Texas LLC vs Wyoming LLC (2026)
Written for owners based in Texas.
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Compare Texas 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 13, 2026
Verdict: for most owners, form where the business is based
Wyoming's numbers look strong on paper: $160 in year one against Texas's $300 while Wyoming assets stay under $300,000, since the $60 Annual Report License Tax is a minimum that rises to 0.02% of in-state assets above that line, and an anonymous LLC. They stop looking strong the moment the business runs from Texas, which charges $750 to register the Wyoming LLC as a foreign entity and leaves you filing in two states for one business. Wyoming earns its place for real Wyoming operations or for the privacy itself.
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| Factor | Texas | Wyoming |
|---|---|---|
| Filing Fee | $300 | $100 |
| Processing Time | Not published by the state | Instant online; up to 15 business days paper |
| Annual Report Fee | $0 | $60 |
| Annual Report Due | May 15 | 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 | $750 + registered agent ~$150/yr |
Full fee breakdown for either state: Texas LLC cost and Wyoming LLC cost.
Business Climate: Texas vs Wyoming
| Factor | Texas | Wyoming |
|---|---|---|
| 5-year business survival rate | 52.5% (#20 of 51) | 47.5% (#42 of 51) |
| Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Jul) vs 2025 YTD (same months)) | +13.7% YoY (#3 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: Texas vs Wyoming
Texas
Wyoming
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. Montana's annual report is free when filed by April 15 and $35 after, a waiver that applies to reports filed between January 1 and April 15. 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
Texas charges $300 to form an LLC, while Wyoming charges $100. Wyoming is $200 cheaper upfront. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in Wyoming but operate in Texas, you must also register as a foreign LLC in Texas (a $750 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 $1,000, versus $300 for simply forming in Texas. Only one side of this comparison is knowable: Wyoming publishes instant online; up to 15 business days paper, while Texas publishes no standard processing time, so the two can't be ranked against each other on speed.
Taxes: Texas vs Wyoming
Neither Texas nor Wyoming levies a personal income tax, so there's no income-tax advantage to forming in either state. Texas imposes a franchise tax; LLCs under the no-tax-due threshold ($2,650,000 total revenue for 2026-27 reports) owe $0 but must still file an annual Public Information Report. 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. Texas doesn't offer that same privacy. The Certificate of Formation (Form 205) must name at least one governing person (member or manager), a public record; the annual Public Information Report also discloses management. 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 Texas, that Texas registration is itself a public record, which can undercut much of the privacy benefit for a business that operates in Texas.
Annual Maintenance Costs
Texas LLCs file a free annual report (due May 15), and Wyoming LLCs file an annual report ($60, due in the anniversary month). If you form in Wyoming while operating in Texas, you maintain filings in both states (Wyoming's report plus Texas'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 $210 per year, versus about $0 to keep a domestic Texas LLC in good standing. There are also recurring state taxes to weigh on each side. Texas imposes a franchise tax; LLCs under the no-tax-due threshold ($2,650,000 total revenue for 2026-27 reports) owe $0 but must still file an annual Public Information Report. 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. Texas puts owner or manager information on public filings and Wyoming doesn't (usually via a holding company, since operating in Texas 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 Texas, none of these usually apply. Registering a Wyoming LLC to do business back home means $750 in Texas foreign-registration fees, on top of Wyoming's $100 formation fee, while Texas's own annual report stays free to file and is due May 15. When in doubt, form where you actually do business.
Frequently Asked Questions
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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.