montana's filing fee is US$35. For the annual report, montana has waived its annual report fee each year since 2024 and has already announced the waiver for reports filed 1 January to 15 April 2027. It is a yearly decision, not a permanent change, so check before each 15 April deadline. So the 2027 report costs US$0 if filed on time. But Montana's articles and annual reports list managers or members with addresses, so it is not private, and Montana taxes income earned in Montana. If keeping your name off the public record matters, Wyoming, Delaware, Ohio or Colorado fit better.

Among the states compared, Missouri and Ohio have no yearly report and no minimum state tax, Mississippi charges no annual report fee, and Wyoming's minimum is US$60. Registered agent fees from a private provider usually cost more than the state fees in these states, so compare the agent's yearly price too.

Wyoming, Delaware, Ohio and Colorado do not require members in the documents they publish. Remember that private only means not in the public state record: the IRS, your bank and your registered agent still know who owns the LLC.

If the business has no office, staff or property in any US state, choose on yearly cost and privacy; Wyoming is a common choice. Your IRS filings, including Form 5472, are the same whichever state you choose.

Usually in that state, or expect to register there anyway. An LLC doing business in a state generally has to register there as a foreign LLC and pay that state's fees and taxes, so forming somewhere cheaper elsewhere often means paying twice.

Each state where the LLC is formed or registered has its own annual or periodic report, fees and possibly taxes, on its own due date. We can track and file each state's report and any foreign registration for you; ask us. Each state's own fees are paid by you.

First, list where the business actually operates. Second, if it operates nowhere in particular, compare yearly cost (report plus any minimum tax) and what the public record shows. Third, add the registered agent's yearly fee. Fourth, check you are not raising outside investment, which may point to a Delaware corporation instead. Then form, get the EIN and calendar the yearly filings.

For an online business with no US location, Wyoming usually costs less each year (a US$60 minimum license tax against Delaware's US$400 LLC tax) and neither state lists members in the public record. Delaware has no annual report but a higher yearly tax.

Yes. You need a registered agent with a physical address in that state. If the business later has an office, staff or property in another state, it generally has to register there too.

Among the states compared here, Wyoming, Delaware, Ohio and Colorado do not require members in the documents they publish. Arizona and Montana list owners or managers. Mississippi's annual report lists a member or manager. Check the state answers above for details.

Not if they were formed in the US. FinCEN exempted US-formed companies in March 2025 and finalized that in a rule effective August 14, 2026.

No. A foreign-owned single-member LLC files a pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 for years with reportable owner transactions, whichever state it was formed in. State income tax depends on where the income is earned.