US LLC Cost for Non-Residents: Full Price Breakdown

A US LLC costs a non-resident somewhere between $175 and $2,500 in year one. The spread is not a mystery — it is entirely about how much of the work you hand to someone else, and whether you pay a CPA to handle your federal information return.

The floor is real: $50 in New Mexico state fees plus $125 for a registered agent, EIN done yourself, no bookkeeping. The ceiling is a full-service subscription with bookkeeping and tax filing included. Most readers land in the middle.

Bottom line:

• Unavoidable: state filing fee, registered agent, and the annual Form 5472 package.
• Optional but usually worth it: a US mailing address, and a CPA for the 5472.
• The number that surprises people is ongoing, not upfront — plan for $200 to $1,000 a year.

The seven cost lines

Every US LLC cost for non-residents resolves into these seven items. Nothing else is mandatory.

1. State filing fee. One-time, paid to the Secretary of State. Wyoming charges $100 for Articles of Organization. New Mexico charges $50. Delaware charges $110 for a domestic LLC Certificate of Formation. Higher-fee states exist — this is exactly why non-residents cluster in the cheap three.

2. Registered agent. Recurring, and not optional in any state. A commercial agent with a physical in-state address runs roughly $100 to $200 a year. Northwest Registered Agent is $125 a year flat in any state and does not raise it at renewal. Budget listings exist below $100; check what the renewal price is before you believe the first-year number.

3. EIN. Free from the IRS. There is no government fee for an Employer Identification Number, ever. As a non-resident with no SSN you cannot use the online tool, so you file Form SS-4 by fax (855-215-1627 inside the US, 304-707-9471 outside) and the IRS says a fax reply generally arrives within four business days. If a provider charges $100 to $250 for “EIN service,” you are paying for the errand, not the number. Details: how to get an EIN without an SSN.

4. US mailing address and mail forwarding. Optional legally, close to mandatory practically. Banks and payment processors want a US business address that is not your registered agent’s bare legal address. Standalone services run roughly $10 to $30 a month; formation bundles usually include one.

5. Business bank account. The account itself is typically free at the fintech platforms non-residents actually use, with minimum balance requirements ranging from zero to a few thousand dollars. Budget for wire fees rather than account fees — an incoming international wire commonly costs $0 to $20 and an outgoing one $15 to $45. See US business bank accounts for non-residents.

6. Annual state compliance. Wyoming: $60 minimum annual report license tax, due the first day of your anniversary month. Delaware: $300 annual LLC tax, due June 1, with a $200 penalty plus 1.5% monthly interest if late. New Mexico: nothing — there is no LLC annual report.

7. Federal filings and bookkeeping. This is the line most people leave out of the budget, and it is the one with a $25,000 downside.

The federal filing you must budget for

A US LLC wholly owned by a foreign person must file Form 5472 attached to a pro forma Form 1120 every year, by the Form 1120 due date including extensions. It cannot be filed electronically — it goes by mail to the IRS PIN Unit at 1973 Rulon White Blvd, M/S 6112, Ogden, UT 84201, or by fax to 855-887-7737.

The penalty for failing to file is $25,000, with another $25,000 if the failure continues more than 90 days after IRS notice. It applies to a company that earned nothing.

You can prepare the package yourself — the pro forma 1120 requires only the name, address, and items B and E on page one — but the 5472 itself asks about reportable transactions between you and the LLC, and getting that wrong counts as a failure to file. A US CPA who handles foreign-owned LLCs typically charges a few hundred dollars for this filing. Against a $25,000 exposure, that is the cheapest insurance on this page.

Whether you also owe US income tax is a separate analysis, covered in US LLC taxes for non-residents. Bookkeeping is optional until you have volume, then it is not: subscription bookkeeping for a small LLC generally starts around $50 to $200 a month depending on transaction count.

Year one vs every year after

Three realistic scenarios. State fee assumed at Wyoming’s $100 unless noted.

Read the bottom half of that table more carefully than the top. Year-one costs get all the marketing attention; the ongoing row is what you actually live with. A New Mexico LLC with a flat-rate agent and a self-prepared 5472 costs $125 a year forever. That is the cheapest legitimate way to own a US company.

What the formation services charge

Three common shapes, and the pricing model matters more than the sticker.

Low-cost formation, à la carte everything else. Bizee advertises a free formation package where you pay only the state fee, with the first year of registered agent included. That is genuinely cheap for the filing, but the EIN, the operating agreement, and year two of the agent are separate line items — and Bizee is built for US-based customers, so the non-resident pieces are not the product. Check the current pricing page.

One-time formation fee, then a la carte. Firstbase charges roughly $399 once with state fees included, then a separate annual registered agent fee. The appeal is a clean one-time number and a stack of operational tooling around it. If you want to own the company for a decade, a one-time fee amortizes well.

Annual subscription covering compliance. doola starts around $297 a year with the state fee on top, and higher tiers add bookkeeping and tax filing. You are renting the whole compliance function, which is the right trade if the Form 5472 and the books are the parts you want gone. It is also the model where you must remember that the fee repeats.

Verify all three on their own pricing pages — these numbers move. The direct comparison of the top two is in doola vs Firstbase, and the budget tier is covered in Bizee vs ZenBusiness vs LegalZoom.

Costs people forget

Certified copies. Banks and processors sometimes want a certified copy of the formation document rather than the plain filing. Delaware charges $50 for one, and expedited service is extra. A “$110 Delaware LLC” is realistically $200 or more once you order what a bank will ask for.

Reinstatement. Wyoming administratively dissolves entities sixty days past their annual report due date, and reinstating a Wyoming LLC that lost its registered agent costs $350. Missing a $60 report can cost you $350 plus the time.

Foreign qualification. If your LLC has real presence in a second US state — an office, employees, inventory in a warehouse you control — you will likely register there too and pay that state’s fees and agent annually. This is the hidden way a $60-a-year company becomes a $500-a-year company.

ITIN, if you need one. The ITIN is free to apply for on Form W-7, but it is slow and many non-resident owners never need one. Do not pay for one preemptively.

Currency and card fees. Paying US state fees and subscriptions on a non-US card adds 1% to 3% in foreign transaction charges across the year. Small, but it is real money once you are paying monthly subscriptions.

A website. Not a legal cost, but processors and banks look for a real business presence, so most founders end up paying for hosting. Options in best web hosting for your US LLC website.

Who should spend what

Spend the minimum if you are testing an idea, billing a handful of clients, or holding a single asset. New Mexico plus a flat-rate agent plus a self-filed SS-4 gets you a fully legal company for under $200, and $125 a year after. Add a CPA for the 5472 in your first filing year and learn the pattern.

Spend the middle if your time is worth more than $500 a year and you want the EIN and bank application handled. This is where most working founders land: a bundle for setup, a flat-rate agent, and a CPA for the annual federal filing.

Spend for full service if you are running real revenue through the LLC, you need books that a tax preparer can use, and you would rather have one vendor accountable for compliance. The subscription only looks expensive next to the DIY floor; next to a $25,000 penalty it does not.

Is there any way to avoid the registered agent cost?

No. Every state requires an agent with a physical in-state street address for the life of the company, and a non-resident cannot serve as their own. The only lever is price: a flat-rate provider at around $125 a year is about as low as the established market goes.

Does the IRS charge for an EIN?

No. The EIN is free. Any charge you see is a service fee for someone preparing and faxing Form SS-4 on your behalf, which is a legitimate service but not a government cost.

What is the cheapest state to maintain an LLC in?

New Mexico, because there is no LLC annual report or recurring state fee after the $50 filing. Wyoming is next at $60 a year. Delaware’s $300 annual tax makes it the most expensive of the three to keep alive. Comparison: Wyoming vs New Mexico.

Can I deduct these costs?

Formation and compliance costs are ordinary business expenses in most systems, but how they are treated depends on your own tax residence and whether the LLC has US-taxable income. Ask a CPA rather than assuming.

Where to start

If cost is the deciding factor, file in New Mexico or Wyoming yourself and pair it with Northwest Registered Agent at a flat $125 a year — roughly $175 to $225 for year one. If you would rather pay to remove the EIN, the bank application, and the annual filings from your list, doola covers the compliance stack as a subscription and Firstbase covers formation as a one-time fee. For the cheapest possible filing where you handle the rest, Bizee is the budget option. The full process is mapped in US LLC for non-residents.

This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Confirm your own costs and filing obligations with a CPA or attorney.