The simplest US company to own, formed from abroad.

An LLC is the company almost every founder outside the United States wants. It can have one owner or several. It needs no board and no minutes. Its profit is taxed once. In Wyoming, no owner appears on the public record.

Because for a founder outside the United States, these two cover what matters. Wyoming costs little to keep a company in, and it keeps owners off the public register. Delaware is what US investors' paperwork assumes. Some other states cost less, but they're less familiar to the banks and processors reviewing a non-resident. If your business really needs another state, we'll say so before you order.

When the company will have a physical presence there: an office, employees, a warehouse, or property. A company that operates in a state usually has to register there, whether or not it was formed there. Forming somewhere else first can mean paying two states.

Only the state's own charges. Federal tax follows from what the company does and where, not from where it was formed. Wyoming has no state income tax. Delaware charges no income tax on a company that doesn't operate there. Neither changes what the IRS expects.

Yes. You don't need to be a US citizen or resident to own a US company, and you never have to visit. You do need a registered agent with an address in the state, and every plan includes one for the first year.

Yes. It's one of the most common places founders get stuck. The IRS online application needs an SSN or ITIN, so without one the application goes by a slower route that someone has to chase. We file it the day your company exists and chase it until the number arrives.

From $351.40 in Wyoming on Launch: $249 to us and $102.40 to the state. After that it costs $309 a year: $249 to us for the plan and $60 to Wyoming. Operate includes Launch's formation promises and ongoing business tools; it costs $199 a month, billed yearly at $2,388, plus the state fee.

The filing is the fast part. Wyoming approves the company the same day it's filed, and Delaware takes two to three weeks. The EIN is the slow part, and the IRS sets that pace, not us. Plan on a few weeks before you can open a bank account, so it's worth starting before you need it.

At minimum, two things. One is your state's yearly charge, which is an annual report in Wyoming and a flat tax for a Delaware LLC. The other is a federal filing. A foreign-owned single-member LLC owes Form 5472 with a pro-forma 1120 even in a year with no income, and the penalty for missing it starts at $25,000. Launch puts both dates on your calendar; filing assistance is a separate service.