Your company, filed correctly and kept in good standing.
LlamaFilings forms limited liability companies and corporations in all fifty US states, obtains your federal tax number, and then keeps the books, payroll and filings in order once the certificate arrives. One firm for the whole life of the entity.
- A written recommendation within one business day
- No SSN, ITIN or US address needed to start
- Filed in all fifty states and the District of Columbia
- Not paid by any bank, for any recommendation
Fixed quote
Wyoming LLC, formed for you
- LLC formation, our fee
- $349
- Wyoming filing fee, paid to the state
- $100
- Registered agent, first twelve months
- Included
- EIN, the federal tax number
- Included
- Operating agreement and member register
- Included
- Written compliance calendar
- Included
From year two
Registered agent $129 a year, and the Wyoming annual report license tax, from $60, due on the first day of the anniversary month. Nothing renews without a notice first.
State fee checked against sos.wyo.gov on 21 October 2026, and confirmed again on the day we file.
Six things our terms commit us to.
Not slogans. Each one is a sentence in the terms you accept before we start, and you can read them before you speak to us.
Read the termsA fixed fee, in writing, before anything starts
Scope and fees are confirmed in writing and you accept them before work begins. Fixed fee work is always quoted first.
The state's fee on a line of its own
Government fees are payable to the state and shown separately from ours. If one changes before we file, we tell you before going ahead.
Our mistake, our cost
If a registry rejects a filing because of an error we made, we correct it and refile at our own expense.
Cancel before we file and our fee comes back
If nothing has been submitted yet, we refund our service fee, less any work already done.
Monthly services stop when you say so
Ongoing services end at the end of the month in which either side gives notice. There is no annual lock in.
Your records are yours
If you move to another provider, we hand over your records and files and cooperate with whoever takes over.
What you actually end up holding.
Six things. Every formation produces all six, and you own every one of them. None of it lives behind a login you will forget.
How a formation actually runs.
Six stages, and the time each one really takes, including the slow parts most providers leave out.
The full process- 1Intake
We find out what you are actually building.
A short call or a written brief by email. Where you live, where your customers are, whether you will have employees, whether you need to accept US card payments, and what you expect to earn. The answers change the entity type and the state, so they come before the filing, not after.
You give us twenty minutes. We give you a written recommendation with the reasoning.
- 2Name and state
We clear the name and confirm the state.
Availability search in the target state, a check against obvious trademark conflicts, and a second choice held in reserve. If you picked a state because a video told you to, this is where we tell you whether that holds up.
Typical time one business day.
- 3Filing
We prepare and file the formation documents.
Articles of Organization or Certificate of Incorporation, registered agent appointed, and the internal documents drafted at the same time so the operating agreement and the public filing describe the same company.
Turnaround from same day to two weeks by state. We tell you which before you pay.
- 4Tax numbers
We obtain the EIN and any state accounts.
Immediately if a responsible party has an SSN or ITIN. By prepared Form SS-4 submitted to the IRS if not, which takes weeks and needs chasing, which we do. State withholding and sales tax accounts opened alongside where they apply.
Typical time one day with an SSN, four to eight weeks without one.
- 5Handover
You get a complete file, not a login.
Stamped filing evidence, EIN confirmation, the signed internal documents, registered agent details, and a written compliance calendar with every deadline the entity now has.
Included in every formation.
- 6Ongoing
Bookkeeping and filings start when you want them to.
Most clients start monthly bookkeeping in the first quarter of trading. Some only want the annual report and the tax return. Nothing is bundled by default and nothing renews without you knowing.
No lock in. Monthly services can be stopped at the end of any month.
A formation is a beginning, not a product.
- Where most services stop
- The day your certificate is issued.
- Where our work starts
- The first tax year, the first payroll, the first annual report.
The market is full of companies that will file your Articles of Organization for very little money and then sell you a subscription you do not understand. The filing itself is genuinely easy. It is a form, a fee and a wait. What is not easy is everything that follows: the federal tax number, the state that now expects an annual report, the payroll account opened in the wrong state, the information return with a twenty five thousand dollar penalty that nobody mentioned because your filing service does not do tax.
LlamaFilings was built the other way round. We are an accounting practice that files formations, not a filing service that resells accounting. The person who prepares your Articles works alongside the person who will close your books in December, and they talk before the entity type is chosen rather than after.
That matters most when you are forming from outside the United States. The ordinary route to a tax number is closed to you, the rules about what you must file afterwards are unforgiving, and the provider who filed your Articles has no reason to know either. A large share of our clients live somewhere else, including a great many in Canada.
Three things the formation industry keeps getting wrong.
We check these against the official source, not against what a competitor wrote about them in 2024. Each one links to the page we read.
You are probably not required to file a beneficial ownership report.
FinCEN removed the beneficial ownership reporting requirement for companies formed in the United States, and its final rule, effective 14 August 2026, confirmed it. Only entities formed under the law of a foreign country and then registered to do business in a US state are reporting companies, and even those never report US persons. Plenty of formation services still sell BOI filing as a paid add on. If a provider quotes you for it on a domestic LLC, that tells you how current their information is.
Source: fincen.gov, read October 2026
An EIN is free, and the reason you cannot get one online may not be your fault.
The IRS says on its own page that you never have to pay a fee for an employer identification number. It also says the online tool cannot be used when your principal place of business is outside the United States, and that it needs the responsible party's Social Security number or ITIN. That single sentence is why so many founders abroad get stuck at reference number 101. The route that works is a correctly prepared Form SS-4 by fax or mail, and we charge for the preparation and the chasing, never for the number itself.
Source: irs.gov, read October 2026
A foreign owned single member LLC has a filing obligation even with no income.
A US single member LLC owned by a foreign person files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, as does a US corporation that is at least a quarter foreign owned. The IRS instructions set the penalty for not filing at $25,000. It is due whether or not the company traded, and a great many founders learn about it two years late. Formation only providers do not warn you because they do not prepare tax returns. We do.
Source: irs.gov, read October 2026
The state you form in is a decision, not a default.
Forming in Wyoming while living and working in California does not avoid California. It usually means registering in both and paying twice. We file in all fifty states and the District of Columbia. Twelve states, honestly compared.
Full guide writtenWe file here too
Wyoming
The state most often recommended to founders with no US physical presence, and the state most often chosen wrongly by founders who do have one.
- Usual entity
- LLC
- Annual filing
- Annual report, tied to assets located in the state
- State income tax
- None on the entity
Filing fee $100, checked 21 October 2026.
Read the Wyoming guide
New Mexico
The lowest ongoing administrative burden of any US state for an LLC, because there is no annual report to file at all.
- Usual entity
- LLC
- Annual report
- None for LLCs
- Ongoing cost
- Registered agent only
Delaware
The right answer for companies raising institutional investment, and an expensive habit for almost everyone else.
- Usual entity
- C corporation
- Annual filing
- Franchise tax and annual report
- Court
- Court of Chancery, no jury
Florida
A sensible home state if you are actually in Florida, with fast filings and no personal state income tax, and a strict annual report deadline that catches people out.
- Usual entity
- LLC or corporation
- Annual report
- Required, with a hard deadline
- Personal income tax
- None at state level
Filing fee $125, checked 21 October 2026.
Read the Florida guide
Texas
A large, business heavy state with no personal income tax and a franchise tax regime that most small businesses satisfy with a report rather than a payment.
- Usual entity
- LLC or corporation
- Franchise tax
- Report required, threshold applies
- Personal income tax
- None at state level
Filing fee $300, checked 21 October 2026.
Read the Texas guide
California
The state people try hardest to avoid and the one that is hardest to avoid. If you are here, forming elsewhere usually costs more rather than less.
- Usual entity
- LLC or corporation
- Annual minimum
- Franchise tax minimum applies
- Statement of information
- Required on a set cycle
New York
A strong operating state with one requirement nobody expects: an LLC must publish notice of its formation in two newspapers, and the cost depends on the county.
- Usual entity
- LLC or corporation
- LLC publication
- Required, cost varies by county
- Biennial statement
- Required
Nevada
Heavily marketed on privacy and no state income tax, with annual costs that are higher than the marketing suggests once the business licence is included.
- Usual entity
- LLC or corporation
- Annual filings
- Annual list plus state business licence
- State income tax
- None on the entity
Ohio
One of only a handful of states that asks an LLC for nothing at all once it is formed. No annual report, no periodic filing, no renewal.
- Usual entity
- LLC
- Annual report
- None required for LLCs
- Statutory agent
- Ohio address required
Arizona
No annual report for LLCs, and a publication requirement that disappears entirely depending on which county your agent sits in.
- Usual entity
- LLC
- Annual report
- None required for LLCs
- Filed with
- Arizona Corporation Commission
Colorado
Among the cheapest states in the country to form and maintain a company, with everything filed online and a periodic report that is genuinely inexpensive.
- Usual entity
- LLC or corporation
- Annual filing
- Periodic report
- Filing
- Online only
Washington
No personal state income tax, and a business and occupation tax charged on gross receipts rather than profit, which catches out more first time owners than any other state rule.
- Usual entity
- LLC or corporation
- Annual report
- Required
- Personal income tax
- None at state level
Formation, and everything after it.
Each piece is priced on its own, so you buy what you need and nothing is bundled in by default. The full price list shows what is not included as well.
Getting the entity into existence
- Form an LLCName search, Articles of Organization, registered agent, operating agreement and EIN, prepared together so nothing contradicts anything else.$349 plus state fee
- Form a corporationCertificate of Incorporation, bylaws, initial resolutions, stock ledger, and the S corporation election filed on time if it is right for you.$449 plus state fee
- Founders outside the USA US company with no Social Security number, no ITIN and no US address, including the tax number route that actually works.No SSN required
- Canadian foundersA US company for a business run from Canada, with an honest answer first about whether you need one.US entity, Canadian owner
- Get an EINObtained the fast way with an SSN or ITIN, and by prepared Form SS-4 when you do not have either.From $95
- Registered agentA real street address in the state, service of process handled the day it arrives and scanned to you.$129 a year, year one included
Keeping it in good standing
- BookkeepingEvery transaction categorised and reconciled, and a month that actually closes.$225 to $750 a month
- PayrollWages, withholding, direct deposit and the quarterly returns, including the state accounts that must exist first.$65 a month plus $12 a person
- Tax preparationBusiness and personal returns prepared by the people who kept the books, including Form 5472.From $650
- Tax planningStructure, owner pay, timing and elections, decided while they can still change the answer.From $750
- Sales taxWhere you have an obligation, where you do not, and registration only where it matters.From $75 a filing
- ComplianceAnnual reports, franchise tax, agent renewals and the record book, filed before they become penalties.$180 a year
- AdvisoryCash flow, pricing, owner draws against salary, and whether the structure you chose still fits.Quoted per question
We do not sell you a bank account.
Most of our competitors are paid by the bank when you open a business account or take their debit card. It is a large part of how a two hundred dollar formation stays profitable. It also means the bank they recommend is the bank that pays them.
LlamaFilings is not paid by any bank and offers no card product. When we tell you which institution tends to approve founders in your situation, or which one will decline you for holding a foreign passport, that is observation from client files rather than a placement fee. We will walk you through the application and tell you what to expect. We will not be paid for where you land.
It costs us money. We think it buys something worth more.
Questions we get before anyone signs anything.
The full list of questions, grouped by topic.
How much does a formation cost?
Our service fee starts at $349 for an LLC and $449 for a corporation. The state filing fee is separate, is set by the state, and is shown to you before you pay anything. We do not advertise a zero dollar formation and then recover it through a subscription you did not intend to buy. The <a href="/pricing/">pricing page</a> lists everything, including what is not included.
Can I form a US company if I do not live in the United States?
Yes. There is no citizenship or residency requirement to own a US LLC or corporation. You do not need a Social Security number, an ITIN, a US address of your own, or a US visa. What you do need is a registered agent in the state, a route to an EIN that does not depend on an SSN, and a clear understanding of the annual information return that comes with foreign ownership. All three are covered on the <a href="/company-formation/non-residents/">page for founders outside the US</a>.
How long does it take?
The filing itself ranges from same day to about two weeks depending on the state, and we tell you the current expectation for your state before you commit. The EIN is same day when a responsible party has an SSN or ITIN. Without one, the IRS route is fax or mail and realistically takes four to eight weeks. Anyone promising a same week EIN for a founder with no SSN is describing something the IRS does not currently offer.
Do I need a lawyer as well?
For a straightforward single owner company, usually not. You should speak to a lawyer when there is more than one owner with unequal contributions, when you are issuing equity to employees, when you are taking outside investment, or when the business is in a licensed or regulated field. LlamaFilings is not a law firm and we will say so plainly rather than quietly filling the gap.
What happens if I already have a company and it is behind on filings?
That is a common reason people call us. Missed annual reports, a status of administratively dissolved or not in good standing, unfiled returns, or books that were never really kept. We can usually reinstate the entity, catch up the filings and rebuild the accounts. The <a href="/services/compliance/">compliance page</a> explains the sequence and what it typically costs.