Why dev agencies need a Wyoming LLC
Dev agency procurement at US companies is gated. The first question on every vendor onboarding form: are you a US-registered business with an EIN. Without that, your application gets routed to a slower international vendor process, often dies in compliance, or never reaches the hiring manager.
A Wyoming LLC clears the gate. You become a US-registered business with a clean EIN, a US bank, and contract-ready legal entity. The hiring manager can move your engagement through standard vendor onboarding in 1-2 weeks instead of 4-8 weeks.
And the LLC handles the payment side. US enterprise wires retainers and project fees to Mercury. The agency pays its global dev team out of Wise (cheapest FX) or Mercury. Net margin stays in the LLC.
The dev agency stack after formation
- Wyoming LLC formed under Title 17, Chapter 29 ($397, 24 hours)
- EIN via IRS Form SS-4 (8 to 10 business days)
- Mercury business bank for client deposits
- Wise Business for paying global dev team in their local currencies
- MSA template + Statement of Work template (per-project customization)
- Deel or Remote.com for compliant global contractor onboarding (optional)
- Project management (Jira, Linear, ClickUp, Notion) for client delivery
- Form 5472 + pro forma 1120 filed annually ($99 add-on)
Pricing models for dev agencies
| Engagement type | Pricing model | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Custom build (defined scope) | Lump sum | $30K-$500K |
| Time and materials (T&M) | Hourly | $60-$200/hour |
| Retainer (ongoing dev capacity) | Monthly | $15K-$80K/month |
| Sprint-based (Agile retainer) | Per sprint | $10K-$30K per 2-week sprint |
| MVP build for startups | Fixed package | $25K-$150K |
| Staff augmentation | Per developer per month | $5K-$15K per developer |
| Enterprise project | Lump sum with milestones | $200K-$2M+ |
Paying global dev teams through the LLC
Most dev agencies have a global team. Lead engineers in your home country. Junior devs in Eastern Europe or South Asia. Designers in Latin America. Each contractor invoices the LLC monthly. The LLC pays through Wise Business (best FX) or Mercury.
For 5-20 contractors, manual payment through Wise works fine. For 20+ contractors or for compliance-heavy markets, use Deel or Remote.com to handle contractor onboarding, tax forms, and payments centrally. These platforms charge $49-$599 per contractor per month but reduce admin overhead significantly.
Contractor pay deducts as business expense on the pro forma 1120 cover. Net agency margin (revenue minus contractor pay minus other expenses) flows through to you as the owner.
How US tax works on dev agency revenue
Dev services delivered remotely from outside the US are generally not Effectively Connected Income for a non-resident pass-through LLC. So US federal income tax owed is typically zero.
Form 5472 + pro forma 1120 is mandatory annually regardless. Gross project and retainer revenue minus contractor pay minus SaaS spend minus other expenses equals net business income flowing through to you.
Some US states tax software services (Texas, Washington, parts of North Carolina). If you have specific large US clients in these states with $500K+ annual contracts, sales tax registration may apply. Use TaxJar to monitor. For most dev agencies, sales tax does not apply.
Banking and contracts for enterprise dev clients
Enterprise dev clients ($100K+ engagement values) usually wire retainers and milestone payments to Mercury. Net 30 to Net 60 payment terms are standard. Mercury accepts wires with no fees on incoming domestic ACH or wire.
Some enterprise clients require professional liability (E&O) insurance for engagements above $250K. Coverage typically runs $2K-$10K per year for $1M-$5M policies. NEXT Insurance, Hiscox, or Insureon offer US business policies that pair with a Wyoming LLC.
Master Service Agreements (MSAs) get customized per client. The LLC signs each MSA. Statements of Work (SOWs) reference back to the MSA. Both reference your LLC name, EIN, and Mercury bank info.
Common dev agency mistakes with Wyoming LLCs
- Signing MSAs under personal name instead of LLC
- Accepting retainers via personal Stripe or PayPal
- Paying global dev team through personal bank (mixes personal and business)
- Skipping Form 5472 because revenue feels like consulting ($25K penalty applies)
- Not having E&O insurance for high-value enterprise engagements
- Mixing client project funds (which should be tracked per-project) with general operating funds
- Forgetting to issue 1099-NEC to US-based contractors paid over $600/year
What is included for dev agencies at $397
- Wyoming LLC formation under Title 17, Chapter 29 within 24 hours
- Wyoming registered agent for year 1
- Custom operating agreement for solo or partner dev agency operations
- EIN via IRS Form SS-4 (no SSN required)
- Direct introductions to Mercury, Relay, and Wise Business
- Document delivery as searchable PDFs (Articles + EIN letter for vendor onboarding)
- WhatsApp and email support across NYC and Dhaka time zones
- Stripe US setup guidance for smaller client invoices