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

No. New York costs more upfront ($200 vs $100), and if you operate in Wyoming you must also register there as a foreign LLC ($150) plus pay a New York registered agent. Realistic first-year cost is roughly $500 versus $100 for forming locally.

Can I form my Wyoming business in New York?

Yes. Any Wyoming business can form its LLC in New York. But if the business operates in Wyoming, it must also register there as a foreign LLC ($150 filing fee) and maintain a registered agent in New York, so you take on two states' fees and filings instead of one.

Does New York have better asset protection than Wyoming?

Not meaningfully. Both states provide charging-order protection for LLC members, and neither offers a decisive asset-protection edge for a typical small business; Wyoming’s charging-order statute is widely regarded as the strongest in the country. Sound insurance and clean separation of business and personal finances matter more in practice.

State Comparison

Wyoming LLC vs New York LLC (2026)

Written for owners based in Wyoming.

Verdict: for most owners, form where the business is based

New York's $200 filing fee is only the start. New York law requires six weeks of notices in two county-designated newspapers, and the required daily publishes no rate in any county, so nobody can price the publication duty in advance; miss the 120-day proof-of-publication window and the LLC's authority to do business is suspended. Most New York LLCs also owe the annual IT-204-LL fee, $25 at the bottom of the scale. Wyoming has no publication step, a $100 filing and a $60 minimum license tax, plus $150 to register a New York LLC here.

Based in New York? Read New York LLC vs Wyoming LLC →

Compare Wyoming LLC vs New York 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: October 1, 2026

If your business is based in Wyoming, a Wyoming LLC needs no foreign registration there; a New York LLC run from Wyoming generally must also register in Wyoming as a foreign LLC (Wyoming's $150 filing fee). If your business is based in New York, a New York LLC needs no foreign registration there; a Wyoming LLC run from New York generally must also register in New York as a foreign LLC (New York's $250 filing fee). An LLC formed in one of these states and run from the other owes whatever filings, fees and taxes each state requires. A Wyoming LLC runs from $160 in year one and from $60/yr after; a New York LLC runs from $479.50 and from $29.50/yr. See the full breakdown below.

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 New York

Ready to file? Our affiliate partner ZenBusiness files your LLC formation paperwork, from $0 + state fee.

Start your LLC with ZenBusiness →

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	New York
Filing Fee	$100	$200
Processing Time	Instant online; up to 15 business days paper	Not published by the state
Annual Report Fee	$60	$9 (biennial)
Annual Report Due	First day of anniversary month	Anniversary month (biennial)
State Income Tax	No	Yes
Anonymous LLC	Yes	No
Publication Requirement	No	Yes
Foreign LLC Cost (if forming out-of-state)	N/A, you're in your home state	$150 + registered agent ~$150/yr

Full fee breakdown for either state: Wyoming LLC cost and New York LLC cost. Owner privacy options for either state: Wyoming anonymous LLC guide and New York anonymous LLC guide.

Business Climate: Wyoming vs New York

Factor	Wyoming	New York
5-year business survival rate	47.5% (#42 of 51)	51.9% (#23 of 51)
Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Jul) vs 2025 YTD (same months))	+13.3% YoY (#22 of 51 by volume)	+10.9% YoY (#4 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: Wyoming vs New York

State A

State B

Wyoming

✓ Cheaper Upfront

Formation fee$100

Annual report feefrom $60

State entity taxNone

Report dueFirst day of anniversary month

Processing timeInstant online; up to 15 business days paper

Late penalty$0

New York

Formation fee$200

Annual report fee$9 / 2 yrs

State entity taxfrom $25/yr, Partnership, LLC and LLP Annual Filing Fee

Publication (one-time)From $250

Report dueAnniversary month (biennial)

Processing timeNot published by the state

Late penalty$0

Total Cost

Wyoming

New York

1 Year

from $160

from $479.5

3 Years

from $280

from $538.5

5 Years

from $400

from $597.5

Will you operate outside your home state?

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

Wyoming charges $100 to form an LLC, while New York charges $200. Wyoming is $100 cheaper upfront. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in New York but operate in Wyoming, you must also register as a foreign LLC in Wyoming (a $150 filing) and maintain a registered agent in New York (typically around $150 per year). That puts the realistic first-year cost of the New York route at roughly $500, 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 New York publishes no standard processing time, so the two can't be ranked against each other on speed. Note that New York also requires newly formed LLCs to publish a newspaper notice (New York requires publication of the LLC's formation once a week for six successive weeks in two newspapers designated by the county clerk, within 120 days of formation, followed by a $50 Certificate of Publication. Newspaper rates are set by the newspapers and vary sharply by county), which adds to the true formation cost.

Taxes: Wyoming vs New York

Wyoming has no personal income tax, while New York 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 New York 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. New York LLCs with any income, gain, loss or deduction from New York sources owe an annual filing fee of $25 to $4,500, unless they have elected to be taxed as a corporation. An LLC taxed as a partnership pays by its NY-source gross income for the preceding tax year ($25 where that is $100,000 or less), and a disregarded single-member LLC pays a flat $25.

Privacy & Asset Protection

Wyoming, your home state, actually offers more formation privacy than New York: Wyoming allows anonymous LLC formation, while New York requires owner or manager information on public filings. The NY LLC Transparency Act (effective 2026) requires beneficial-ownership reporting to the state, and formation requires newspaper publication of the LLC's existence. 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. From a privacy standpoint there's no reason for a Wyoming-based business to form in New York.

Annual Maintenance Costs

Wyoming LLCs file an annual report (at least $60, due in the anniversary month), and New York LLCs file a biennial report ($9, due in the anniversary month, every two years). If you form in New York while operating in Wyoming, you maintain filings in both states, New York's report plus Wyoming's equivalent for your foreign registration, and pay a New York registered agent roughly $150 per year. Counting report fees, the agent and any entity-level tax, that brings the New York route to roughly $244 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. New York LLCs with any income, gain, loss or deduction from New York sources owe an annual filing fee of $25 to $4,500, unless they have elected to be taxed as a corporation. An LLC taxed as a partnership pays by its NY-source gross income for the preceding tax year ($25 where that is $100,000 or less), and a disregarded single-member LLC pays a flat $25.

When New York Actually Makes Sense

Forming in New York makes sense in a few specific situations: your business genuinely operates in New York, with a real office, employees, or property there, or you're relocating to New York in the near future and accept taking on New York's personal income tax, which Wyoming doesn't levy. For a typical small business based in Wyoming, none of these usually apply. Registering a New York LLC to do business back home means $150 in Wyoming foreign-registration fees, on top of New York's $200 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 New York doesn't apply to a Wyoming-based owner. When in doubt, form where you actually do business.

Frequently Asked Questions

: No. New York costs more upfront ($200 vs $100), and if you operate in Wyoming you must also register there as a foreign LLC ($150) plus pay a New York registered agent. Realistic first-year cost is roughly $500 versus $100 for forming locally.
: Yes. Any Wyoming business can form its LLC in New York. But if the business operates in Wyoming, it must also register there as a foreign LLC ($150 filing fee) and maintain a registered agent in New York, so you take on two states' fees and filings instead of one.
: Not meaningfully. Both states provide charging-order protection for LLC members, and neither offers a decisive asset-protection edge for a typical small business; Wyoming’s charging-order statute is widely regarded as the strongest in the country. Sound insurance and clean separation of business and personal finances matter more in practice.
: It depends on where the business is based. For a Wyoming-based business, Wyoming: forming where the business is based keeps costs and compliance simple, and New York is worth considering only if you actually do business there. For a New York-based business, the same reasoning points to New York.
: Only one side of this comparison is knowable: Wyoming publishes a standard turnaround (instant online; up to 15 business days paper), while New York publishes no standard processing time, so the two can't be ranked against each other on speed. Whichever you pick, remember that forming in New York while operating in Wyoming means you're not fully set up until the Wyoming 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 Wyoming versus New York, contrasting filing fees, annual report cost and ongoing obligations across 8 factors. — Wyoming and New York 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.

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 New York

Our affiliate partner ZenBusiness files your LLC formation paperwork, from $0 + state fee.

Start your LLC with ZenBusiness →

Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no cost to you. MyStateLLC is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.

More State Comparisons

Wyoming vs North Carolina →Wyoming vs North Dakota →Wyoming vs Ohio →Wyoming vs Delaware →New York vs Delaware →

Wyoming LLC Guide →New York LLC Guide →

📎

Embed this comparison, free

Add the Wyoming vs New York cost calculator to any page. Works in WordPress, Squarespace, Webflow, and any HTML site.

<iframe src="https://www.mystatellc.com/tools/compare-states?embed=1&stateA=WY&stateB=NY" width="100%" height="720" frameborder="0" style="border:0;max-width:900px;display:block;margin:0 auto;" title="Wyoming vs New York LLC Cost Comparison" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p style="text-align:center;font-size:.8125rem;color:#6b7280">Source: <a href="https://www.mystatellc.com/llc/compare/wyoming-llc-vs-new-york-llc">MyStateLLC, Wyoming vs New York LLC Comparison</a></p>

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.

Wyoming statute: W.S. 17-29-503 (charging order remedy)
New York statute: LLC Law 206 (newspaper publication requirement)
sos.wyo.gov/Business/Default.aspxWyoming Secretary of State: business entity filings
sos.wyo.gov/Business/docs/BusinessFees.pdfWyoming LLC filing fees
dos.ny.gov/forming-limited-liability-company-new-yorkNew York Department of State, Division of Corporations: business entity filings
dos.ny.gov/fee-schedulesNew York 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.