Delaware LLC vs Wyoming LLC (2026)
A Delaware LLC costs $510 in year one; a Wyoming LLC costs at least $160.
Written for owners based in Delaware.
Verdict: for most owners, form where the business is based
Wyoming's annual report is a license tax, not a flat fee. The minimum is $60, but it becomes two-tenths of one mill on assets located and employed in Wyoming once those pass $300,000, so $1,000,000 of in-state assets produces $200 and $10,000,000 produces $2,000. Formation is $100, and Wyoming taxes no personal income where Delaware does. Both states keep members off the formation record. Delaware's $400 does not scale with assets at all, and a Wyoming LLC operated from Delaware still costs $200 to register here.
Based in Wyoming? Read Wyoming LLC vs Delaware LLC →
Full fee breakdown for either state: Delaware LLC cost and Wyoming LLC cost.
By Edmond Hui · Last updated: October 13, 2026
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| Factor | Delaware | Wyoming |
|---|---|---|
| Filing Fee | $110 | $100 |
| Processing Time | Not published by the state | Instant online; up to 15 business days paper |
| Annual Report Fee | None ($400/yr entity tax instead) | $60 |
| Annual Report Due | None required | First day of anniversary month |
| State Income Tax | Yes | No |
| Anonymous LLC | Yes | Yes |
| Publication Requirement | No | No |
| Foreign LLC Cost (if forming out-of-state) | N/A, you're in your home state | $200 + registered agent ~$150/yr + Delaware's $400 Annual LLC Tax each year |
Owner privacy options for either state: Delaware anonymous LLC guide and Wyoming anonymous LLC guide.
Who you file with in Delaware and Wyoming, and when
| Factor | Delaware | Wyoming |
|---|---|---|
| Forms the LLC | Delaware Division of Corporations | Wyoming Secretary of State |
| Takes the periodic report | No annual report | Wyoming Secretary of State |
| Reports and state taxes, first due dates for an LLC formed June 15, 2027 |
|
|
| If the report is late | No annual report. A late Annual LLC Tax payment carries its own penalty. | Wyoming sets no separate late fee, but a missed report still has consequences for the LLC. |
| State charges over five years | $2,110 ($510 in year one plus $1,600 across years two to five) | from $400 (from $160 in year one plus from $240 across years two to five) |
Our figures cannot rank the two over five years: Wyoming's total is a minimum and could exceed Delaware's. Both totals are for an LLC formed and run in the same state, and leave out foreign registration and any tax that applies only above a revenue or owner threshold or after a tax election.
The dates come from the same verified rules as our annual report deadline tool, applied to a sample formation date as of November 1, 2026, the day this page was built. Where a rule cannot name a date, the row says who to ask instead.
Business Climate: Delaware vs Wyoming
| Factor | Delaware | Wyoming |
|---|---|---|
| 5-year business survival rate | 48.1% (#37 of 51) | 47.5% (#42 of 51) |
| Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Sep) vs 2025 YTD (same months)) | +4.1% YoY (#33 of 51 by volume) | +14.7% YoY (#23 of 51 by volume) |
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics · U.S. Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (BFS)
Compare LLC Costs: Delaware vs Wyoming
Delaware
Wyoming
A figure shown as "from" is the least the state can charge, not a price. Wyoming's report is the greater of $60 or $.0002 per dollar of in-state assets. A total that contains one of those is shown as "from" for the same reason. Costs include every mandatory state charge: the filing fee, the report fee (annualised where a state files biennially), any state entity-level tax shown in its own row above, a one-time publication cost where the state publishes a rate for it, and any one-time registration charge a state requires before the LLC may trade. Entity-level taxes that only apply after a corporate election, or above an owner or income threshold, are excluded and flagged on the state's own cost page. Every fee was verified against the state's own fee schedule, statute, or revenue authority between 29 July 2026 and 29 October 2026. Excludes registered agent and legal fees. How every state's total is built is on the 50-state cost comparison tool. For informational purposes only, not legal or tax advice.
Filing Fees & Formation Costs
Delaware charges $110 to form an LLC, while Wyoming charges $100. Wyoming is $10 cheaper upfront. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in Wyoming but operate in Delaware, you must also register as a foreign LLC in Delaware (a $200 filing) and maintain a registered agent in Wyoming (typically around $150 per year). A foreign LLC registered in Delaware owes Delaware's $400 Annual LLC Tax as well. Only one side of this comparison is knowable: Wyoming publishes a standard turnaround (instant online; up to 15 business days paper), while Delaware publishes no standard processing time, so the two can't be ranked against each other on speed.
Taxes: Delaware vs Wyoming
Wyoming has no personal income tax while Delaware does, but forming your LLC in Wyoming won't change that. LLC profits pass through to you and are taxed where you live and operate (in Delaware), not where the LLC is registered, so a Wyoming LLC offers no income-tax savings for a Delaware-based business. Delaware LLCs owe a flat $400 annual LLC tax (no report required). Wyoming charges an annual report license tax of $60 minimum ($62 filed online), based on in-state assets; no franchise or privilege tax otherwise.
Privacy & Asset Protection
Both Delaware and Wyoming allow anonymous LLC formation. Neither state requires member or manager names on routine public filings. A charging order is a court order that directs an LLC to pay a member's distributions to a creditor who has won a judgment against that member. Delaware's LLC act makes the charging order the exclusive remedy, and says so for single-member LLCs specifically. Wyoming's LLC act makes the charging order the exclusive remedy, and says so for single-member LLCs specifically. "Exclusive remedy" means the act names the charging order as the only way a member's creditor can collect from that member's interest in the LLC. We are reporting what each section says, not what a court would do with your facts.
Annual Maintenance Costs
Delaware LLCs file no annual report at all, and Wyoming LLCs file an annual report (at least $60, due in the anniversary month). If you form in Wyoming while operating in Delaware, you take on both states' requirements and pay a Wyoming registered agent roughly $150 per year. A Wyoming LLC registered in Delaware as a foreign LLC owes Delaware's $400 Annual LLC Tax as well, the same as a Delaware LLC. This page gives no yearly total for the Wyoming route. Counting report fees and any entity-level tax, keeping a domestic Delaware LLC in good standing costs about $400 a year. State tax and fee notes: Delaware LLCs owe a flat $400 annual LLC tax (no report required). Wyoming charges an annual report license tax of $60 minimum ($62 filed online), based on in-state assets; no franchise or privilege tax otherwise.
When Wyoming Actually Makes Sense
Forming in Wyoming makes sense in a few specific situations: your business genuinely operates in Wyoming, with a real office, employees, or property there, or you're relocating to Wyoming in the near future, which would also move you out of Delaware's personal income tax. For a typical small business based in Delaware, none of these usually apply. Registering a Wyoming LLC to do business back home means $200 in Delaware foreign-registration fees, on top of Wyoming's $100 formation fee, while Delaware itself never asks for an annual report at all. Delaware already allows anonymous formation, so the privacy argument for Wyoming doesn't apply to a Delaware-based owner. Trading Delaware's no-annual-report status for Wyoming's filing calendar is a step backwards for most owners. When in doubt, form where you actually do business.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using a formation service? We compare the 4 formation services that pay us a commission, on three-year service cost, BBB rating and Trustpilot score.
Compare LLC formation services →Or by state: Best LLC services in Delaware, Best LLC services in Wyoming
Our affiliate partner Northwest Registered Agent files your LLC formation paperwork for $39 plus the state fee, and that price includes a year of registered agent service. After year one, registered agent service is $125/yr. Registered agent customers are enrolled by default in Northwest's report filing service, which charges your saved payment method $100 plus state fees each time it files for you and which you can cancel.
Form your LLC with Northwest ($39 + state fee) →Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no cost to you. MyStateLLC is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
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More for Delaware and Wyoming LLCs
Delaware
Sources
7 documents
Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so. Where we hold the citation but no stable public link, the citation is printed on its own rather than pointed at a guessed address.
- Delaware statute: 6 Del. C. § 18-1107(b) (annual LLC tax)
- Wyoming statute: W.S. 17-29-503 (charging order)
- Delaware statute: 6 Del. C. § 18-703 (charging orders)
- corp.delaware.govDelaware Division of Corporations: business entity filings
- corpfiles.delaware.gov/AugustFee2024.pdfDelaware LLC filing fees
- sos.wyo.gov/Business/Default.aspxWyoming Secretary of State: business entity filings
- sos.wyo.gov/Business/docs/BusinessFees.pdfWyoming LLC filing fees
Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC
Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.