Any state will form a company for a founder who lives abroad, but nearly everyone ends up choosing between Wyoming and Delaware. One question decides it: will you raise money from US investors? If you will, choose Delaware. If you won't, Wyoming costs far less to keep. Below are the figures and the reasons.
The figures side by side
Over five years, a Delaware LLC costs about five times as much in state fees as the same company in Wyoming. That's the case for Wyoming. The case for Delaware is in the last row.
Why Wyoming suits an LLC
Wyoming has no state income tax and charges $60 a year. Its public record shows the registered agent and whoever filed the articles, not the owners. It passed the first LLC law in the country, in 1977, and banks and payment processors see Wyoming LLCs owned by non-residents all the time, so an analyst reviewing yours isn't looking at anything unusual.
It isn't the cheapest state to keep a company in. Alabama, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio and South Carolina charge nothing yearly and keep owners off the record too. What Wyoming offers is the combination: a low yearly cost, private ownership and a state banks already know. Its drawbacks are that some US investors know Wyoming law less well, and a few banks ask an extra question about it. Neither matters much for a company its customers pay for.
Why Delaware suits a corporation
Delaware's Court of Chancery has settled disputes between founders, boards and investors for more than two centuries, and standard startup documents, from the certificate of incorporation to SAFEs and option plans, are written with its decisions in mind. An investor asked to fund a company formed somewhere else will usually ask you to convert to Delaware first, at your expense. That familiarity is what Delaware's yearly charge pays for.
It pays for nothing if the company won't raise. A consultant in Karachi with a Delaware LLC pays $340 a year more than one with a Wyoming LLC, for courts neither of them will need.
What changed in 2026
Delaware's House Bill 400, signed on 21 May 2026, raised the yearly LLC tax from $300 to $400 and backdated the increase to 1 January 2026. The franchise tax rates for corporations didn't change. Plenty of comparisons online still say $300, so check the date on anything you read.
What about New Mexico, Nevada or Florida?
New Mexico is the closest alternative to Wyoming: $50 to file, no annual report, and no owners on the record. What it lacks is Wyoming's familiarity with banks and payment processors, which for most founders abroad is worth $60 a year. Nevada was known for privacy and low tax twenty years ago. Today it costs $425 to form and $350 a year, and its yearly list of managers or members is public. Florida has no state income tax, but its annual report costs $138.75, names at least one manager publicly, and costs $400 more if it's filed after 1 May. Every state has its own page with the figures.
If you change your mind later
A Wyoming LLC can convert into a Delaware C-Corporation when an investor asks. It's a real legal process with lawyers' fees and a few weeks of work, usually at a busy moment. If you already know you'll raise within two years, form the Delaware corporation now. If you don't know, form the LLC in Wyoming. Most companies never raise, and the ones that do can usually afford the conversion by then.