Wyoming LLC vs Delaware LLC (2026)
A Wyoming LLC costs at least $160 in year one; a Delaware LLC costs $510.
Written for owners based in Wyoming.
Verdict: for most owners, form where the business is based
Delaware charges $110 to form and files no annual report at all, which is where the cheap-Delaware story usually stops. The state instead levies a flat $400 alternative entity tax on every LLC regardless of income, raised from $300 effective January 1, 2026 and payable each June 1 for the prior calendar year, with no proration for a December formation. Wyoming's equivalent is an annual report license tax with a $60 minimum, and both states let you keep members off the public filing. A Delaware LLC operating from Wyoming still pays $150 here.
Based in Delaware? Read Delaware LLC vs Wyoming LLC →
Full fee breakdown for either state: Wyoming LLC cost and Delaware LLC cost.
By Edmond Hui · Last updated: October 13, 2026
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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.
| Factor | Wyoming | Delaware |
|---|---|---|
| Filing Fee | $100 | $110 |
| Processing Time | Instant online; up to 15 business days paper | Not published by the state |
| Annual Report Fee | $60 | None ($400/yr entity tax instead) |
| Annual Report Due | First day of anniversary month | None required |
| State Income Tax | No | Yes |
| Anonymous LLC | Yes | Yes |
| Publication Requirement | No | No |
| Foreign LLC Cost (if forming out-of-state) | N/A, you're in your home state | $150 + registered agent ~$150/yr |
Owner privacy options for either state: Wyoming anonymous LLC guide and Delaware anonymous LLC guide.
Who you file with in Wyoming and Delaware, and when
| Factor | Wyoming | Delaware |
|---|---|---|
| Forms the LLC | Wyoming Secretary of State | Delaware Division of Corporations |
| Takes the periodic report | Wyoming Secretary of State | No annual report |
| Reports and state taxes, first due dates for an LLC formed June 15, 2027 |
|
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| If the report is late | Wyoming sets no separate late fee, but a missed report still has consequences for the LLC. | No annual report. A late Annual LLC Tax payment carries its own penalty. |
| State charges over five years | from $400 (from $160 in year one plus from $240 across years two to five) | $2,110 ($510 in year one plus $1,600 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: Wyoming vs Delaware
| Factor | Wyoming | Delaware |
|---|---|---|
| 5-year business survival rate | 47.5% (#42 of 51) | 48.1% (#37 of 51) |
| Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Sep) vs 2025 YTD (same months)) | +14.7% YoY (#23 of 51 by volume) | +4.1% YoY (#33 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: Wyoming vs Delaware
Wyoming
Delaware
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
Wyoming charges $100 to form an LLC, while Delaware charges $110. Wyoming is $10 cheaper upfront. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in Delaware but operate in Wyoming, you must also register as a foreign LLC in Wyoming (a $150 filing) and maintain a registered agent in Delaware (typically around $150 per year). That puts the realistic first-year cost of the Delaware route at roughly $410, versus $100 for simply forming in Wyoming. 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: Wyoming vs Delaware
Wyoming has no personal income tax, while Delaware taxes individual income. Since pass-through LLC profits are taxed where you live and operate, a Wyoming-based owner keeps Wyoming's no-income-tax benefit either way. Forming in Delaware adds no tax advantage. Wyoming charges an annual report license tax of $60 minimum ($62 filed online), based on in-state assets; no franchise or privilege tax otherwise. Delaware LLCs owe a flat $400 annual LLC tax (no report required).
Privacy & Asset Protection
Both Wyoming and Delaware 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. Wyoming's LLC act makes the charging order the exclusive remedy, and says so for single-member LLCs specifically. Delaware'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
Wyoming LLCs file an annual report (at least $60, due in the anniversary month), and Delaware LLCs file no annual report at all. If you form in Delaware while operating in Wyoming, you maintain filings in both states, Delaware asks for no report, but Wyoming still wants its equivalent for your foreign registration, and pay a Delaware registered agent roughly $150 per year. Counting report fees, the agent and any entity-level tax, that brings the Delaware route to roughly $610 a year, versus at least $60 to keep a domestic Wyoming LLC in good standing. The taxes inside those totals: Wyoming charges an annual report license tax of $60 minimum ($62 filed online), based on in-state assets; no franchise or privilege tax otherwise. Delaware LLCs owe a flat $400 annual LLC tax (no report required).
When Delaware Actually Makes Sense
Forming in Delaware makes sense in a few specific situations: you're raising venture capital or institutional investment. Many investors specifically prefer or require Delaware entities, your business genuinely operates in Delaware, with a real office, employees, or property there, or you're relocating to Delaware in the near future and accept taking on Delaware's personal income tax, which Wyoming doesn't levy. For a typical small business based in Wyoming, none of these usually apply. Registering a Delaware LLC to do business back home means $150 in Wyoming foreign-registration fees, on top of Delaware's $110 formation fee, while Wyoming's own annual report runs at least $60 a year and is due in the anniversary month. Wyoming already allows anonymous formation, so the privacy argument for Delaware doesn't apply to a Wyoming-based owner. When in doubt, form where you actually do business.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to form your LLC?
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 Wyoming, Best LLC services in Delaware
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 Wyoming and Delaware LLCs
Wyoming
Sources
6 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.
- Wyoming statute: W.S. 17-29-503 (charging order remedy)
- Delaware statute: 6 Del. C. § 18-703 (charging orders)
- sos.wyo.gov/Business/Default.aspxWyoming Secretary of State: business entity filings
- sos.wyo.gov/Business/docs/BusinessFees.pdfWyoming LLC filing fees
- corp.delaware.govDelaware Division of Corporations: business entity filings
- corpfiles.delaware.gov/AugustFee2024.pdfDelaware 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.