Wyoming LLC advantages: no state income tax, no franchise tax, $60 annual report, members kept off public filings, and the strongest charging-order protection.
By Omer Aydin ·
Wyoming's LLC advantages come down to five things: no state income tax, no franchise tax, a $60 annual report, members kept off the public record, and the strongest charging-order asset protection in the country. Wyoming invented the LLC in 1977 and has spent five decades keeping its statute the most founder-friendly in the US — which is why it became the default formation state for online businesses, holding companies, and non-resident founders.
Here is each benefit in detail, plus the honest list of cases where Wyoming is not the right choice.
| Benefit | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| No state income tax | Wyoming takes 0% of your LLC's income — personal or corporate |
| No franchise tax | No annual tax for the privilege of existing (Delaware charges $300) |
| $60 annual report | The lowest ongoing cost of any major formation state |
| Privacy | Members and managers do not appear on public filings |
| Charging-order protection | Creditors of a member cannot seize the LLC or its assets |
| No residency requirement | Anyone, anywhere in the world, can form one |
Wyoming has no personal income tax, no corporate income tax, and no tax on LLC profits. The state funds itself through minerals and sales tax instead of taxing businesses.
The honest caveat: this benefit is about Wyoming not taxing you. You still owe federal tax, and your home state taxes your personal income wherever the LLC was formed. A California resident with a Wyoming LLC still pays California tax on the profits (and likely California's $800 franchise tax too). The zero-tax advantage is fully real for founders in no-income-tax states and for many non-US founders; for others it removes a layer, not the whole stack.
Wyoming charges no franchise tax. The only recurring state obligation is the annual report: $60 or $0.0002 per dollar of assets located in Wyoming, whichever is greater. With no in-state assets, you pay $60 a year — versus Delaware's flat $300 franchise tax or California's $800.
Over a decade, that is $600 to keep a Wyoming LLC alive versus $3,000 for Delaware. The full comparison: Wyoming vs. Delaware.
Wyoming's Articles of Organization list the registered agent and the organizer — not the members or managers. The annual report doesn't require member disclosure either. Search a Wyoming LLC in the state database and you will find an entity name and an agent's address, nothing about who owns it.
Two boundaries to be clear about:
For most founders that is exactly the right amount of privacy: your home address is not attached to your business in a public, scrapeable registry.
If a member of an LLC gets sued personally (a car accident, a divorce, a personal debt), the creditor's remedy against the LLC interest matters enormously. Wyoming limits creditors to a charging order — a lien on distributions — and explicitly extends this protection to single-member LLCs, which many states do not. A creditor cannot vote your interest, force distributions, seize LLC assets, or dissolve the company.
This is the reason Wyoming is the standard choice for holding companies: an entity that owns assets (real estate equity, IP, investment accounts) benefits most from the strongest available shield.
The end-to-end process is in our step-by-step Wyoming guide.
No state income tax, no franchise tax, a $60 annual report (the lowest of any major formation state), members kept off public filings, and charging-order protection that extends to single-member LLCs.
It avoids Wyoming taxes, because there are none on income. It does not avoid federal tax, and if you live in another state, your state taxes your share of the profits. Non-US founders with no US tax presence may owe no US tax on certain non-US-sourced income — a question for a cross-border tax professional.
Members do not appear in public state records — that is real and useful privacy. It is not anonymity from banks, the IRS, courts, or federal beneficial-ownership reporting. Think "unlisted," not "invisible."
It is the rule that a member's personal creditor can only obtain a lien on LLC distributions — not seize the LLC's assets, take over management, or force a sale. Wyoming applies it as the exclusive remedy even for single-member LLCs, which is why asset-holding entities favor the state.
$60 for the annual report (assuming no Wyoming-located assets), plus your registered agent fee if you hire one. Lovie bundles Wyoming registered agent service into its $29/month plan — see the registered agent guide.
Yes — there is no residency or citizenship requirement, and the EIN can be obtained without an SSN. The full process for international founders is in the non-resident guide.
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Convinced? Form your Wyoming LLC with Lovie — $29/month with Wyoming registered agent, EIN application assistance, and annual report tracking included.
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