Cross-border
Wyoming vs Delaware vs New Mexico LLC for Pakistanis
For a Pakistani owner with no US presence, the three states differ mainly in cost and paperwork. Wyoming charges USD 100 to form and a USD 60 minimum each year. New Mexico charges USD 50 to form and nothing annually. Delaware charges USD 110 to form and USD 400 every 1 June. All three require a commercial registered agent, and the federal filings are identical whichever you choose.
We do this for clients:US LLC Formation from Pakistan
Where these figures come from
- Sources
- Sourced from the Wyoming, Delaware and New Mexico LLC statutes and each Secretary of State's fee schedule.
- Last checked against the sources
- by BarrioVibe.
This is general guidance from the sources above, not advice on your situation. Procedures and official fees change, so confirm the current position before you file, or speak to us first.
The three states side by side
Every figure below is read from the state's own fee schedule or statute. Registered agent fees are not included, because they are set by the agent rather than the state.
| Wyoming | Delaware | New Mexico | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filing fee to form | USD 100 | USD 110 | USD 50 |
| Annual state charge | USD 60, or USD .0002 per dollar of Wyoming assets if greater | USD 400 annual tax | None |
| When it falls due | First day of your anniversary month | 1 June | Not applicable |
| Annual report | Yes | None for an LLC | None |
| Registered agent | Required, with a physical Wyoming address | Required, with a Delaware street address | Required: a New Mexico resident or an entity with a place of business there |
| Owner names on the formation document | Not asked for; the organizer signs | Not required | Not required |
| Other addresses on the formation document | Mailing address and principal office address | None beyond the registered agent | Principal place of business, if different from the registered office |
What you actually pay each year
Over the life of a company that sits in one state and bills clients elsewhere, the annual charge is the number that matters, because the formation fee is paid once. New Mexico charges nothing: its LLC Act contains no annual report provision, and its fee schedule in section 53-19-63 lists no annual fee. Wyoming charges USD 60 on the first day of the month in which you formed, because the licence tax is calculated on assets located and employed in Wyoming, and an LLC run from Pakistan usually has none. Delaware charges USD 400 by 1 June under 6 Del. C. section 18-1107(b), and it files no annual report at all.
Add the registered agent to every column. You cannot act as your own from Pakistan in any of the three, so that fee recurs for as long as the company exists. Compare agent renewal prices, not only first-year prices, when you compare states.
Privacy: what each formation document has to contain
Wyoming and New Mexico are usually sold as the private options. Measured by what the formation document itself must contain, Delaware asks for the least. Section 18-201(a) requires the LLC's name and its registered agent and office, plus anything the members choose to add. That is the whole list.
Wyoming's Articles of Organization form asks for a mailing address and a principal office address as well as the agent, and it is signed by an organizer who prints their name on it, so whoever acts as organizer decides whose name is on the filing. New Mexico's section 53-19-8 requires the street address of the company's principal place of business wherever that differs from the registered office. For a company run from Lahore, that can mean a Pakistani address. None of the three asks for the members' names.
Keep the limit of this in view. It concerns the state filing only. The IRS requires the EIN application to name a responsible party and states that nominees are not authorized to apply. Stripe and US banks verify the individuals behind the company. A US LLC does not make its owner anonymous to anyone who pays it or taxes it.
New Mexico: cheapest to file, with two things to check
New Mexico is the only one of the three with no recurring state charge, and that is established by reading its LLC Act through rather than by failing to find a fee. Two cautions. A widely repeated USD 10 annual report figure is New Mexico corporation data and does not apply to an LLC. And New Mexico gross receipts tax reaches services performed in New Mexico, or performed elsewhere where the product is first used there, so a company with New Mexico clients should look at that before assuming the state costs nothing.
The other practical point is filing. The Secretary of State now accepts business filings online only, through its enterprise portal, and no longer takes paper.
What this comparison leaves out, on purpose
These are real questions. They are left out because we could not answer them from a primary source, or because they belong to a different decision.
- State income tax. "Wyoming has no state income tax" is repeated everywhere, and we could not confirm it from an official Wyoming source this month, so this guide does not rely on it
- The New Mexico gross receipts tax rate. We confirmed what the tax reaches, not a current rate, so no rate is stated
- Corporations and venture funding. Investors' preference for Delaware is an argument about corporations raising money, and it is a separate decision from where a single-member LLC should sit
- Sales tax nexus in the states your customers live in, which follows your sales rather than your state of formation
Questions
The questionspeople ask
Which US state is best for an LLC if I live in Pakistan?
For a single-member LLC with no US presence, the states differ mainly in cost. New Mexico has no annual state charge, Wyoming charges a USD 60 minimum each year, and Delaware charges USD 400 every 1 June. The federal filings and the Pakistani obligations are the same whichever you choose, and all three require a commercial registered agent.
How much does it cost to form an LLC in Wyoming, Delaware or New Mexico?
The state filing fee is USD 100 in Wyoming, USD 110 in Delaware under the fee schedule revised 1 August 2026, and USD 50 in New Mexico under section 53-19-63 of its LLC Act. Registered agent fees come on top and are set by the agent, not the state.
Is the Delaware LLC annual tax USD 300 or USD 400?
USD 400, due on or before 1 June. 6 Del. C. section 18-1107(b) states the figure. Pages quoting USD 300 are out of date, and Delaware LLCs file no annual report.
Does a New Mexico LLC have to file an annual report?
No. The New Mexico LLC Act contains no annual report provision and its fee schedule lists no annual fee. The USD 10 annual report figure that circulates belongs to New Mexico corporations.
Which state keeps my name off the public record?
None of the three requires members' names on the formation document. Delaware's certificate needs only the company name and registered agent. Wyoming's form carries the organizer's printed name plus mailing and principal office addresses, and New Mexico's articles need the principal place of business if it differs from the registered office. The IRS, banks and Stripe still identify the owner.
Can I be my own registered agent from Pakistan?
No, in any of the three. Wyoming requires a physical Wyoming address and rejects a drop box, Delaware requires a Delaware street address, and New Mexico requires a resident individual or an entity with a place of business there. The agent is a recurring annual cost.
Does the state I choose change my US tax filing?
No. A foreign-owned single-member LLC files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 each year in all three states, it cannot be e-filed, and the penalty for missing it is USD 25,000. The state decides only the state fee and paperwork.
What happens if I miss the Wyoming annual report?
The Secretary of State's instructions say an entity that has not paid within 60 days of the due date will be subject to dissolution. The fee schedule prices reinstatement at USD 100 after dissolution for tax, and USD 350 where the company lost its registered agent.
Also here
Relatedguides
Keeping a US LLC
The federal filing that cannot be e-filed, the state fee Delaware's own website gets wrong, and why the registered agent is a permanent line item.
Stripe with a US LLC
Why Stripe is not open to Pakistani businesses, what it asks of a US company with a Pakistani owner, where its own pages disagree, and what happens to the money in Pakistan.
Declaring a foreign company
What section 116A requires of a Pakistani resident who owns a company abroad, the penalty that runs every year, and the point at which it stops being a filing question.
Choosing a state for a company you will run from Pakistan?
We choose the state from what you sell and who pays you, file it with the registered agent appointed at the same time, and give you the dates that keep it in good standing.