Authors, ghostwriters, and freelance writers run royalty income and book contracts through an anonymous LLC.
By Shafwan Ahmed, Operations & Fulfillment Lead, Anonymousllc.co
Wyoming anonymous LLC. The LLC signs publishing contracts, receives KDP / royalty / ghostwriting fees under EIN, and holds the business bank account. For authors with significant catalog royalty income, S-corp election above $60k/yr is worth modeling.
Writers who publish controversial nonfiction, work as ghostwriters, or write under pen names need their legal identity separated from their publishing footprint. An anonymous LLC keeps state records clean - the publisher knows the legal entity (and the human behind it via KYC), but the reading public cannot trace the author through Secretary of State searches.
Best for solo authors. No state income tax. Strong banking acceptance for royalty income (Mercury and Relay handle Amazon KDP payouts cleanly). Wyoming RA replaces your home on filings.
| State | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wyoming (recommended) | $397 | Best balance of cost, anonymity, banking acceptance. |
| New Mexico | $347 | Cheapest. No annual report. Banking is harder. |
The LLC is the legal earning entity that signs contracts and receives royalties, while the pen name stays a marketing identity layered over the entity, so the reading public cannot trace the author. Most publishers and self-publishing platforms support paying an LLC while the work carries a pen name on the cover. The author registers a pen-name DBA where state law requires it and signs book contracts as the pen name doing business as the LLC. Amazon KDP and publisher royalties route to the LLC account under its EIN. The publisher knows the human behind the entity through KYC, but Secretary of State searches surface only the entity, not the writer. The author keeps copyright registration and the ISBN in the pen name or the LLC as the publishing plan dictates, and the LLC signs the distribution agreement. Readers, reviewers, and search engines surface the pen name while the entity collects the money.
A single-member LLC is a pass-through, so royalty and writing income flows to the author's personal return, and Wyoming charges no state income tax on the entity. The LLC reports royalties, ghostwriting fees, and advances under its EIN, and profit passes to the author's Schedule C or the entity's return. Once net writing income clears about $60,000 a year, an S-corp election on the LLC reduces self-employment tax and is worth modeling with a CPA. Foreign-publisher royalties report on the LLC's US return, and the foreign payer handles treaty withholding. The author deducts home office, research travel, and software costs against writing income. The author tracks per-title revenue and expenses so the return shows which books earn and which do not. Quarterly estimated payments cover the tax the pass-through income generates, since no employer withholds on royalties.
Most publishers and self-publishing platforms contract with an author LLC, though some traditional houses prefer to contract a first-time author personally before moving to the entity. Smaller presses and self-publishing setups route contracts and payments to author LLCs as a matter of routine. Amazon KDP, Ingram, and Draft2Digital set the payee and tax info to the LLC EIN. The author signs under the LLC's legal name or the pen-name DBA. Signing a publishing contract personally locks the author into the deal individually, so the author moves the contract to the entity as soon as the publisher allows. The author amends existing contracts to name the LLC as the party of record where the publisher permits assignment. New agreements name the entity from the first signature so no personal contract lingers on the catalog.
Yes. A non-resident writer forms a Wyoming LLC with no US visit and obtains an EIN by IRS fax without an SSN, then receives foreign-publisher royalties on the LLC's US return. The non-resident EIN issues by fax in 5-7 days without a Social Security number. Banking is the harder step, and Mercury and Relay accept non-resident-owned LLCs for royalty income. Amazon KDP and international publishers pay the LLC account in USD. The Wyoming registered agent address replaces the writer's foreign home address on all public filings, and Wyoming charges no state income tax on the entity. The non-resident author keeps a US mailing address through the registered agent and files the LLC's US return each year. A tax treaty between the author's country and the US sets the withholding rate the foreign publisher applies.
Wyoming charges a $60 annual report on the formation-anniversary month and a $100-per-year registered agent after year one; the $397 formation covers the first year of both. The $397 package includes state filing, registered agent for year one, operating agreement, EIN, and 4-5 US bank applications to Mercury, Relay, and Bluevine. New Mexico at $347 has no annual report and no annual state fee, which lowers ongoing cost, but banking is harder for royalty income. Wyoming's banking acceptance for Amazon KDP payouts makes its $60 report and $100 agent worth the recurring spend for most authors. The author budgets the $60 report and the $100 registered agent as fixed annual costs alongside accounting fees. Missing the Wyoming annual report risks administrative dissolution, so the author calendars the formation-anniversary month each year.
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