Which states allow anonymous LLCs?

The states most commonly cited for anonymous LLC formation are Wyoming, New Mexico, Nevada, Delaware, and Montana. Each provides some degree of member privacy at the formation stage, meaning member names are not required on the public Articles of Organization or Certificate of Formation. However, the degree of ongoing privacy varies significantly by state. Wyoming and New Mexico offer the strongest combination of formation privacy and minimal recurring disclosure. Nevada publicly discloses managers and members on its annual list filing, which limits its true anonymity value. Delaware does not require member names on the Certificate of Formation but has a public registered agent requirement that creates a partial paper trail. Montana provides formation privacy but has less-developed case law than Wyoming. Note that all LLCs subject to the federal Corporate Transparency Act must file a Beneficial Ownership Information report with FinCEN regardless of state choice. Consult a licensed attorney for guidance specific to your situation.

What is the most private LLC state?

Wyoming and New Mexico are generally considered the most private LLC states for different reasons. Wyoming (under W.S. 17-28-107) allows a professional organizer to file the Articles of Organization without disclosing member names, and the annual report does not require member disclosure. New Mexico goes one step further by requiring no annual report at all, which means there is no recurring public filing that could reveal member information over time. The practical difference is that Wyoming has a more developed statutory framework and more supporting case law, while New Mexico offers the lowest long-term administrative burden. Both states still require a registered agent with a public address. Federal BOI reporting obligations apply in both states regardless.

Does Wyoming allow anonymous LLC formation?

Yes. Wyoming Statutes 17-28-107 explicitly allows an organizer to file the Articles of Organization on behalf of the LLC without disclosing member or manager names in the public filing. The organizer (which may be a formation service acting on your behalf) is listed instead of the actual owners. Wyoming's annual report also does not require disclosure of member names. This filing-as-organizer approach is the legal mechanism behind what is commonly marketed as a Wyoming anonymous LLC. It is important to understand that this is state-level formation privacy only. Federal BOI reporting under the Corporate Transparency Act requires disclosure of beneficial owners to FinCEN (not public) regardless of state choice.

What is the difference between Wyoming and New Mexico for anonymous LLCs?

Both Wyoming and New Mexico allow anonymous LLC formation (no member names on public Articles of Organization). The key differences are: (1) Annual reporting: Wyoming requires a minimal annual report ($60 minimum fee) that does not disclose members. New Mexico requires no annual report at all, which means zero recurring public filing exposure. (2) Cost: New Mexico's formation fee is lower and there are no annual fees after formation. Wyoming charges $60 per year minimum. (3) Statute and case law: Wyoming has a more mature LLC statute and more supporting court decisions. New Mexico's framework is newer and less tested. (4) Practical use: New Mexico is often preferred for long-term passive holding structures where minimizing administrative burden is the priority. Wyoming is often preferred when statutory clarity and case law depth matter. Both are legitimate privacy-state choices; the right answer depends on your specific structure and goals. Consult a licensed attorney.

Is Nevada actually an anonymous LLC state?

Nevada is frequently marketed as a privacy-friendly state for LLC formation, but it has a significant limitation that is often understated: Nevada's Annual List of Managers or Members (NRS Chapter 86) is a public filing that discloses the names and addresses of the LLC's managers (in a manager-managed LLC) or members (in a member-managed LLC). This annual public disclosure largely negates the formation-stage privacy that Nevada provides. A Nevada LLC may start with no member names on the Articles of Organization, but by the time the first Annual List is due, that information becomes public record. This is a meaningful difference from Wyoming and New Mexico, where member names are not required in any recurring public filing. For true ownership privacy at the state level, Wyoming and New Mexico are more consistently private over time.

Does the Corporate Transparency Act eliminate the benefit of anonymous LLCs?

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), codified at 31 U.S.C. 5336, requires most LLCs formed in the United States to file a Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) disclosing the identity of beneficial owners. This is a federal reporting obligation that applies regardless of which state the LLC is formed in. Importantly, BOI reports are not public records. They are filed with FinCEN and are accessible only to authorized law enforcement and financial institutions under specific circumstances. This means the CTA does not eliminate the benefit of state-level anonymous formation for public-record purposes. Your name may not appear in any publicly searchable database, even after BOI compliance. The CTA changed federal compliance obligations but did not make state formation records public. Consult a licensed attorney familiar with current FinCEN guidance, as the CTA's implementation has been subject to ongoing litigation and regulatory updates.

What is nominee services for anonymous LLC and is it legal?

Nominee services typically involve using a third party (a nominee organizer, nominee manager, or nominee member) to appear in public LLC records in place of the actual beneficial owner. The legality of nominee arrangements depends on how they are structured and for what purpose. Using a formation service as a professional organizer to file your LLC (per Wyoming W.S. 17-28-107) is a straightforward and fully legal service. More complex arrangements involving nominee members or managers should be reviewed by a licensed attorney, as they can raise issues related to the Corporate Transparency Act's beneficial ownership reporting requirements, which require disclosure of actual beneficial owners (not nominees) to FinCEN. The CTA specifically addresses arrangements designed to obscure beneficial ownership. This article is educational only and is not legal advice.

LLC Formation Cost by State: Cheapest to Most Expensive in 2026

Published 2026-05-01

Scenario: You are an Etsy seller with three years of growing revenue. You have $300 in your business savings, no inventory hold, and a CPA who says "form an LLC before year end." You live in Tennessee. You search "cheapest state to form an LLC" and the first three blog posts give you three different answers (Kentucky, New Mexico, Wyoming). One of them does not actually mean what you think it means. Here is the price ladder, top to bottom, with the silent year-two costs every formation service hides in 8-point type.

This article walks state filing fees from the lowest ($50) to the highest ($800-equivalent), then walks the year-two carrying costs (annual reports, franchise taxes, PIRs, publication, gross-receipts surcharges) that change which state is actually cheapest over a five-year horizon. Filing-fee shopping alone is the single most common LLC-cost mistake operators make. We will explain why.

Last updated: May 1, 2026.

The Direct Answer (Featured-Snippet Block)

The cheapest U.S. states to file an LLC by raw filing fee are Kentucky ($40), Arkansas ($45 online), Mississippi ($50), and Missouri ($50). The most expensive states by initial filing are Massachusetts ($500), Tennessee ($300+), Texas ($300), and Illinois ($150 plus an additional $75 in year two). When year-two annual costs are added, California ($800 minimum franchise tax), Massachusetts ($500 annual), and New York (publication requirement up to $1,500+ in NYC counties) become structurally the most expensive states to operate an LLC in over five years.

Why "Cheapest Filing Fee" Is the Wrong Question

A formation service's $50 lead headline tells you nothing about year-two cost. The lifecycle cost of a U.S. LLC has five components, only one of which is the initial filing fee.

State filing fee (one-time): $40 to $500 depending on state.
Annual or biennial report (recurring): $0 (a few states) to $800 (California minimum franchise tax).
Franchise tax / Privilege tax / Business tax (recurring): $0 in income-tax-free states, $300 to $800+ in others.
Publication or special compliance (one-time or recurring): $50 to $1,500+ depending on state and county.
Registered agent service (recurring): $99 to $300 per year if you use a commercial provider.

A state with a $50 filing fee and a $400 annual report is more expensive year-on-year than a state with a $100 filing fee and a $0 annual report. Read the renewal price before you pick the formation state.

Tier 1: The Truly Cheap States (Initial + Year-Two Both Low)

These states combine a low filing fee with a low or zero recurring report.

State	Filing Fee	Annual/Biennial Report	Franchise/Privilege Tax	Notes
Kentucky	$40	$15/year	None on LLC; $175 LLET min	KRS § 141.0401 LLET trap
Arkansas	$45 online ($50 paper)	$150/year franchise	Combined with report
Mississippi	$50	$25 (no fee, info only)	None	Truly cheap to operate
Missouri	$50	NO annual report	None	Mo. Rev. Stat. § 347.183
New Mexico	$50	NO annual report	None on LLC	NMSA § 53-19-1 et seq.
Arizona	$50	NO annual report	None (publication required in some counties)	A.R.S. § 29-3212
Iowa	$50	$30 biennial	None on LLC
Michigan	$50	$25/year	None	LARA portal
Ohio	$99	NO annual report	None on LLC	Ohio Rev. Code Ch. 1706

Missouri, New Mexico, Arizona, and Ohio are the four states where, after you file, you owe the state nothing on a recurring basis other than (in some cases) a small report or no report at all. For a passive holding company that never operates anywhere else, these are the structurally cheapest states.

Tier 2: Mid-Range Filing, Modest Annual

State	Filing Fee	Annual Report	Notes
Wyoming	$100	$60 minimum, or 0.0002 of WY-situs assets, whichever is greater	W.S. § 17-29-101 et seq.
Florida	$125	$138.75/year	Sunbiz portal
Colorado	$50	$10 periodic report	C.R.S. § 7-90-301.5
Indiana	$95	$32 biennial	INBiz portal
Nevada	$75 + $200 business license + $150 list of officers	$350/year recurring	NRS § 86 series
Delaware	$90	NO annual report; $300 annual franchise tax	Del. Code tit. 6

Wyoming is famously the cheap-and-strong combination ($100 to file, $60 to renew, charging-order-exclusive statute, no state income tax). Nevada often appears on "cheap state" lists incorrectly. Nevada's effective year-one cost is $425+ and the year-two cost is $350+. Read past the headline.

Tier 3: High Filing or High Recurring (Or Both)

State	Filing Fee	Recurring Cost	Notes
Texas	$300	None on small entities below the no-tax-due threshold; $0 PIR fee but PIR required	Tex. Tax Code § 171.0002; threshold ~$2.47M for 2024
Illinois	$150	$75/year	805 ILCS 180
New York	$200	$9 biennial fee	NY LLC Law § 206 publication requirement adds $50 to $1,500+
Pennsylvania	$125	$7 annual (FLIPPED 2025)	15 Pa.C.S. § 146; previously decennial
Tennessee	$300 minimum (depends on member count)	$300 minimum annual report; F&E tax	Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-4-2007
Maryland	$100	$300 Personal Property Return (the famous "$300 trap")	Md. Code Ann., Corps. & Ass'ns § 4A-1101
Massachusetts	$500	$500 annual	Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 156C § 12

Massachusetts is the highest-cost state for an LLC in the United States by combined filing-and-recurring math, with $500 to file and $500 every year. Maryland's "$300 Personal Property Return" catches operators every year because it shows up in year two and the form name does not mention LLC. Pennsylvania's flip from decennial to annual reports in 2025 caught dormant operators who had not updated their compliance calendars in a decade.

Tier 4: Special-Case Costs

These states have ongoing costs that do not show up in a "filing fee" column but materially affect the lifecycle cost.

California (Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 17941): $800 minimum franchise tax, due every year, on every California LLC, regardless of revenue. The first-year exemption that applied 2021 to 2023 has expired. A California operator who forms in California pays $800 annually for the privilege of existing. A California operator who forms in Wyoming and operates in California still pays the $800 if the LLC is "doing business" in California (see Swart Enterprises, Inc. v. FTB, 7 Cal.App.5th 497 (2017) for the narrow passive-investment carve-out).

A specific warning: the Wyoming-LLC-to-skip-California-$800 pitch is the single most common FTB audit trap. Every California formation service that promises you can avoid the $800 by forming in Wyoming is selling you a lawsuit. The FTB knows. Mat Sorensen of Directed IRA has explained the FTB's posture in detail (https://directedira.com).

New York (NY LLC Law § 206): Newspaper publication requirement in two newspapers (one daily, one weekly) for six consecutive weeks in the county of the LLC's office. NYC counties (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens) cost $1,500 to $2,500. Upstate counties (Albany, Hamilton) can be done for $50 to $100. The publication trick is to register the LLC in a low-cost upstate county, even if the operating office is in NYC. (This requires a registered agent or office address in that county.)

Nebraska (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 21-193): Newspaper publication requirement, three weeks. Lower cost than New York but a real expense.

Hawaii (Haw. Rev. Stat. Chapter 237): Gross Excise Tax (GET) of 4 to 4.712 percent on most business activity. Not a franchise tax but functions like one. Hawaii LLC operators often discover GET in year two and revise the lifecycle cost upward.

Tennessee F&E Tax: Franchise and Excise tax, $300 minimum, due regardless of revenue. Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-4-2007.

Washington B&O Tax: Gross-receipts tax under RCW 82.04. Functions as a franchise tax for high-revenue operators.

Five-Year Cost Comparison Table

If you formed an LLC in 2026 and operated it through 2030 (no state income tax, no business activity beyond minimum compliance), the cumulative state cost looks roughly like this:

State	Year 1	Years 2-5	5-Year Total
Missouri	$50	$0	$50
New Mexico	$50	$0	$50
Ohio	$99	$0	$99
Arizona	$50	$0 (publication once)	$50-$200
Mississippi	$50	$100 ($25/yr)	$150
Wyoming	$100	$240 ($60 x 4)	$340
Kentucky	$40 + $175 LLET	$760 ($190/yr)	$800
Florida	$125	$555 ($138.75 x 4)	$680
Delaware	$90	$1,200 ($300/yr franchise)	$1,290
Illinois	$150	$300 ($75 x 4)	$450
Texas	$300	$0 if under no-tax threshold	$300
Tennessee	$300 + $300 F&E	$1,200 ($300/yr min)	$1,800
Maryland	$100	$1,200 ($300 PPR x 4)	$1,300
Massachusetts	$500	$2,000 ($500 x 4)	$2,500
California	$70 + $800	$3,200 ($800 x 4)	$4,070
New York (NYC)	$200 + $2,000 publication	$36 (biennial)	$2,236
New York (upstate)	$200 + $75 publication	$36	$311

These numbers exclude registered agent service, which is roughly $99 to $300 per year regardless of state. They also exclude federal taxes, sales tax registrations, and any state income or self-employment taxes the LLC owners owe individually.

What Drives the Real-World Cost Decision

For most operators, the question "where should I form" should NOT be answered by filing fee alone. It should be answered by the intersection of:

Where you operate. If you have employees, inventory, real property, or a customer-serving business in a state, that state's law and tax authority will reach you regardless of formation state. Forming a Wyoming LLC for a California-operated business does not make California go away.
What asset-protection strength you need. A passive holding company benefits from charging-order-exclusive states. An operating company is governed by where it operates, not where it formed.
What privacy you want. Wyoming, New Mexico, Delaware, and Nevada offer varying levels of public-record privacy. The cheapest privacy combination is Wyoming or New Mexico (low cost AND no public member disclosure).
What your CPA says. Multistate tax nexus is real. A few states' minimum-tax structures will eat the savings of a "cheap" filing fee in year two.

Garrett Sutton of Sutton Law Center frames the analysis this way: "The cheapest state to form an LLC is the one that fits your situation. The most expensive is the one a stranger on the internet recommended without knowing your facts." (https://www.suttonlawcenter.com)

Common Pitfalls

Pitfall 1: "Free LLC formation" promotions. A $0 formation fee from a national service usually means the state filing fee is unbundled (you still pay the state) and you sign up for an annual registered agent service that auto-renews at $300+/year. The lifecycle math erases the "free" headline.

Pitfall 2: Foreign qualification surprise. If you form in State A but operate in State B, State B requires you to register as a "foreign LLC" and pay State B's filing fee plus annual report. Now you owe both states. Lifecycle cost in two states almost always exceeds the savings of forming in the cheap state.

Pitfall 3: Maryland $300 Personal Property Return. Catches operators every year. Form name does not include "annual report" or "LLC tax." Expense shows up in year two with no warning.

Pitfall 4: Pennsylvania annual flip 2025. A PA LLC formed before 2025 had a 10-year decennial obligation. As of 2025 (Act 122 of 2022), PA LLCs file annually. Many dormant PA LLCs are out of compliance and do not know it.

Pitfall 5: Tennessee F&E minimum. $300 F&E minimum applies even to a TN LLC with $0 revenue. Surprises many operators in year two.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the absolute cheapest state to form an LLC? By initial filing fee alone, Kentucky ($40) and Arkansas ($45 online) are cheapest. By five-year lifecycle cost with no operating activity, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, and Arizona are cheapest because none charge a recurring annual report or franchise tax.

Is Wyoming the cheapest state? No, but Wyoming is the cheapest of the asset-protection-strong states. Wyoming's $100 filing fee plus $60 annual report ($340 over 5 years) buys statutory charging-order exclusivity (W.S. § 17-29-503), no public member disclosure, and no state income tax.

Why does California cost so much? California's $800 minimum franchise tax (Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 17941) is owed every year by every California LLC, regardless of revenue. The "first-year exemption" expired in 2023 and has not been extended.

Can I avoid New York's publication requirement? The requirement (NY LLC Law § 206) is statutory. The cost can be reduced significantly by registering the LLC in a low-cost upstate county. NYC-county publication costs run $1,500-$2,500; some upstate counties cost $50-$100.

If I form in Wyoming and operate in California, do I avoid the $800? Generally no. California's "doing business" test under Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 23101 reaches LLCs that derive income from California sources, have California employees, or are managed from California. Swart Enterprises, Inc. v. FTB carved out a narrow passive-investment-only exception. Anything more active triggers the $800.

What about the $0 LegalZoom or ZenBusiness offers? Those promotions cover the formation service's labor only. The state filing fee, annual report, registered agent renewal, and any state-specific compliance fees are separate. Read the full 5-year cost before relying on a $0 headline.

Your Next Step

If cost is the primary driver, narrow the choice to Missouri, New Mexico, Wyoming, or Ohio depending on whether you need privacy or asset protection layered in. We file LLCs in Wyoming, Texas, Florida, Delaware, Nevada, and New Mexico, and serve as registered agent in each. State-by-state pricing on our home index shows the full first-year and renewal cost in plain English, no fine print.

About this article: State LLC Service publishes plain-English explanations of LLC formation, registered agent requirements, and state filing costs across all 50 states. We are an LLC formation and registered agent service. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice; consult licensed counsel and a CPA in your state for guidance specific to your situation.

Disclosure: Filing fees, annual report amounts, and tax minimums are current as of May 1, 2026. State legislatures change these amounts; verify the current published rate at the relevant Secretary of State and Department of Revenue before relying on any number above. Independent Curator Disclosure: This article references named industry voices we follow (researchers, attorneys, CPAs, and educators) along with statutes and court opinions. The named individuals and firms are independent of our service. We have no business relationship with them beyond researching and synthesizing publicly available content they have published. References do not imply endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation. Always consult licensed counsel for advice specific to your situation.