Montana LLC vs Wyoming LLC (2026)
Written for owners based in Montana.
Verdict: for most owners, form where the business is based
Wyoming's $60 annual report is a license tax rather than a flat fee, the greater of $60 or two-tenths of one mill on assets located and employed in Wyoming, so $60 covers up to $300,000 of in-state assets while $1,000,000 of them produces $200. Formation is $100 against Montana's $35, and five years at the minimum is $400 against $35. Wyoming allows an anonymous LLC and levies no personal income tax, which is the actual pitch. Registering a Wyoming LLC into Montana costs $70, and Wyoming dissolves an LLC 60 days past its anniversary month.
Based in Wyoming? Read Wyoming LLC vs Montana LLC →
Compare Montana LLC vs Wyoming LLC on filing fees, taxes, privacy laws, and annual costs. Find out which state is actually better for your business.
By Edmond Hui · Last updated: September 23, 2026
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| Factor | Montana | Wyoming |
|---|---|---|
| Filing Fee | $35 | $100 |
| Processing Time | Not published by the state | Instant online; up to 15 business days paper |
| Annual Report Fee | $0 (waived when filed by April 15; $35 after) | $60 |
| Annual Report Due | April 15 | First day of anniversary month |
| State Income Tax | Yes | No |
| Anonymous LLC | No | Yes |
| Publication Requirement | No | No |
| Foreign LLC Cost (if forming out-of-state) | N/A, you're in your home state | $70 + registered agent ~$150/yr |
Full fee breakdown for either state: Montana LLC cost and Wyoming LLC cost. Owner privacy options for either state: Montana anonymous LLC guide and Wyoming anonymous LLC guide.
Business Climate: Montana vs Wyoming
| Factor | Montana | Wyoming |
|---|---|---|
| 5-year business survival rate | 53% (#16 of 51) | 47.5% (#42 of 51) |
| Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Jul) vs 2025 YTD (same months)) | +13.4% YoY (#40 of 51 by volume) | +13.3% YoY (#22 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: Montana vs Wyoming
Montana
Wyoming
A figure shown as "from" is the least the state can charge, not a price. Tennessee's report is $300 for up to six members and $50 for each member above six, its franchise tax is the greater of $100 or 0.25% of Tennessee net worth, Wyoming's report is the greater of $60 or $.0002 per dollar of in-state assets, Kentucky's entity tax is $175 up to $3 million of gross receipts and graduated above it, and New York's annual filing fee is graduated on New York source gross income. 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. Two exclusions follow from that wording. Arizona and Nebraska require publication and publish no rate, so no newspaper cost is carried for either and their totals are not the whole cost. Alaska's $50 annual state business licence is a separate charge from the Secretary of State fees and is not carried here either. Annualising makes the 1, 3 and 5 year rows a cost of ownership rather than a payment schedule: a biennial state charges its whole report fee in the years it falls due and nothing in between. 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. New York's publication cost is carried at a $250 floor, roughly $200 of newspaper cost in a low-cost county plus the $50 Certificate of Publication fee. No county-clerk-designated New York City newspaper publishes a rate card, so the four-figure NYC estimates in wide circulation cannot be traced to a primary source and are not asserted here; budget for materially more than the floor if you file in a NYC county. Every fee was verified against the state's own fee schedule, statute, or revenue authority on 29 July 2026. Excludes registered agent and legal fees. For informational purposes only, not legal or tax advice.
Filing Fees & Formation Costs
Montana charges $35 to form an LLC, while Wyoming charges $100. Montana is $65 cheaper upfront. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in Wyoming but operate in Montana, you must also register as a foreign LLC in Montana (a $70 filing) and maintain a registered agent in Wyoming (typically around $150 per year). That puts the realistic first-year cost of the Wyoming route at roughly $320, versus $35 for simply forming in Montana. Only one side of this comparison is knowable: Wyoming publishes a standard turnaround (instant online; up to 15 business days paper), while Montana publishes no standard processing time, so the two can't be ranked against each other on speed.
Taxes: Montana vs Wyoming
Wyoming has no personal income tax while Montana 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 Montana), not where the LLC is registered, so a Wyoming LLC offers no income-tax savings for a Montana-based business. Montana levies a two-bracket individual income tax; under a 2025 Montana law the top rate drops from 5.9% to 5.65% effective January 1, 2026, with the 4.7% lower rate applying up to $47,500 single/$95,000 joint (Montana Department of Revenue). No franchise or privilege tax on LLCs; the Secretary of State currently waives the annual report fee for reports filed by April 15 ($35 if filed late). 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
Wyoming allows anonymous LLC formation. Member and manager names don't appear on routine public filings. Neither the Articles nor the annual report requires listing members or managers; only an organizer/signer appears, so ownership stays off public filings. Montana doesn't offer that same privacy. Montana law requires the LLC's annual report to state the names and business mailing addresses of the managers (if manager-managed) or of the members (if member-managed), and these reports are public. Both states provide charging-order protection for LLC members, and for most small businesses the practical difference in asset protection between the two is minimal. Wyoming's charging-order law makes the charging order a creditor's exclusive remedy (including for single-member LLCs) and is widely regarded as the strongest in the country. One important caveat: if you register your Wyoming LLC as a foreign LLC in Montana, that Montana registration is itself a public record, which can undercut much of the privacy benefit for a business that operates in Montana.
Annual Maintenance Costs
Montana LLCs file a free annual report (due April 15), and Wyoming LLCs file an annual report (at least $60, due in the anniversary month). If you form in Wyoming while operating in Montana, you maintain filings in both states, Wyoming's report plus Montana's equivalent for your foreign registration, and pay a Wyoming registered agent roughly $150 per year. Counting report fees, the agent and any entity-level tax, that brings the Wyoming route to roughly $210 a year, versus about $0 to keep a domestic Montana LLC in good standing. The taxes inside those totals: No franchise or privilege tax on LLCs; the Secretary of State currently waives the annual report fee for reports filed by April 15 ($35 if filed late). 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: you need anonymous ownership. Montana puts owner or manager information on public filings and Wyoming doesn't (usually via a holding company, since operating in Montana still requires a public foreign registration there), 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 Montana's personal income tax. For a typical small business based in Montana, none of these usually apply. Registering a Wyoming LLC to do business back home means $70 in Montana foreign-registration fees, on top of Wyoming's $100 formation fee, while Montana's own annual report stays free to file and is due April 15. When in doubt, form where you actually do business.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources
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.
- Montana bill: HB 337 (2025) (income tax rate cut)
- Montana statute: MCA 35-8-208 (annual report contents)
- Wyoming statute: W.S. 17-29-503 (charging order remedy)
- sosmt.gov/business/Montana Secretary of State: business entity filings
- sosmt.gov/business/fees/Montana 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.