The best state to start an LLC is the one whose cost, filing burden and disclosure rules fit what you are actually doing — so compare them rather than take a recommendation on trust. Wyoming, Delaware and New Mexico to begin with, or any two or three of the 51 filing jurisdictions: what it costs to open, what it costs every year after, whether your name ends up in a public database, and which one we would pick, with the reason.
Which states are you weighing up?
Pick two or three. All 51 filing jurisdictions are available; the eight below are the ones founders without a US presence actually choose between.
Three is the limit. Remove one to add another.
Answer the presence question above and this becomes a recommendation
Without it we would be ranking states on price for someone who may have no choice about where to file. The table below is accurate either way.
Every number, side by side
Each state links to its own filing office, so nothing here has to be taken on trust.
Formation cost, annual cost, privacy and tax compared across the states you selected.
Cost to formThe state filing fee for a domestic LLC. A registered agent is extra everywhere.
$100Articles of organization, filed with Wyoming.
$110Articles of organization, filed with Delaware.
$50BestArticles of organization, filed with New Mexico.
Annual reportBiennial states are shown at their yearly equivalent so the columns compare.
$60Every year. First day of the anniversary month
NoneBestNo periodic report is due for a standard LLC.
NoneBestNo periodic report is due for a standard LLC.
Franchise or privilege taxThe minimum a company with no trading activity still owes.
NoneBestNo franchise or privilege tax on a company that is simply in existence.
$300Annual LLC tax. A flat $300 due 1 June for every LLC. Corporations file an annual report and are assessed franchise tax on shares — $175 minimum under the authorised-shares method, and far more if shares are authorised carelessly.
NoneBestNo franchise or privilege tax on a company that is simply in existence.
True annual costReport plus franchise tax. Registered agent, accountant and federal filings sit on top of this in every state.
$60$60 report
$300$300 annual llc tax
$0BestNothing to pay and no report to file.
Owner privacyState-level disclosure only. Beneficial ownership is reported to FinCEN separately and is not public either way.
No owners namedNo member or manager names on the public formation filing or report.
No owners namedNo member or manager names on the public formation filing or report.
No owners namedNo member or manager names on the public formation filing or report.
Personal income tax
NoneBestNo state personal income tax on the profit an LLC passes through.
6.6%Top marginal rate. It bites only if you are taxed here — residence and where you work decide that, not where you filed.
5.9%Top marginal rate. It bites only if you are taxed here — residence and where you work decide that, not where you filed.
Publication requirementA newspaper notice is a real cost and it is never quoted in a filing fee.
NoneNo newspaper publication requirement.
NoneNo newspaper publication requirement.
NoneNo newspaper publication requirement.
In one line
The default for founders with no US presence: $100 to open, $60 a year, no members named.
What investors expect for a C-Corp. For an LLC with no Delaware presence, you are paying $300 a year for a brand.
$50 once and never again — but nothing ever reminds you the company exists.
$110Articles of organization, filed with Delaware.
Annual report
NoneBestNo periodic report is due for a standard LLC.
Franchise or privilege tax
$300Annual LLC tax. A flat $300 due 1 June for every LLC. Corporations file an annual report and are assessed franchise tax on shares — $175 minimum under the authorised-shares method, and far more if shares are authorised carelessly.
True annual cost
$300$300 annual llc tax
Owner privacy
No owners namedNo member or manager names on the public formation filing or report.
Personal income tax
6.6%Top marginal rate. It bites only if you are taxed here — residence and where you work decide that, not where you filed.
Publication requirement
NoneNo newspaper publication requirement.
In one line
What investors expect for a C-Corp. For an LLC with no Delaware presence, you are paying $300 a year for a brand.
$50BestArticles of organization, filed with New Mexico.
Annual report
NoneBestNo periodic report is due for a standard LLC.
Franchise or privilege tax
NoneBestNo franchise or privilege tax on a company that is simply in existence.
True annual cost
$0BestNothing to pay and no report to file.
Owner privacy
No owners namedNo member or manager names on the public formation filing or report.
Personal income tax
5.9%Top marginal rate. It bites only if you are taxed here — residence and where you work decide that, not where you filed.
Publication requirement
NoneNo newspaper publication requirement.
In one line
$50 once and never again — but nothing ever reminds you the company exists.
Two things you will read everywhere that the figures do not support
Nevada is the privacy state
Nevada costs $425 to open and $350 a year — more than four times Wyoming's $60 — and it still names your managers in the public record. Wyoming names nobody, for $100 to file. You are paying a premium for the marketing, not for the privacy.
A Delaware LLC with no Delaware presence pays $300 a year in annual llc tax and gets no tax benefit for it — Delaware taxes personal income at up to 6.6%. What Delaware is genuinely for is a C-Corporation: its case law and its Court of Chancery are what US investors expect to see on a term sheet. If you are not raising, you are paying for a brand.
Formation in the state you picked, the EIN, banking introductions and a compliance calendar that already knows these dates — instead of six vendors and a spreadsheet.
This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Every figure above is read from published Secretary of State fee schedules and state revenue department guidance compiled in August 2026. Fees change without notice and several states adjust them at the start of a fiscal year — verify against the Secretary of State before you file.
Best state to form LLC for privacy
Privacy here means one narrow thing: whether your name appears in a public database anyone can search. Wyoming and New Mexico do not publish member names; Delaware does not either, though its registered agent is on record. Several states do publish, and a few require a newspaper notice on top.
What it does not mean: privacy from a bank or from the IRS. Every bank will ask who owns the company before it opens an account, the EIN application names a responsible party, and whatever beneficial ownership reporting applies to you is the same whichever state you pick. Choosing a state for privacy buys you absence from a public register, not anonymity.
Does the state matter if you live abroad?
Less than most comparisons suggest. A non-resident founder with no US premises, staff or inventory usually has no state-level nexus anywhere, so the choice comes down to running cost and filing burden rather than tax. That is why Wyoming and New Mexico come up so often, and why Delaware — built for companies raising venture capital — is frequently the more expensive answer to a question you are not asking.
If you sell physical goods into the US, hold inventory in a warehouse or hire there, that changes and the comparison above is only the starting point. See sales tax nexus and the full guide to picking a state.