Is it cheaper to form an LLC in Wyoming than New Hampshire?

No. Wyoming costs the same upfront ($100 vs $100), and if you operate in New Hampshire you must also register there as a foreign LLC ($100) plus pay a Wyoming registered agent. Realistic first-year cost is roughly $350 versus $100 for forming locally.

Can I form my New Hampshire business in Wyoming?

Yes. Any New Hampshire business can form its LLC in Wyoming. But if the business operates in New Hampshire, it must also register there as a foreign LLC ($100 filing fee) and maintain a registered agent in Wyoming, so you take on two states' fees and filings instead of one.

State Comparison

New Hampshire LLC vs Wyoming LLC (2026)

Compare New Hampshire 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: August 4, 2026

For most businesses, forming an LLC in New Hampshire beats Wyoming. New Hampshire runs $200 in year one and $100/yr after; Wyoming runs $160 and $60/yr. See the full breakdown below.

Verdict: New Hampshire wins for most businesses

For most New Hampshire-based businesses, forming locally in New Hampshire is the smarter choice. You avoid paying fees in two states and managing compliance in both. Wyoming only makes sense if your business genuinely operates there or you need its specific privacy structure, and even then the total costs deserve a hard look.

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Factor	New Hampshire	Wyoming
Filing Fee	$100	$100
Processing Time	Not published by the state	Instant online; up to 15 business days paper
Annual Report Fee	$100	$60
Annual Report Due	April 1	First day of anniversary month
State Income Tax	No	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	$100 + registered agent ~$150/yr

Full fee breakdown for either state: New Hampshire LLC cost and Wyoming LLC cost.

Business Climate: New Hampshire vs Wyoming

Factor	New Hampshire	Wyoming
5-year business survival rate	47.7% (#40 of 51)	47.5% (#42 of 51)
Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Jul) vs 2025 YTD (same months))	+26.1% YoY (#42 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)

See the full 50-state survival ranking.

Compare LLC Costs: New Hampshire vs Wyoming

State A

State B

New Hampshire

Formation fee$100

Annual report fee$100

State entity taxNone

Report dueApril 1

Processing timeNot published by the state

Late penalty$50

Wyoming

✓ Cheaper Long-Term

Formation fee$100

Annual report fee$60

State entity taxNone

Report dueFirst day of anniversary month

Processing timeInstant online; up to 15 business days paper

Late penalty$0

Total Cost

New Hampshire

Wyoming

1 Year

$200

$160

3 Years

$400

$280

5 Years

$600

$400

Will you operate outside your home state?

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 a state requires publication, and any one-time registration charge a state requires before the LLC may trade. 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. Montana's annual report is free when filed by April 15 and $35 after, a waiver the Secretary of State applies at its discretion. 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

New Hampshire charges $100 to form an LLC, while Wyoming charges $100. The upfront filing fees are identical. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in Wyoming but operate in New Hampshire, you must also register as a foreign LLC in New Hampshire (a $100 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 $350, versus $100 for simply forming in New Hampshire. Only one side of this comparison is knowable: Wyoming publishes instant online; up to 15 business days paper, while New Hampshire publishes no standard processing time, so the two can't be ranked against each other on speed.

Taxes: New Hampshire vs Wyoming

Neither New Hampshire nor Wyoming levies a personal income tax, so there's no income-tax advantage to forming in either state. Business Profits Tax of 7.5% applies to LLCs with gross business income over $109,000 (threshold for periods beginning on/after 1/1/2025), and Business Enterprise Tax of 0.55% applies over $298,000 of gross receipts or enterprise value tax base. Both beyond the $100 annual report fee. 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. New Hampshire doesn't offer that same privacy. The Certificate of Formation (RSA 304-C:31) doesn't require member/manager names, but the annual report (RSA 304-C:194) must set forth the names and business addresses of the LLC's managers or, if there are no managers, at least one member, so ownership/management can't stay off all routine public filings. 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 statute (W.S. 17-29-503) 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 New Hampshire, that New Hampshire registration is itself a public record, which can undercut much of the privacy benefit for a business that operates in New Hampshire.

Annual Maintenance Costs

New Hampshire LLCs file an annual report ($100, due April 1), and Wyoming LLCs file an annual report ($60, due in the anniversary month). If you form in Wyoming while operating in New Hampshire, you maintain filings in both states, Wyoming's report plus New Hampshire's equivalent for your foreign registration, and pay a Wyoming registered agent roughly $150 per year. That brings ongoing costs of the Wyoming route to roughly $310 per year, versus about $100 to keep a domestic New Hampshire LLC in good standing. There are also recurring state taxes to weigh on each side. Business Profits Tax of 7.5% applies to LLCs with gross business income over $109,000 (threshold for periods beginning on/after 1/1/2025), and Business Enterprise Tax of 0.55% applies over $298,000 of gross receipts or enterprise value tax base. Both beyond the $100 annual report fee. 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. New Hampshire puts owner or manager information on public filings and Wyoming doesn't (usually via a holding company, since operating in New Hampshire 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. For a typical small business based in New Hampshire, none of these usually apply. Registering a Wyoming LLC to do business back home means $100 in New Hampshire foreign-registration fees, on top of Wyoming's $100 formation fee, while New Hampshire's own annual report runs $100 a year and is due April 1. When in doubt, form where you actually do business.

Frequently Asked Questions

: No. Wyoming costs the same upfront ($100 vs $100), and if you operate in New Hampshire you must also register there as a foreign LLC ($100) plus pay a Wyoming registered agent. Realistic first-year cost is roughly $350 versus $100 for forming locally.
: Yes. Any New Hampshire business can form its LLC in Wyoming. But if the business operates in New Hampshire, it must also register there as a foreign LLC ($100 filing fee) and maintain a registered agent in Wyoming, so you take on two states' fees and filings instead of one.
: Wyoming offers more formation privacy. It allows anonymous LLCs while New Hampshire doesn't. Core asset protection is similar, though: both states provide charging-order protection for LLC members, and Wyoming’s statute is widely regarded as the strongest in the country. For most small businesses the practical difference is modest.
: New Hampshire, for most. Forming where you operate keeps costs and compliance simple. Wyoming is worth considering only if you actually do business there, need its privacy structure, or have investor requirements that point there.
: Only one side of this comparison is knowable: Wyoming publishes instant online; up to 15 business days paper, while New Hampshire publishes no standard processing time, so the two can't be ranked against each other on speed. Only 19 of the 50 states publish anything about non-expedited turnaround at all. Whichever you pick, remember that forming in Wyoming while operating in New Hampshire means you're not fully set up until the New Hampshire foreign registration is also processed, so the out-of-state route is rarely the faster path end to end. If your timing is genuinely fixed, buy the state's expedite tier rather than relying on a standard turnaround.

Comparison chart of forming an LLC in New Hampshire versus Wyoming, contrasting filing fees, annual report cost and ongoing obligations across 8 factors. On balance this guide favours New Hampshire. — New Hampshire and Wyoming side by side on the factors that decide where to form. Source: MyStateLLC 50-state cost dataset, verified against each Secretary of State's published fee schedule, July 2026.

More State Comparisons

New Hampshire vs Alabama →New Hampshire vs Alaska →New Hampshire vs Arizona →New Hampshire vs Delaware →Wyoming vs Delaware →

New Hampshire LLC Guide →Wyoming LLC Guide →

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<p style="text-align:center;font-size:.8125rem;color:#6b7280">Source: <a href="https://www.mystatellc.com/llc/compare/new-hampshire-llc-vs-wyoming-llc">MyStateLLC, New Hampshire vs Wyoming LLC Comparison</a></p>