Anonymous LLC states: Wyoming vs New Mexico vs Delaware compared

If you live outside the United States and want a US company without your name showing up in a Google search, three states keep coming up: Wyoming, New Mexico and Delaware. All three let you form an LLC without listing its members or managers on the public filing, which is what people usually mean by an anonymous LLC. The real differences show up later, in what each state asks of you every year and in what that costs.

We’ve already written a detailed guide for each state. This page puts them side by side so you can see the trade-offs at a glance, understand where anonymity actually stops, and make an informed choice. For the full story on any one state, its guide is one click away: Wyoming, New Mexico or Delaware.

Wyoming vs New Mexico vs Delaware at a glance

On privacy, the three states are close to identical. What really separates them is the calendar and the bill after year one.

What “anonymous” really means

An anonymous LLC is not a secret LLC. The word only describes the public record, the file anyone can pull up on the Secretary of State’s website. In all three states, the formation filing carries only the company name, the registered agent and its address, and the organizer, meaning the person or firm that filed the paperwork. Delaware’s online search shows even less. When LLC Place forms your company, LLC Place is the organizer. Members and managers are not required on the formation filing, so nothing on it points back to you.

The IRS always knows who owns the LLC

The federal tax side works the same way in every state. When the company applies for its EIN, Form SS-4 names a responsible party, and that is you. Then, for a single-member LLC owned by a foreign person, the company files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year by April 15, and that form identifies its owner. Missing it carries a base penalty of $25,000. The information stays in IRS files and is never published, but it exists whichever state you pick.

Banks and payment processors identify you too

Mercury, Relay, Wise Business, Stripe and PayPal all verify your identity during onboarding, the process known as KYC. They ask for your passport, proof of address and the Operating Agreement that names you as owner. None of that ends up in a public registry, and a discreet state file never gets in the way of an approval. The bank simply learns who you are from you directly, instead of reading it on a state website.

So who still knows the owner? The registered agent, the IRS, your bank and your payment processors. The public, your competitors, your clients and anyone typing your name into a search engine do not. For most founders, that is exactly where they want the line drawn.

Wyoming: the classic choice, with a yearly check-in

Wyoming created the LLC back in 1977 and has the best-known privacy reputation of the three. The formation filing carries no owner names, and the Annual Report due every year doesn’t ask for them either: it is signed by whoever files it, which can be your registered agent. The state fee for that report starts at $60. US banks and platforms see Wyoming companies all the time and verify them in seconds. The formation fee through LLC Place is €100.

The trade-off is that once-a-year filing. It is light, but it is still a deadline you can’t afford to miss. Our complete guide to the anonymous Wyoming LLC walks through the registry, the Annual Report and bank onboarding in detail.

New Mexico: maximum privacy, minimum paperwork

New Mexico is the quiet favorite of privacy-minded founders, and anyone researching a New Mexico anonymous LLC quickly sees why: there is no Annual Report and no recurring state fee. You file once, the public record stays exactly as filed, and the state never asks you for anything again. The formation fee through LLC Place is €50, the lowest of the three.

What New Mexico lacks is name recognition. Banks and Stripe accept it without fuss, but lawyers and investors know Wyoming and Delaware better. For a freelancer, an agency or an online store, that rarely matters. Our New Mexico LLC privacy guide covers the registry, the bank account and the real cost.

Delaware: the same privacy at a premium price

Delaware LLC privacy is just as strong as in the other two states. The registry shows only the company name and its registered agent, and the state doesn’t even publish a principal office address. There is no Annual Report for an LLC, but there is a flat annual tax of $300, rising to $400 starting with the 2026 tax year, due by June 1. The formation fee through LLC Place is €110, for the Certificate of Formation.

With Delaware, you pay for a reputation, not for extra privacy. It makes sense if you plan to raise money from US investors, convert to a C-Corp down the road, or sign with large companies whose lawyers expect Delaware law. Our guide to Delaware LLC privacy explains when that premium is worth paying.

Which state should you pick?

You’re a freelancer, consultant or agency owner

You want to bill international clients in dollars, accept Stripe and keep your name out of search results. New Mexico gives you all of that with no yearly state paperwork. If you’d rather go with the state banks know best, Wyoming does the same job for $60 a year. Our guides to New Mexico and Wyoming go deeper on each.

You run an online store or a solo SaaS

The same logic applies. Payment processors accept all three states on equal terms, so the choice comes down to cost and paperwork. New Mexico means zero recurring state cost; Wyoming means a small yearly report in exchange for a longer track record.

You plan to raise money or bring in US partners

Go with Delaware. VC funds and US lawyers know its law and its courts, and the annual tax is the price of that familiarity. Your name stays off the record just as well as elsewhere, as our Delaware guide shows.

Still torn between Wyoming and New Mexico?

Both keep the owner off the public record. New Mexico wins on cost and simplicity, Wyoming on familiarity. Over five years, the gap is at least $300 in state fees, since Wyoming charges $60 minimum a year and New Mexico charges nothing.

How LLC Place keeps your name off the public record

When you form with LLC Place, we file the formation document in the state you choose with LLC Place as organizer, so the only names on the public file are your company’s, its registered agent’s and ours. The Basic plan starts at €389 for the first year, plus the state fee. It includes the formation of your LLC, the Articles of Organization (the Certificate of Formation in Delaware), an Operating Agreement in English, the EIN, a US commercial address with registered agent, and help opening your bank account. You send us your passport and the name you want, and everything happens remotely.

In other words, everything this comparison mentions is provided by LLC Place, with one exception: the IRS filings, Form 5472 and the pro forma Form 1120. They are available as an option at €199 per year, or €398 per year with a tax expert, and they are included in the Pro and Founder plans.

Frequently asked questions

Which states allow anonymous LLCs?

The three states non-residents usually pick for privacy are Wyoming, New Mexico and Delaware. In all three, members and managers are not required on the formation filing, so the owner stays off the public record. They differ on annual filings and annual cost.

What is the best state for an anonymous LLC?

For most solo founders living abroad, New Mexico: no owner names on file, no Annual Report and no recurring state fee. Wyoming is a close second at a minimum of $60 a year, and Delaware is the pick when investors are part of the plan.

Is a New Mexico LLC more private than a Wyoming LLC?

On the formation filing, they are equivalent. New Mexico simply has no Annual Report, so there is no yearly document at all, while the Wyoming report can be signed by your registered agent without naming you.

Does Delaware LLC privacy cost more?

Yes. The privacy is the same, but Delaware charges a flat annual tax of $300, rising to $400 starting with the 2026 tax year, compared with a $60 minimum in Wyoming and nothing in New Mexico.

Does an anonymous LLC hide me from the IRS or my bank?

No. The IRS knows the owner through the EIN application and the yearly Form 5472, and banks and payment processors verify your identity at onboarding. Anonymity only covers the public state record.