How to choose
Wyoming vs Delaware vs New Mexico LLC for non-residents
Last updated: August 2026
For a non-US resident forming a single-member LLC with no US presence, three states dominate the decision: Wyoming, Delaware, and New Mexico. Other states (Nevada, Florida) get marketed heavily but rarely make sense for the digital-nomad use case. Here is the honest split.
Bottom line
Pick Wyoming if you are a solo founder, freelancer, or e-commerce operator and you want the right default. Pick Delaware if you have US institutional VC plans within 12·24 months. Pick New Mexico if you want a long-hold passive holding LLC and you want zero ongoing annual filing burden. The most common mistake is "Nevada because it sounds tax-friendly", for non-residents the cost-to-benefit math rarely works out vs Wyoming.
Side-by-side
| Wyoming The non-resident default | Delaware The VC standard | New Mexico The cheapest annual | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filing fee | USD 100 online | USD 110 for LLC online | USD 50 |
| Annual report / franchise tax What you pay every year just to stay in good standing | USD 60 minimum annual report | USD 300 flat LLC tax (LLC); Inc files March 1 with USD 175+50 minimum | None. No annual report, no franchise tax |
| State income tax on non-resident-owned LLC with no in-state nexus | None | None on non-resident-owned LLC with no Delaware nexus | None on non-resident-owned LLC with no NM nexus |
| Anonymity by default Are member names publicly visible? | Yes, only the registered agent shows on the public filing | Members not public (LLC); officers public (Inc) | Yes, members not public on the formation filing |
| VC-ready (institutional capital) | Not the standard for US institutional VC | Yes. Delaware General Corporation Law is the US institutional default | Not the standard for US institutional VC |
| Approval speed | Same-day to next-day approval | 1·3 business days online; same-day rush available for additional fee | 1·3 business days online |
| Fits | Solo founder, freelancer, e-commerce operator, consultant under USD 500k/year | Founders raising or planning to raise from US institutional investors | Long-hold passive holding entities where you do not want to track an annual filing |
What each option actually fits
Wyoming
The non-resident default
Wyoming is the right default for a non-resident solo founder. Lowest ongoing cost, strongest anonymity, zero state income tax, fastest approval. Where it stops working is institutional VC. Delaware case law is what investors expect.
Delaware
The VC standard
Delaware is the right pick if you are raising venture capital from US institutional investors. Outside that use case, you are paying USD 240 more per year (USD 300 vs USD 60) than Wyoming for case-law clarity you will probably never invoke.
New Mexico
The cheapest annual
New Mexico has no annual report and no franchise tax, the cheapest state to maintain. The trade-off is a thinner business-court track record and less mainstream familiarity. For a long-hold passive holding LLC where ongoing simplicity matters more than market familiarity, New Mexico can be the right pick.
The honest take
So which one?
Pick Wyoming if you are a solo founder, freelancer, or e-commerce operator and you want the right default. Pick Delaware if you have US institutional VC plans within 12·24 months. Pick New Mexico if you want a long-hold passive holding LLC and you want zero ongoing annual filing burden. The most common mistake is "Nevada because it sounds tax-friendly", for non-residents the cost-to-benefit math rarely works out vs Wyoming.
See the canonical BCA service page →Common questions
Can a non-resident form an LLC in any US state? +
Yes. Non-residents can form an LLC in any of the 50 states. The choice is purely about ongoing cost, anonymity, court-system preference, and VC-readiness. The same EIN process applies regardless of state.
Why is Nevada not on this list? +
Nevada has heavy ongoing fees (annual list USD 150 + business license USD 200 = USD 350/year) without meaningful benefits for the non-resident solo-founder use case. It gets marketed for asset protection that almost never applies to a one-person LLC.
Can I switch states later? +
Yes, via domestication (some states) or by dissolving and re-forming. Plan it on day one rather than at year two, the EIN, bank account, and contracts have to migrate too.
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