Disclosure: Biz Deals Corner is compensated by the publishers of some of the tools we mention. If you subscribe through one of our links, we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Our comparisons remain independent: we also cover solutions that do not pay us, and every tool we recommend has been checked by our team. Learn more.
Prices and details checked in October 2026. State fees come from each state’s own schedule and change less often than provider prices, which we round.
The best state to form an LLC for most founders living abroad charges $60 a year to keep the company on its books. Delaware bills $400 for the same paperwork, every year, whatever the company earns.
You will see which of Wyoming, Delaware and Colorado fits your plans, from fees read on each state’s official schedule, and when the cheap state stops being the cheap choice.
Contents
The short verdict: Wyoming, unless investors or a tight budget decide
Wyoming is the state we would pick for a founder who sells online from another country and plans no fundraising. Its official fee schedule sets the annual report license tax at $60, or two-tenths of a mill per dollar of assets in the state, whichever is greater.
That floor covers up to $300,000 of assets located and employed in Wyoming. A developer in Toronto or a designer in Melbourne keeps nothing there, so the bill stays at the minimum.
Delaware earns its higher price only once investors enter the picture.
If you sell online from abroad: Wyoming
The annual report falls due on the first day of the month in which the LLC was formed, according to the Secretary of State’s annual report page. The fee schedule lists a $100 charge to reinstate an LLC dropped for unpaid tax.
Northwest Registered Agent, for founders who want a person on the phone
Northwest suits the founder who wants a human answer when the bank or the state writes. It acts as registered agent, the in-state address that receives official mail for the LLC, and presents its service on its own site.
Customers rate Northwest 4.1 out of 5 on Trustpilot, from 310 reviews. The owner of a Wyoming LLC living in Turkey describes getting a company debit card shipped to a Turkish address, and credits a transparent, reliable process.
Another was surprised to talk directly to a person, who had answers to all of their complicated questions.
If investors are in the picture: Delaware
Delaware is the state for a company that plans to raise money or convert into a corporation; for anyone else, its tax is a cost without a return.
Its pull comes from the Court of Chancery. That business court, more than 225 years old, has written most modern US corporate case law, says the Division of Corporations. More than 66% of the Fortune 500 have chosen Delaware as their legal home.
The price is plain. Forming the LLC costs $110 under the state’s fee schedule, then an annual tax of $400 falls due on or before June 1. A late payment adds a $200 penalty plus 1.5% interest a month, per the tax instructions.
Doola, for founders who want the EIN in the same package
Doola fits the founder who wants one bill for the company, the tax number and the agent. Its Starter plan costs $297 a year plus state fees, according to its pricing page.
The plan covers the formation filings, the EIN, an operating agreement, a registered agent and a virtual mailing address.
On Trustpilot, where Doola averages 4.4 across close to 2,100 reviews, a first-time founder in Britain says the LLC and its EIN arrived within a day.
A founder in Jordan used Doola to form the company and open a Mercury business account. The team emailed to say what was still missing for Mercury, so the founder could complete it.
If every dollar counts: Colorado
Colorado has the lowest state bill we verified. Filing the articles online costs $50 and each periodic report $25, per the Secretary of State’s fee schedule.
The report is filed once a year. The state’s periodic report FAQ allows it two months before or two months after the report month without penalty. Skip it, and the LLC’s status turns delinquent.
Bizee, for a formation at the state fee alone
Bizee is the cheapest door in for a founder who files once and wants nothing else. Its Basic package costs $0 plus the state fee, and every package includes one free year of registered agent service, according to its pricing page.
Its Trustpilot page counts more than 26,000 reviews, for an average of 4.8. One customer found the adviser very knowledgeable and was pointed in the right direction.
Another formed an LLC in about a week, faster than expected, gave four stars, and noted that the site kept pushing extra registered agent packages, which he skipped.
Which state for which founder
One line of this table settles most cases: no investors and no US office points to Wyoming or Colorado.
| Your profile | State | Formation fee | Yearly state charge | Provider we would use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solo founder selling online from abroad | Wyoming | $100 | $60 minimum license tax | Northwest Registered Agent or Doola |
| Startup planning to raise money | Delaware | $110 | $400 annual tax, due June 1 | Doola |
| Service business on a tight budget | Colorado | $50 online | $25 periodic report | Bizee |
| Founder who lives or works in a US state | That state | Set by that state | Set by that state | Any of the three |
A registered agent is the one recurring cost no state waives. Wyoming charges $350 to reinstate an LLC that lost its agent, which shows how seriously the state takes that address.
What three years cost in each state
Over three years, Colorado costs $125 in state fees, Wyoming $280 and Delaware $1,310. Rerun it with your own figures:
Three-year state cost = filing fee + annual charge × 3.
Three yearly charges fall due before the third anniversary.
| State | Filing fee | Yearly charge | State total over 3 years | With Doola Starter for 3 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | $100 | $60 | $280 | $1,171 |
| Delaware | $110 | $400 | $1,310 | $2,201 |
| Colorado | $50 | $25 | $125 | Not priced |
In Wyoming, the provider weighs more than the state. Three years of Doola Starter, $891, cost more than three times the state’s share.
Delaware flips that ratio, with the state taking the larger slice. Rerun the formula with your own provider’s agent fee, the line that differs most from one company to the next.
The saving also shrinks once you settle in another state. Colorado charges $100 for the foreign entity authority statement a Wyoming LLC files to do business there, plus the yearly report.
Our selection criteria
We set three conditions: an official fee schedule readable on the state’s own site, a yearly charge known in advance, and a clear use for a founder abroad. Fees come from the Wyoming, Delaware and Colorado filing offices, read in October 2026.
New Mexico and Nevada, often suggested to non-residents, stay out of the totals. New Mexico files everything through an online portal that requires an account and posts no fee table outside it. Nevada’s fee page showed no readable schedule when we checked. We price no fee we cannot read at the source.
Provider prices come from each pricing page. User stories come from Trustpilot reviews posted between July and October 2026.
Smart habits
Put the yearly deadline in your calendar on formation day: the anniversary month in Wyoming, June 1 in Delaware, the report window in Colorado.
Plan for federal paperwork that no state choice removes. A one-owner LLC held from abroad that has dealings with its owner must send Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120. That form asks for little more than the company’s name and address, per the IRS instructions. The IRS lists a $25,000 penalty for each failure to file on time, on its penalties page.
One filing has gone. FinCEN’s final rule, in force since August 14, 2026, exempts US companies from beneficial ownership reporting, according to its BOI page.
Frequently asked questions about LLC states
What is the best state to form an LLC if you live outside the US?
Wyoming, for most founders who sell online and raise no money. Its annual license tax starts at $60, and a company without assets in the state stays at that floor.
Is Delaware worth $400 a year for a one-person LLC?
Rarely. The tax buys the Court of Chancery and the familiarity investors expect, which a solo business billing clients online does not use.
Does the state change my IRS filings?
No. A foreign-owned single-member LLC files the pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 whatever its state. Tax in your country of residence is a separate question for a local adviser.
Key takeaways
The best state to form an LLC, for selling online from abroad without investors, is Wyoming, with Northwest or Doola as registered agent. Raising money soon: Delaware with Doola, and budget $400 a year for the state. Lowest state bill with no outside plans: Colorado through Bizee’s Basic package.
If you already live or work in a US state, form the LLC there and skip the second registration. For your situation, consult a qualified CPA.
Read next
Choosing who files the paperwork comes next, and our guide to picking an LLC formation service sets the providers side by side. Founders whose first payouts hit a wall will find the usual causes of a Stripe account rejected, and how to fix them. Logging into the state portal from a hotel or a café is safer behind a business VPN, compared in our roundup.
How we work
At Biz Deals Corner, we check prices and official statuses at the source, never in competing comparison sites. We detail what is billed outside the plan, we flag solutions wrongly presented as certified, and we give no personalized tax, legal or financial advice: for that, consult a qualified professional. Our affiliate policy.
