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What should non-residents tune for when choosing a state?
Pick four things: low ongoing cost, real privacy, simple annual compliance, and a state name that banks and payment processors recognize. Formation fee is the least important number on the page.
Quick Answer: A non-resident founder can form a US LLC in any state without an SSN. Most should choose Wyoming for low cost, strong member privacy and no franchise tax. Choose Delaware only if you plan to raise venture capital. Choose New Mexico if the lowest possible upfront cost is the only goal.
Non-residents form US LLCs legally in every state. Stripe's own guide walks non-residents through the process step by step [3]. No state asks for a Social Security Number to file Articles of Organization, the document that creates your LLC. You file it with the state, pay a fee, and name a registered agent, the person or company that receives official mail for your LLC inside that state.
The four factors that actually decide this:
- Ongoing cost. Formation fee plus annual report plus registered agent, every year, not once.
- Privacy. Whether your name appears in a public state database that anyone can search for free.
- Compliance load. How many filings you owe each year and what happens if you miss one.
- Banking familiarity. How easily a bank or fintech opens an account for an LLC from that state.
Say your formation fee is $50 and your registered agent is $150 a year. Your five-year cost is $800, not $50. Founders who compare only the headline fee get this wrong every time.
If you have not formed anything yet, start with US LLC formation for non-residents and come back to the state question with the mechanics clear.
Wyoming: Is it really the best state for non-resident LLCs?
Yes, for most non-residents. Wyoming pairs a $100 formation fee with a $60 annual report, no franchise tax, and member names kept out of the public record [5]. That combination is hard to beat.
Wyoming's privacy reputation is earned. The state does not publish member or manager names in its public business search. Your registered agent's address sits on the filing, not your home address in India or anywhere else. Wise names Wyoming as the usual best pick for non-resident LLCs on cost, maintenance and privacy grounds [6].
Costs, kept honest and separated:
| Cost | Amount | Who gets it |
|---|---|---|
| Formation filing | $100 | Wyoming Secretary of State |
| Annual report | $60 per year | Wyoming Secretary of State |
| Registered agent | Provider fee, varies | Your agent company |
| Franchise tax | None | n/a |
The $100 and $60 are government fees. Your registered agent is a private service and the price varies by provider. Do not let anyone quote you one blended number that hides which is which.
Heads-up: Wyoming's annual report is due on the first day of the anniversary month of your formation, and the state charges a penalty plus interest if you are late. Put the date in your calendar the day your LLC is approved.
One real tradeoff. Wyoming is not the state a Sand Hill Road venture fund expects to see on a cap table. If institutional money is the plan, read the Delaware section before you file.
Imagine you run a one-person software consultancy billing US clients from Pune. Wyoming gives you a US entity, a clean annual fee of $60, and your name off the public record. Nothing about that setup blocks Stripe, a US business bank account, or invoicing in dollars.
Delaware: When is it worth the higher costs?
Delaware is worth the extra money when you plan to raise venture capital or eventually go public. For a solo consultant or an e-commerce store, it is an expensive habit.
Delaware's $90 formation fee looks cheap next to Wyoming's $100 [5]. The annual cost is where it bites. Delaware LLCs pay a flat $300 annual tax, and you owe it whether you earned one dollar or none. That is the number the comparison articles bury.
A correction that matters: Delaware's share-based franchise tax applies to corporations, not LLCs. If a page tells you your LLC owes tax on authorized shares, that page is describing the wrong entity type.
Privacy in Delaware is decent but not identical to Wyoming. Member names are not published in the public search. The LLC agreement stays private. What you give up is simplicity: more forms, a higher annual bill, and a registered agent you must keep paid up or lose good standing.
Delaware's genuine advantage is legal infrastructure. Its courts handle business disputes with a depth no other state matches, and investors and their lawyers know Delaware law cold. NanoGlobals lists capital access as Delaware's headline benefit for non-citizens [5]. That benefit is real, and it only pays off if you actually take outside investment.
Suppose you are building a SaaS product and a US fund offers you a term sheet. Their lawyers will ask for a Delaware entity, usually a C-Corp, before the money moves. Converting later costs more than forming there first. If that term sheet is plausible within two years, form in Delaware now.
How do New Mexico, Texas, and other states compare for non-residents?
New Mexico is the cheapest way in and the weakest on banking familiarity. Texas is the opposite: higher fees, more paperwork, and a large domestic market behind it.
New Mexico charges $50 to form and requires no annual report, which is why it keeps appearing in cheap-LLC lists [5]. Member names are not published. The catch is practical, not legal: New Mexico LLCs are rare enough that some banks and compliance teams ask more questions when they see one. That is friction, not rejection. Expect it.
Texas charges a $300 formation fee and imposes a franchise tax on larger businesses, with a no-tax-due threshold that changes with legislation. Check the Texas Comptroller's current threshold before you budget. Texas also has a large market, plenty of banks, and no personal income tax.
| State | Formation fee | Annual obligation | Franchise tax | Member names public? | Banking familiarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | $100 | $60 annual report | None | No | High |
| Delaware | $90 | $300 annual tax | Flat $300 for LLCs | No | High |
| New Mexico | $50 | None | None | No | Lower |
| Texas | $300 | Franchise tax report | Based on revenue, threshold applies | Varies | High |
Fees above are government fees only. Add a registered agent in every row. Check the current official fee before you file, because legislatures move these numbers.
Say you sell handmade goods on Etsy and Amazon and want the lowest possible fixed cost. New Mexico's zero annual report looks attractive until a payment provider's onboarding team asks why your LLC is in a state where you have no address, no customers and no agent relationship deeper than a mail forward. Answering that question costs you a week.
Does the state you choose affect banking and Stripe/Shopify access?
Payment processors do not care which state your LLC is in. Banks care a little, and the difference is familiarity, not rules.
Stripe's requirements for a US LLC are an EIN, a US business address and a real business, not a particular state of formation [3]. The same logic runs through Shopify Payments and PayPal. Your state choice does not appear in their approval criteria. Approval stays their decision, and no one can promise it.
Banks are a different conversation. Fintech platforms built for founders, Mercury included, open accounts for LLCs from every state. A traditional US bank branch officer in a smaller town may have never seen a New Mexico LLC and will ask for more documents. Wyoming and Delaware entities show up often enough that the review moves faster.
Tip: get your EIN as a non-resident without an SSN before you apply anywhere. The EIN is the tax ID the IRS issues to your LLC, and every bank and processor asks for it first.
Suppose your Stripe application is declined and you assume the state is the problem. It almost never is. Thin business description, mismatched names between the LLC filing and the bank account, or a missing EIN cause far more declines than a Wyoming versus New Mexico address.
Which state should you choose? Our recommendation by use case
Match the state to what the business does in the next two years, not to what sounds prestigious.
| Use case | Recommended state | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Consulting or freelancing for US clients | Wyoming | Low annual cost, privacy, no franchise tax |
| E-commerce, Amazon FBA, dropshipping | Wyoming | Cheap to maintain, banks recognize it |
| SaaS bootstrapped without outside money | Wyoming | Same reasons, no investor pressure yet |
| Startup planning to raise venture capital | Delaware | Investors and their lawyers expect it |
| Absolute lowest upfront cost, simple holding entity | New Mexico | $50 to file, no annual report |
| Business with physical operations or staff in Texas | Texas | Local presence, large banking market |
Three calls, stated plainly:
- Form in Wyoming unless you have a specific reason not to. For a non-resident founder selling services or products into the US, it wins on annual cost and privacy.
- Skip Delaware if you are not raising venture capital. The $300 annual tax buys you nothing a solo founder needs.
- If a US fund is actively talking to you, form in Delaware now. Converting an LLC later costs more than the fee you saved.
Once the state is settled, the next step is a bank account. Compare the online US business bank account route against an in-person branch visit before you pick.
Common mistakes non-residents make when picking a state
Most bad state decisions come from comparing one number instead of the full annual bill.
- Choosing on formation fee alone. A $50 filing with a $150 agent costs more over three years than a $100 filing with the same agent. Add the annual report before you decide.
- Forgetting Delaware's $300. Founders read the $90 filing fee and budget nothing for year two.
- Assuming privacy is absolute. No state hides your name from banks, the IRS or your own registered agent. Privacy means the public database, not total anonymity.
- Name mismatches. Your LLC name on the state filing, the EIN application and the bank application must match. Small differences trigger review holds that take weeks to clear.
- Using a home address you cannot receive mail at. Use your registered agent's address for state filings and keep a separate mailing address you actually monitor.
- Skipping the EIN. Without it you cannot open a bank account, file Form 5472, or pass most processor checks. A foreign-owned single-member LLC files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 each year, and the penalty for missing it starts at $25,000. Get the filing handled by federal tax support for Form 5472 and Form 1120 rather than guessing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can non-residents form an LLC in any US state? Yes. Every state accepts filings from non-residents. Costs, privacy and annual obligations differ, which is the whole decision.
Do I need an SSN to form a US LLC as a non-resident? No. You file with your passport details. An ITIN or EIN may come up later for taxes and banking, but formation itself does not require an SSN.
Which state has the lowest annual fees for a non-resident LLC? New Mexico has no annual report. Wyoming charges $60 a year. Delaware charges $300 a year for LLCs.
Is Wyoming or Delaware better for privacy? Both keep member names out of the public search. Wyoming's advantage is simplicity and lower annual cost, not a stronger shield.
Can I open a US bank account as a non-resident with a Wyoming LLC? Yes, fintech banks accept Wyoming LLCs. Approval is the bank's decision, and a complete application with a matching EIN helps.
Does the state of formation affect Stripe or Shopify approval? No. Processors check your EIN, business details and address, not your state of formation.
*Last updated: February 2026.*
Related reading
- US Company Registration Cost for Indian Founders in 2026
- The Easiest Path to a US LLC for Non-US Residents
- Wyoming LLC Registration for Non Residents: The Filing
Ready to act on this? US company formation takes the filing, registered agent and paperwork off your desk.