Delaware vs Wyoming LLC for Non-Residents: $400 vs $60/yr

If you live outside the US and want a simple LLC for an online business, Wyoming is usually the better pick: it costs $100 to form and as little as $60 a year to keep, against $110 and a flat $400 a year in Delaware. Choose Delaware when you want Stripe Atlas, expect US investors, or plan to become a Delaware C-corp. If you are a US resident, your home state often decides for you, because you will have to register there anyway.

That is the short answer for “Delaware vs Wyoming LLC”. The rest of this guide shows the fees from each state’s own pages (checked 28 Oct 2026), what you owe every year, how registered agents and privacy compare, and the two situations where the cheap answer is the wrong one.

Delaware vs Wyoming LLC: the cost table

State fees only, as of October 2026. Prices change, so check the linked state pages before you file.

Sources: Delaware fee schedule, Delaware LLC tax instructions, Wyoming fees, WyoBiz annual report. Already missed a Delaware payment? Our Delaware franchise tax penalty guide covers the late fees, cancellation and revival.

Worked example: three years of state fees

Say you form an LLC in November 2026 and keep it through the end of 2028.

Delaware. Formation is $110. Delaware assesses the $400 tax if the LLC is active “anytime during January 1st through December 31st” of a year, with no proration. So 2026, 2027 and 2028 each cost $400 (paid by 1 June of the following year).

$110 + (3 × $400) = $1,310

Wyoming. Formation is $100. The annual report is due on the first day of the anniversary month, so a November 2026 LLC files in November 2027 and November 2028. With under $300,000 of Wyoming assets, the fee is the $60 minimum (because $300,000 × 0.0002 = $60).

$100 + (2 × $60) = $220

Difference: $1,090 over roughly three years, before registered agent fees, which you pay in either state.

If your LLC did hold, say, $500,000 of assets located in Wyoming, the report fee would be $500,000 × 0.0002 = $100. Most online businesses run by non-residents hold nothing physically in Wyoming, so the $60 minimum is the usual case.

A Delaware timing tip from Stripe’s own Atlas docs: because the annual tax “isn’t prorated”, forming on 2 January instead of late December can save a full year of the $400 tax (Stripe Docs).

Adding a registered agent and a formation service

You cannot be your own registered agent from abroad, so budget for one. Rather than quote a generic market range, here is what three formation services we track charge, from their pricing pages (see our Stripe Atlas vs doola vs Firstbase comparison for the full breakdown):

The three-year totals earlier writers worked out from those pages (before any tax filing service): Atlas Delaware $1,900; doola Starter Delaware $2,201 vs Wyoming $1,111; Firstbase Delaware $2,606 vs Wyoming $1,516. The Delaware premium is mostly the $400 tax, three times over.

Annual obligations in each state

Delaware LLC

• $400 annual tax by 1 June. Delaware says LLCs “are not required to file Annual Franchise Tax reports”, only pay the tax (Delaware). The rate rose from $300 to $400 under House Bill 400, signed May 21, 2026, with the LLC annual-tax change effective January 1, 2026; the first payment at the new rate for a full year of 2026 is due June 1, 2027.
• Keep a Delaware registered agent. Delaware’s LLC Act requires the certificate of formation to name a registered agent and office (6 Del. C. § 18-201).
• Watch for scams. The Division of Corporations warns about mail that does not come from the State or your registered agent.

Wyoming LLC

• Annual report + license tax on the first day of your anniversary month, filed online at WyoBiz.
• Keep a Wyoming registered agent with a physical address in the state. The state’s articles form says “A Drop Box is not acceptable” (Wyoming SOS).

Federal obligations are the same in both

The IRS does not care which state you chose. A single-member LLC owned by a non-resident files a pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 every year, due 15 April (15 October with Form 7004), and the penalty for not filing is $25,000 (IRS). You also need an EIN in both states. And neither state’s LLCs file BOI any more: FinCEN’s final rule of 11 August 2026 exempts all US-formed companies (FinCEN, see BOI reporting ended).

Privacy: closer than the marketing suggests

Wyoming is often sold as the “privacy state”. On the formation document itself, the two states are similar:

• Delaware requires the LLC name, the registered office and agent, and “any other matters the members determine to include” (§ 18-201). Members are not required.
• Wyoming requires the name and the registered office and agent (W.S. 17-29-201). The state’s current form also asks for a mailing address and principal office address, and an organizer signs it (form).

So neither puts owner names on the public formation filing by default. In practice your name still reaches the IRS (EIN, Form 5472), your bank and Stripe, which all verify owners. With federal BOI gone for US companies, the remaining privacy difference between the two states is small. Do not pick a state on privacy alone.

When Delaware wins

You want to raise venture capital (then form a C-corp, not an LLC)

This is the real fork. Stripe’s Atlas docs describe the C-corp as “preferred by institutional investors who might be unable to invest in LLCs”, and Stripe’s LLC vs C-corp guide notes that investors such as Y Combinator may ask an LLC to convert to a Delaware C-corp before investing (Stripe Docs, Stripe guide).

If fundraising is likely in the next year or two, compare a Delaware C-corp against the LLC, not Delaware LLC against Wyoming LLC. Delaware corporations have their own costs: incorporation from $109, and an annual franchise tax plus report due 1 March, with a $50 report fee and a minimum tax of $175 or $400 depending on the calculation method (Delaware). Our Delaware C-corp vs LLC guide covers the tax side, including the double taxation trade-off.

You want Stripe Atlas

Atlas forms in Delaware only. Its $500 fee includes Delaware fees and the first year of registered agent, and it is refunded if you deposit $5,000 into Stripe Treasury within 90 days (Stripe Atlas). If that refund applies to you, Delaware’s higher yearly tax may be worth the convenience.

Partners, banks or acquirers expect Delaware

Some co-founders, lawyers and acquirers simply prefer Delaware paperwork. That is a soft reason, but a real one.

When your home state matters (US residents)

This section is mainly for US residents, though it can catch non-residents with a US office or staff.

An LLC formed in Wyoming but run from California is a foreign LLC in California. California’s Franchise Tax Board says every LLC “doing business or organized in California” pays an $800 annual tax, and registering there means filing Form LLC-5 ($70 filing fee, with a certificate of good standing from your home state) (FTB, LLC-5).

Worked example: a Californian picks Wyoming to “save money”

The Wyoming route still pays California’s $800 and adds a second state’s fees and a second agent. The same logic applies in other states with their own fees. The rule of thumb: if you live and work in a US state, start by pricing an LLC in that state, and only form elsewhere for a specific reason.

Non-residents who sell online from abroad, with no US office, staff or inventory, usually do not trigger this. If you do hire in or rent space in a state, check its foreign registration rules.

Canadian and Australian founders

The state choice does not change how your home country taxes you. A US LLC can be treated differently by the US and by your own tax authority, which affects whether the structure makes sense at all. Read our country guides before choosing a state: US LLC for Canadians and US company for Australian founders. You will also meet Form W-8BEN vs W-8BEN-E as soon as US clients or platforms pay you.

Who should choose which

The bottom line

For most non-residents, the Delaware vs Wyoming LLC choice comes down to $340 a year in state fees ($400 vs $60) and whether you want Delaware’s ecosystem. Wyoming wins on cost; Delaware wins only when investors, Atlas or partners make Delaware worth paying for, and then a C-corp is often the better Delaware entity anyway. If you live in the US, start with your own state.

Browse the rest of the US company setup hub for the next steps: EIN, banking and your first Form 5472.

This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Confirm with a CPA for your situation.