Form FS-01 · FlagState house form · Not a government filing
Every ship sails under a flag state. Your company does too. FlagState compares the true cost of forming a US LLC across all 50 states and DC — filing fees, annual reports, agents, the fees nobody itemizes — built for founders in India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Brazil, Germany, the Philippines and everywhere else outside the US. No SSN. No US address. No guesswork.
Free · no account · about 2 minutes
Every figure dated & verified
Illustrative applicant · WY state fees verified 2026-08-26 · agent at typical market rate
Extract · the calculator compares every verified state against your situation
| Flag State | State Filing | Annual Report | Registered Agent (market est.) | First-Year Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WYWyoming Popular with e-commerce founders · verified 2026-08-26 | $100 | $60 | $99–199 est. | ≈ $259–359 |
| NMNew Mexico No annual report at all · sourced 2026-08-26 | $50 | $0 | $99–199 est. | ≈ $149–249 |
| DEDelaware Investor default — priced accordingly · verified 2026-08-26 | $110 | $400 annual tax | $99–199 est. | ≈ $609–709 |
| FLFlorida Common for LatAm founders · verified 2026-08-26 | $125 | $138.75 | $99–199 est. | ≈ $363–463 |
| TXTexas $0 report below revenue threshold · verified 2026-08-26 | $300 | $0* | $99–199 est. | ≈ $399–499 |
State fees verified against each state's official fee schedule on the dates shown. The registered-agent column is a typical market range — an estimate, not a state fee. First-year total = filing fee + one year of state fees + agent estimate. *Texas: $0 franchise tax below the $2,650,000 no-tax-due revenue threshold (2026–27); an information report is still filed annually. Delaware's $400 annual tax is first due June 1 of the year after formation.
Run your own numbers →The full passage, port to port — what happens after you pick a state
File Articles of Organization in your chosen state — online, from your own country.Forming and owning a US LLC requires no US visit and no visa.
The federal tax ID your company needs to operate. No SSN or ITIN required — non-US owners file Form SS-4 by fax (IRS: generally about 4 business days) or by mail (roughly 4–5 weeks).
Modern fintech accounts onboard non-resident owners remotely with a passport, formation documents, and EIN — eligibility varies by provider and country. Then connect Stripe or your processor of choice.
Annual state reports plus Form 5472 for foreign-owned single-member LLCs. US-formed LLCs are permanently exempt from federal BOI reporting (FinCEN final rule, eff. Aug 14, 2026). Every state fee, dated, in the schedule.
“Most founders assume they need a visa, a US address, and a lawyer on retainer. What they actually need is a passport, an afternoon, and one honest fee table.”
How the ledger stays honest
You are moving real money on this decision. So we run the fee ledger like a registry office: each figure is checked against the issuing state's official schedule and stamped with its verification date. When a state changes a fee, the ledger shows the old figure, the new one, and the change — Delaware's annual tax rose from $300 to $400 under HB 400, and the ledger says so. States we have not yet verified show no figures at all.
One bulletin a month: every state fee that moved, new banking options for non-residents, and compliance deadlines coming up on the calendar. Written for founders outside the US. No spam — this is a ledger, not a funnel.
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