Wyoming LLC Cost Calculator

How this calculator works (and where every number comes from)

This calculator is built from published, verifiable fees — not estimates we invented. Each input maps to a real cost a non-US resident actually pays to form and keep a Wyoming LLC.

The $397 year-1 figure is all-inclusive. It covers the LLC formation (Articles of Organization filed with the Wyoming Secretary of State under Wyoming Statutes Title 17, Chapter 29), the Wyoming state filing fee (paid on your behalf at filing — not added at checkout), one year of registered agent service, a custom operating agreement, your EIN via IRS Form SS-4 (no SSN required), and introductions to Mercury, Relay, and Wise Business. When you see a competitor advertise "$X plus state fee," that is a different product from "$X, state fee included" — and the difference is exactly the kind of surprise that makes this market confusing. We hold the headline at $397 precisely so the comparison is honest.

The Wyoming annual report ($60 minimum) is a recurring state cost, not a service fee. Wyoming calls it the annual report "license tax," and it is due on the first day of your LLC's formation-anniversary month every year. For nearly every non-resident it is the $60 minimum, because the fee only rises above $60 when the LLC holds substantial assets located inside Wyoming (most non-residents hold none). You pay this to the state regardless of which formation service you used or whether you used one at all.

Registered agent renewal (~$100/year) is required by law. Wyoming Statutes Section 17-28-101 requires every LLC to maintain a registered agent with a physical Wyoming address. Year 1 is included in the $397; from year 2 onward you renew at a competitive rate of roughly $100/year. This is unavoidable — an LLC without a registered agent falls out of good standing.

Form 5472 + pro-forma 1120 (the $99/year add-on) is mandatory for most readers. A foreign-owned single-member LLC is treated as a "disregarded entity" that must file Form 5472 attached to a pro-forma Form 1120 every year to report transactions with its foreign owner. This is an IRS requirement, not an upsell, and the penalty for failing to file is $25,000 per form, per year. The $99/year add-on covers the filing; you can also use a CPA, who will typically charge $200 to $800 for the same return. Because almost every non-resident single-member LLC needs this, the calculator turns it on by default — leaving it off understates your true cost.

ITIN ($297, one-time) is usually optional. An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number is only needed if you sell on PayPal (which uses an ITIN for personal verification of the responsible party) or if you have to file a personal US return (Form 1040-NR). Amazon, Stripe, Shopify, Mercury, and Wise all work without one. That is why the calculator leaves ITIN off by default — most founders should not pay for it.

The $1,999/year competitor benchmark is real. It reflects a full-service "total compliance" plan publicly listed by a well-known competitor. We use it as an honest ceiling so you can see the gap, not to disparage anyone — some founders genuinely prefer a concierge bundle, and that is a legitimate choice.

Year 1 versus year 2+: why they are different numbers

The single most common mistake non-residents make is comparing formation prices when they should be comparing the multi-year total. Year 1 is a one-time event: you pay to create the entity and get it operational. Years 2 and beyond are pure carrying cost — keeping the entity alive and compliant.

A provider can advertise a very low formation price ($39 is a real example in this market) and recover it through a high recurring "compliance," "registered agent," or "worry-free" renewal. Another can charge more up front and almost nothing after. Over a five-year horizon those two can invert completely. The calculator exists to surface that: slide the "years to project" control and watch how a small recurring difference compounds.

For a Wyoming LLC through this service, the shape is: a one-time year-1 cost, then a deliberately minimal ~$160/year (the $60 state report plus the ~$100 agent renewal), plus the $99/year Form 5472 filing if you use the add-on. There is no padded annual bundle, which is why the multi-year line stays flat instead of climbing.

Three worked examples

1) A freelancer in Dhaka invoicing US and EU clients (no ITIN). They take payments through Stripe and Wise, so they do not need an ITIN. Year 1 is $397 + $99 (Form 5472) = $496. Each following year is $60 + $100 + $99 = $259. Over five years that is 496 + (259 × 4) = $1,532 — about $306/year averaged. The same founder on a $1,999/year full-service plan would pay roughly $9,995 over five years.

2) An e-commerce seller who needs PayPal (with ITIN). Selling on a marketplace that pays out via PayPal, this founder adds the one-time ITIN. Year 1 becomes $397 + $99 + $297 = $793. Years 2+ are unchanged at $259 (ITIN is one-time, not recurring). Five-year total: 793 + (259 × 4) = $1,829. Note the ITIN is a year-1 bump only — it does not change the recurring math.

3) A two-person SaaS team, multi-member LLC. A multi-member LLC is taxed as a partnership and files Form 1065 instead of the 5472/1120 combination, so the specific filing differs (and a CPA is often worth it here). The formation and state costs are the same: $397 in year 1, ~$160/year after, plus whatever partnership-return preparation costs you choose. The key point for cost planning is that the entity costs are identical; what changes is the federal filing path.

These examples are illustrative — confirm your own situation, because the right answer depends on where you bank, how you take payment, and whether you have a US tax-filing obligation.

What changes your number

• ITIN or not. A one-time $297, only for PayPal or a personal US return. Most skip it.
• Single-member vs multi-member. Single-member foreign-owned LLCs file Form 5472 + pro-forma 1120; multi-member LLCs file a partnership return (Form 1065). Different forms, different preparation cost.
• Form 5472 handled in-house vs CPA. $99/year add-on versus $200–$800 for a CPA. Either is fine; doing nothing is not — the penalty is $25,000.
• US sales-tax nexus. If you hold inventory in US warehouses (e.g., Amazon FBA) you may create sales-tax obligations in some states and want tax-collection software. This is situational and not part of the base LLC cost.
• Trademark. Filing a USPTO trademark (for Amazon Brand Registry, for instance) is a separate optional cost, unrelated to the LLC itself.
• Foreign qualification. If your LLC does business physically in another US state (an office, employees, or significant presence there), you may need to register as a foreign LLC in that state — an extra annual filing and agent. Most non-residents operating entirely from outside the US never trigger this.

The bundle trap: why the cheapest headline often costs the most

The instinct is to sort by formation price and pick the lowest. Over a multi-year horizon that instinct is frequently wrong, because the headline and the recurring cost are set independently. A "$0 + state fee" formation paired with a mandatory $300/year registered-agent renewal and a $1,500/year compliance package is far more expensive over five years than a $397 all-inclusive start with a $160/year carry.

Run the comparison the calculator encourages: take any provider's quote and add (formation) + (years − 1) × (everything that renews). Include the registered-agent renewal, any "compliance" or "worry-free" subscription, and the Form 5472 filing if it is not bundled. Then compare totals at three years and five years, not at checkout. That single habit — multi-year total, not headline — is the most valuable thing on this page.

What the price does not include

To be transparent, the $397 covers formation and the first year. It does not include: the recurring state report and agent renewal (years 2+), the ITIN if you need it, the annual Form 5472 filing (unless you add it), US sales-tax software, a USPTO trademark, or a personal US tax return if your own circumstances require one. None of these are hidden — they are the same situational costs any provider would charge, and the calculator lets you toggle the ones that apply to you.

Common cost mistakes to avoid

1. Skipping Form 5472 to "save money." The $99 (or a CPA fee) is trivial next to a $25,000 penalty. Never skip it on a foreign-owned single-member LLC.
2. Paying for an ITIN you do not need. Unless PayPal or a personal US return is in play, it is wasted money.
3. Comparing year-1 prices only. Always map three- and five-year totals.
4. Assuming "state fee included" everywhere. Read whether the state filing fee is inside the price or added at checkout.
5. Forgetting the anniversary-month deadline. The Wyoming annual report is due the first day of your formation-anniversary month; missing it risks falling out of good standing.

Wyoming versus Delaware, Nevada, and New Mexico on cost

State choice is the other big lever on your recurring number, because the annual obligations differ sharply:

• Wyoming: $60 annual report (minimum), $0 franchise tax, $0 state income tax. The recurring floor is the lowest of the popular non-resident states, which is why it dominates the calculator's multi-year math.
• Delaware: a flat $300 franchise tax every year for LLCs, payable regardless of revenue or activity. A Delaware LLC sitting completely idle still owes $300/year — five times the Wyoming report. Delaware earns its premium only if you are raising US venture capital or need the Court of Chancery; for a bootstrapped non-resident it is mostly extra cost.
• Nevada: higher recurring cost than Wyoming once you include the annual list filing and the state business-license fee, which together run several hundred dollars a year.
• New Mexico: unusual in having no annual report at all, which looks cheapest on paper — but it has thinner banking and service infrastructure for non-residents, and the privacy/asset-protection statutes are not at Wyoming's level.

Over five years, the state-fee gap alone (Wyoming's ~$60/year vs Delaware's $300/year) is roughly $950 before any service costs — which is why "which state" often matters more to your total than "which formation service."

How to keep your cost as low as possible

1. Only add the ITIN if PayPal or a personal US return actually requires it. That is a clean $297 saved for most founders.
2. Stay single-member if you are solo — it keeps your federal filing to the 5472 + pro-forma 1120 path rather than a partnership return.
3. Handle Form 5472 through the $99 add-on unless your situation is complex enough to justify a CPA; either way, never skip it.
4. Do not buy "compliance" or "worry-free" bundles you will not use. For a pre-revenue or low-volume LLC, bookkeeping and tax-monitoring subscriptions often have nothing to do yet.
5. File the annual report on time. On-time filing is the cheapest compliance there is; the costs below are what you pay when you do not.

Reinstatement and late costs: the line most calculators ignore

If you miss the Wyoming annual report, the state does not simply send a friendly reminder forever. After a delinquency period, Wyoming can administratively dissolve the LLC. Bringing it back requires filing for reinstatement and paying the back fees plus a reinstatement charge — more than the $60 you would have paid on time, and in the meantime your "good standing" lapses, which banks and payment processors can flag. None of this is in the base estimate above because it is entirely avoidable: set a calendar reminder for your formation-anniversary month and the recurring cost stays at the floor the calculator shows.