50-State LLC Tax Comparison Table - Anonymousllc.co's 2026 reference. Covers the rule, the controlling statute or regulation, common questions, and how Anonymousllc.co handles it in practice. Primary-source citations linked throughout.
An LLC is taxed at the state level through some combination of state income tax on pass-through profits, a franchise or annual tax on the entity, and sales or payroll taxes where the LLC operates. The mix varies sharply by state. This comparison focuses on the four anonymous-LLC states - Wyoming, New Mexico, Delaware, and Nevada - and on the key distinction founders miss: the state where you form the LLC is not automatically the state where you owe income tax. Coverage is current as of the "Last updated" date at the top, and federal treatment throughout follows IRS Publication 3402.
Wyoming and Nevada charge no state income tax on the entity or its owners. New Mexico and Delaware have state income taxes, but Delaware does not tax the income of an LLC that does no business in Delaware. For a holding LLC with no in-state operations, Wyoming and Nevada impose no income-tax layer at the state level. Delaware's obligation is limited to its $300 flat annual franchise tax when the LLC does not operate there. This is why the formation state's income-tax rate matters far less than where the LLC actually earns income.
By default a single-member LLC is a disregarded entity and a multi-member LLC is taxed as a partnership - profits pass through to the owners' returns, and the LLC pays no separate federal income tax. IRS Publication 3402 sets this framework. A disregarded single-member LLC reports income on the owner's Schedule C or equivalent, while a partnership files Form 1065 and issues K-1s. A foreign-owned single-member LLC adds Form 5472. This federal default is identical whether the LLC is formed in Wyoming, New Mexico, Delaware, or Nevada.
No. Income tax follows where you earn income and have nexus, not where you file the LLC. Forming in Wyoming does not eliminate tax in a state where the LLC actually operates. The formation state governs the entity's legal home, its privacy, and its franchise tax. Home-state and multi-state income tax depend on physical presence, employees, inventory, or economic activity that creates nexus. A founder operating from California who forms a Wyoming LLC still faces California's rules on the income earned there.
Wyoming charges a $60 minimum annual license tax, Delaware a flat $300 franchise tax due June 1, Nevada an annual list plus business license, and New Mexico nothing at all. These are entity-level charges separate from income tax. New Mexico's $0 annual obligation makes it the cheapest to maintain. Wyoming follows at $60. Delaware's $300 franchise tax is flat regardless of revenue. Nevada's annual list and business license run roughly $350 and up. These figures are the recurring state cost every LLC owes regardless of profit.
An LLC can elect S-corporation treatment on Form 2553 or C-corporation treatment on Form 8832, which changes federal tax but not state formation or franchise rules. The election is a federal classification choice. An S-corp election lets owner-operators split income between salary and distributions to reduce self-employment tax, which suits profitable active businesses. A C-corp election creates entity-level tax and suits companies raising outside investment. A CPA runs the break-even analysis; Anonymousllc.co forms the entity and routes the election question to Alif Al Razi.
For pure entity-level tax, Wyoming and Nevada charge no state income tax and New Mexico charges the lowest ongoing fees at $0 annually. The best choice depends on where the LLC actually operates. A non-operating holding LLC pays no income tax in any of the four states if it earns no in-state income. New Mexico wins on cost at $347 all-in and $0 annual. Wyoming adds no income tax and strong asset protection at $397. The formation state rarely reduces income tax on income earned elsewhere - that follows nexus.
A non-resident's US tax turns on US-source income and effectively connected income, not on residency alone. Many non-resident-owned LLCs operate online with limited US state exposure. A foreign-owned single-member LLC files Form 5472 with a pro-forma 1120 even when it owes no US income tax. State exposure depends on nexus in a specific state. Anonymousllc.co obtains the EIN by fax without an SSN, adds an ITIN at $299 where a personal filing requires one, and introduces a CPA for the state-by-state analysis.
Where you operate, the state can impose income tax, franchise tax, sales tax, and payroll tax based on the nexus you create there. This is separate from the formation state's rules. Employees, an office, inventory, or significant economic activity trigger nexus and filing obligations in that state. A common structure pairs an anonymous Wyoming or New Mexico holding LLC with an operating LLC registered in the state of operation, so the anonymous entity holds the interest while the operating entity handles in-state tax. A CPA maps the specific obligations.
Anonymousllc.co forms the anonymous entity, obtains the EIN, and routes every tax-classification and nexus question to Alif Al Razi, who handles tax and compliance. Formation and tax advice run on the same WhatsApp thread. Flat pricing is $397 Wyoming, $347 New Mexico, $407 Delaware, $722 Nevada, with EIN $99, ITIN $299, and BOI $150 as separate line items. Anonymousllc.co does not file income tax returns but introduces a CPA for the S-corp election, multi-state nexus, and Form 5472 work. Start on WhatsApp to map your tax picture before choosing a state.
On total tax burden, Wyoming and Nevada charge no state income tax, New Mexico charges the lowest ongoing fees at $0 annually, and Delaware limits its charge to the $300 franchise tax for non-operating LLCs. The federal layer is identical across all four. For a non-operating holding LLC, the state tax burden is close to zero in Wyoming and New Mexico, a flat $300 in Delaware, and an annual list plus business license in Nevada. Once the LLC operates in a state, that state's income, franchise, sales, and payroll taxes apply on top, driven by nexus rather than the formation state. This is why the comparison table ranks the formation states on entity-level cost, while the real income-tax burden depends on where the LLC earns. The formation state matters less than founders expect: it sets privacy, franchise tax, and legal home, but not where income tax is owed. Many founders form in Wyoming or New Mexico expecting to escape home-state income tax and are surprised when their operating state still taxes the income earned there. A CPA reconciles the two layers - the formation-state cost from this table and the operating-state cost from a nexus analysis - into a single projected burden. Anonymousllc.co makes this distinction explicit on intake so clients choose a state for the right reason.
Government, regulator, and primary-source documents underpinning this page.
5-minute WhatsApp intake. 5-10 day turnaround.