What It Really Costs a Non-Resident to Start a US LLC in 2026: An Honest Breakdown

For a solo non-resident founder, the honest all-in cost to start a US LLC in 2026 is roughly $350 to $1,200 in year one, and about $500 to $1,500 every year after that. The wide range comes down to one thing: which government fees you can't avoid, and how many service fees you choose to pay. The EIN itself is free, most of the recurring cost is your registered agent and annual state report, and the single biggest hidden obligation is the federal Form 5472 filing that every foreign-owned single-member LLC owes each year.

Rule one: separate government fees from service fees

The second is service fees — what you pay to have the work done for you. This is the part you choose: do the steps yourself, or pay to have them handled correctly and fast. Either way, know which line is which before you compare offers.

One-time formation costs (year one only)

• State registration fee: $50 to $300 depending on the state. Wyoming is about $100, New Mexico about $50, Delaware about $110. This is a government fee paid once at formation.
• EIN from the IRS: $0. Completely free and direct from the IRS via Form SS-4.
• Operating agreement: $0 to $300. A ready template is free; professionally drafted costs more.
• Formation service fee (optional): $0 to $500 if you hire someone to prepare the paperwork and handle the state and the EIN for you.

The EIN is free from the IRS: do it yourself, or have it handled

The EIN is your company's tax ID, and the IRS issues it entirely free. A non-resident with no Social Security number gets it by sending Form SS-4 by fax or mail, and processing usually takes four to eight weeks. The number itself costs nothing at the IRS; what a provider charges for is the work around it: preparing the SS-4 accurately, handling the fax process, and catching the small errors (a name mismatch, a wrong responsible party) that can quietly add weeks of delay. Doing it yourself is entirely possible; paying to have it done is buying speed and certainty, not the number.

Recurring yearly costs (where the company lives or stumbles)

Formation is a one-time event, but a company is an annual creature. These are the costs that return every year, and ignoring any one of them is the number-one reason a sound company drifts into being legally out of standing.

• Registered agent: $50 to $150 per year. Required in every state; a legal address that receives state mail on your behalf. This is a service fee.
• State annual report / renewal: varies widely. Wyoming is about $60 minimum, Delaware is a flat $300 franchise tax, and New Mexico charges no annual report at all. This is a government fee.
• US business address (optional but common): $100 to $300 per year for a real mailing address that receives and scans your mail.
• Filing Form 5472 with a pro-forma Form 1120: federally mandatory for every foreign-owned single-member LLC, even with zero income. A specialist accountant typically charges $200 to $600.

The realistic budget: year one versus ongoing

1. 1Year one, bare minimum if you DIY: about $150 to $350 (state fee + registered agent + free EIN + template operating agreement).
2. 2Year one, most realistic for a busy founder: about $350 to $1,200 (includes managed formation and a US address).
3. 3Every year after: about $500 to $1,500, driven mainly by your state's tax and the cost of filing 5472.
4. 4The smartest lever on ongoing cost: a state with no annual report or a low tax shrinks the government portion, leaving the unavoidable federal filing as the main line.

The practical takeaway: set aside about $400 to start with confidence, then treat roughly $700 to $900 a year as the true cost of keeping the company legally sound and compliant. Think of formation as a small one-time line, and annual compliance as the real subscription you pay to keep the company standing on solid ground. If you want government fees itemized separately from our service fees before you decide, our formation packages lay every number out on its own.