Wyoming vs Delaware LLC: which one, if you live abroad

Here's the deal: for a founder abroad, these two LLCs are closer than most comparisons admit.

Same owner privacy, same asset protection, same IRS paperwork. The real differences are the yearly cost, the date the bill lands, and who you need to impress.

Heirson prices with every state fee included, 4 November 2026.

Year one hides the difference. Year five shows it.

Wyoming charges a $60 minimum yearly tax. Delaware charges a flat $400 for every LLC. Pick how many years you'll keep the company:

Three years, itemised

The two states bill at different times of year, and it matters.

• Wyoming: the annual report and its $60 minimum tax are due on the first day of your anniversary month. Miss it and the LLC is dissolved 60 days later; reinstating costs $100 plus back taxes.
• Delaware: the $400 tax is due on 1 June every year, whatever month you formed. Paid late, it adds a $200 penalty plus 1.5% a month; after three years unpaid, the LLC is cancelled, and revival costs $220 plus everything owed.

What each yearly filing actually asks for

• Wyoming annual report: filed online with the LLC's filing ID. It asks for the value of the company's assets located in Wyoming; with none there, the tax is the $60 minimum. A treasurer or other officer certifies it. It can be filed up to 120 days early, and the state emails reminders at 60, 30 and 10 days, as its business FAQs explain.
• Delaware annual tax: no report and no asset questions, just the $400 payment, online, by 1 June. The registered agent's address is where Delaware sends its reminders.

Most comparisons say Wyoming wins on privacy. The filings say otherwise.

Neither state asks for owner names on the public formation filing: compare the Wyoming Articles of Organization with section 18-201 of the Delaware LLC Act. In both, the person who signs is the organizer, and that can be your registered agent, so your name stays off. What a stranger sees in either state: the LLC's name, its status, and the agent's name and address.

One small difference: Wyoming's agent keeps the managers' names on file privately, confidential except to a court or law enforcement. Delaware doesn't require that list. Neither difference puts your name in public.

"Wyoming protects single-member LLCs better" is repeated everywhere. The statutes don't back it up.

If you owe money personally, both states limit your creditor to a charging order: a claim on payouts from the LLC, not the LLC's assets or control. Delaware's law says this applies to LLCs with one member or more than one, and bars foreclosure on the interest. Wyoming's wording is only slightly broader.

The protection that matters more in practice is the same in both: keep the company's money separate from yours, sign as the company, and keep simple records.

This is where Delaware earns its higher price.

• The Court of Chancery is a specialist business court with judges, not juries, and a long record of company law decisions. Lawyers and investors know how disputes there will go.
• Investors know Delaware. Many venture investors prefer a corporation over any LLC, so ask yours which entity they need before you form. Our Delaware C corp vs LLC comparison sets out what each costs a founder abroad.
• Wyoming has no such reputation with investors, but for a founder-owned company that takes client payments, nobody asks.

For a founder abroad, more is the same than different.

Your own country taxes you the same way whichever state you choose.

Form 5472, step by step

This is the one filing that can cost more than the company itself. If you own the LLC alone and live outside the US, the IRS treats it as a foreign-owned disregarded entity, and it must file Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year.

1. Get the EIN

   The LLC's tax number, needed for the form and the bank. No US social security number required.

   After formation
2. Record what moves between you and the LLC

   Money you put in or take out, and payments between the LLC and you or your other companies, are the "reportable transactions".

   All year
3. File by the deadline

   Due with the pro forma 1120, by the 15th day of the fourth month after the tax year ends, unless extended.

   Every year, both states

The penalty for missing it starts at $25,000, in Wyoming and Delaware alike.

For your own crypto, neither state needs a licence. For clients' crypto, Wyoming is simpler.

Wyoming exempts virtual currency from its money transmitter licence, with one exception for crypto kiosks since March 2026. Delaware requires a state licence for money transmission and signed new virtual currency rules (SB 18) in July 2026. In both, client exchange or transfers also need federal FinCEN registration. More in our crypto company guide.

Four questions, then a straight recommendation.

Three founders, three different right answers.

Banks don't care which of the two states you picked.

A bank or payment platform asks the same three things of either LLC: who owns it, what it does, and where the money comes from. It will want the formation filing, the EIN letter, your operating agreement and your passport. We set the account up with you, whichever state you pick.

What helps most is consistency: the same company name, address and business description on every form. That matters more than the state.

Documents you'll be asked for

• A certificate of good standing: free online in Wyoming ($20 on paper), $50 for Delaware's short form.
• An apostille if a bank or authority abroad wants the document legalised: $20 in Wyoming, $30 in Delaware.
• The EIN letter, operating agreement and formation filing, which you'll have from day one.

Two questions people forget to ask until later.

Do you need to register in other states?

Only where the LLC is doing business in the sense that state defines, usually an office, staff or property there. Selling online to customers across the US usually doesn't count on its own. Registering in another state means a second agent and a second set of state fees, whichever home state you chose.

Can you move the LLC later?

Usually, by converting the LLC into the other state or by forming a new one and moving the business across. Either costs state fees and paperwork, and a new company may need a new EIN and new bank details. If you know you'll need Delaware, starting there is cheaper than moving.

Still unsure? Compare either one with seven other places in our comparison tool.