Cheapest US LLC: $100 setup, $60/year, single-member pass-through taxation, strong asset-protection statutes, and member privacy. The default for solo operators and bootstrapped founders.
Not legal, tax, or accounting advice
This page is for orientation only. Choosing a corporate structure has tax, legal, and banking consequences specific to your situation. Consult a licensed attorney and tax adviser in both your country of residence and the proposed jurisdiction before incorporating.
$350
$600
2 days
0%
A Wyoming LLC is the budget choice for US business formation when venture capital is not on the roadmap. Wyoming pioneered the modern LLC in 1977 and has retained the most operator-friendly statutes: $100 filing fee, $60 annual report, no state corporate or personal income tax, and no requirement to disclose member names in the public registry (beneficial-owner privacy preserved at the state level — though FinCEN beneficial-ownership reporting now applies federally). Wyoming's charging-order protection is nationally regarded as the strongest LLC asset-protection regime: a creditor's only remedy against an LLC member-debtor is a charging order against distributions, with no foreclosure right against the membership interest itself. By default LLCs are treated as pass-through entities for federal tax (single-member: disregarded; multi-member: partnership), so profits flow to the owner's personal Form 1040 — avoiding the double taxation that haunts C-Corps. For a single-member non-VC operator, this stack — pass-through tax, no state income tax, asset protection, privacy, $60/year — is the lowest-friction US structure on offer.
Government fee
$100
Registered agent (yr 1)
$50
Legal (optional)
$0–$1,500
All-in setup (low / typical)
$150 / $350
Annual maintenance (low / typical)
$110 / $600
Corporate tax rate
0%
VAT / GST
—
Withholding on dividends (non-treaty)
30%
Public beneficial ownership registry
Confidential
LLCs are pass-through entities by default — no entity-level federal corporate tax. Single-member LLCs are 'disregarded' for federal tax (file on personal Schedule C). Multi-member LLCs file Form 1065 (partnership) and members get K-1s. Wyoming has no state corporate income tax, no franchise tax, no state personal income tax. Federal self-employment tax (15.3%) applies to active-member income unless the LLC elects S-Corp status (Form 2553). FinCEN Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting now required federally as of 2024.
Banking difficulty
●●●○○ Moderate
Stripe / payment processors
Stripe supported
Mercury and Brex onboard Wyoming LLCs from non-resident founders in days (vs. months for traditional banks). Relay, Bluevine, and Novo also support non-residents. Chase / Bank of America require in-person visits — not ideal for remote founders. EIN required first (4-8 weeks via paper Form SS-4 if no SSN; ~2 weeks via fax with ITIN).
Stripe accepts Wyoming LLCs immediately post-EIN. Stripe Atlas, however, only forms Delaware C-Corps — for a Wyoming LLC, use ZenBusiness, Bizee, or Northwest Registered Agent for filing.
Firstbase handles the filing, registered agent, EIN/tax ID, and bank account setup as a single bundle. infoz earns a referral fee if you incorporate through this link; we still recommend cross-checking pricing against the official United States — Wyoming registry yourself.
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