What's the Cheapest Way to Start an LLC in USA?

A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a US business structure that separates the owner's personal assets from the company's debts and liabilities while allowing profits to pass through to the owner without corporate-level tax. It is the most common entity type used by non-US freelancers, e-commerce sellers, SaaS founders, and agency owners because it is cheap to form, requires no US citizenship or residency, and is respected internationally by clients, payment processors like Stripe and PayPal, and marketplaces like Upwork and Amazon.

For Bangladeshi entrepreneurs specifically, forming a US LLC solves several practical problems at once: it lets you invoice international clients in USD, open a US business bank account or a Mercury/Wise account, receive Stripe/PayPal payouts without the restrictions that apply to Bangladeshi personal accounts, and present a credible US business identity to clients who prefer working with a US-registered entity. None of this requires you to travel to the US, hold a US visa, or have a Social Security Number (SSN).

The total cost of forming and maintaining a US LLC depends on three variables: which state you register in, whether you use a registered agent service or act as your own, and whether you handle the paperwork yourself or pay a formation company. This guide breaks down every cost component so a Bangladeshi entrepreneur can budget accurately and choose the cheapest legitimate path. For a hands-off, correctly filed setup, contact Aeenx for a guided LLC formation service built for Bangladeshi founders.

Every US state has its own filing fee, annual report fee, and franchise tax rules — and since Bangladeshi founders are almost never operating a physical business inside the US, the state you pick is a matter of cost and simplicity rather than where your customers are. Three states dominate the "cheapest and easiest for non-residents" conversation: Wyoming, New Mexico, and Delaware.

Wyoming — Usually the Cheapest Overall

Wyoming is widely regarded as the most cost-effective state for a non-resident LLC. The state filing fee is $100, the annual report fee is a flat $60 (or 0.02% of in-state assets, whichever is greater — negligible for most online businesses), there is no state income tax, and Wyoming does not require the LLC's owner details to be published in most public filings, offering a degree of privacy.

New Mexico — Cheapest Ongoing Cost

New Mexico charges a similar $50 filing fee and, uniquely, has no annual report requirement and no annual fee at all for LLCs. This makes it the cheapest state for long-term maintenance, though it offers less brand recognition with US clients and banks compared to Wyoming or Delaware.

Delaware — Higher Cost, More Recognition

Delaware is the most prestigious and commonly recommended state for startups that plan to raise venture capital, but it is not the cheapest: the filing fee is $110, and every LLC must pay a flat $300 annual franchise tax regardless of income, which is significantly more expensive year-over-year than Wyoming or New Mexico. Delaware is the right choice only if you specifically need its well-established corporate case law (typically relevant for companies seeking US investors), not for a freelancer or small e-commerce business.

State	Filing Fee	Annual Fee	State Income Tax
Wyoming	$100	$60/year	None
New Mexico	$50	$0 (none required)	Applies only to NM-sourced income
Delaware	$110	$300/year franchise tax	None on out-of-state income

For most Bangladeshi freelancers, agencies, and e-commerce sellers with no physical US presence, Wyoming offers the best balance of low cost, simplicity, and credibility, which is why it is the default recommendation in this guide.

The total first-year cost of a US LLC for a Bangladeshi founder is made up of a small number of predictable line items. Below is a realistic breakdown for the cheapest legitimate path (Wyoming, self-filed or filed through a low-cost formation service, using a registered agent, applying for a free EIN).

Cost Item	Cheapest Option (USD)	Typical Paid-Service Option (USD)
Wyoming state filing fee	$100 (fixed, no way around this)	$100
Registered agent (required)	$50–$125/year	$100–$200/year (bundled with formation)
EIN from the IRS	Free (self-filed by fax/mail)	$0–$75 (service filing fee, IRS itself is free)
Operating Agreement template	Free–$50	Included in most formation packages
US mail-forwarding address	$0 if using registered agent's address	$10–$25/month if separate service used
US bank/fintech account (Mercury, Wise, Payoneer)	Free to open	Free to open
Formation company service fee (optional)	$0 (DIY)	$0–$300
Estimated Total, Year 1	$150–$225	$300–$600

The absolute cheapest path — filing the Articles of Organization yourself directly with the Wyoming Secretary of State, acting economically by using a budget registered agent, and applying for your own EIN via fax to the IRS — can bring your total first-year cost to as low as $150–$180. Using a formation company or an advisory firm to handle the paperwork correctly, avoid IRS/USCIS rejections, and set up your banking adds a service fee but removes the risk of costly mistakes, which is a meaningful trade-off for first-time founders unfamiliar with US filings. Talk to Aeenx for an exact quote based on your business type.

Every US state legally requires an LLC to designate a registered agent — an individual or company with a physical street address in the state of formation who is authorized to receive legal notices, tax correspondence, and official state mail on the LLC's behalf. This is mandatory in all 50 states; there is no way to form an LLC without one. Because Bangladeshi founders have no physical presence in the US, this requirement is met by hiring a commercial registered agent service.

Registered agent services in Wyoming typically cost between $50 and $125 per year. Cheaper regional providers sit at the lower end, while larger national providers with additional features (mail scanning, compliance alerts, same-day forwarding) charge more. Some Wyoming-based formation companies bundle the first year of registered agent service into their formation package at no extra visible charge, then bill separately from year two onward — always check the renewal price before committing, since this is the single biggest recurring cost of maintaining a cheap LLC.

You cannot act as your own registered agent unless you have a physical street address (not a PO box) inside the state of formation, which is not realistic for someone based in Bangladesh. Skipping or lapsing your registered agent is one of the most common reasons a state administratively dissolves an LLC, so budgeting for this ongoing $50–$125/year cost is essential rather than optional.

An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a nine-digit number issued by the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that identifies your LLC for tax purposes, banking, and payment processor verification (Stripe, PayPal, Mercury, Wise all require it). Getting an EIN directly from the IRS is completely free — there is no government fee, ever. Any company charging you $100+ purely for an EIN is charging a service fee for paperwork, not a government cost.

US citizens and residents with a Social Security Number can apply online and receive an EIN instantly. Because the IRS's online EIN application requires an SSN or ITIN, non-resident founders without either must apply by fax or mail using IRS Form SS-4, checking "Foreign" in the responsible party section and writing "N/A" (not a made-up number) in the SSN field. Fax applications are typically processed in about 4 business days; mail applications can take 4–8 weeks. This is the standard, fully legal route used by non-US founders worldwide, including thousands of Bangladeshi freelancers and agency owners.

Once issued, the EIN is what you use to open a US business bank account or fintech account (Mercury, Wise Business, Payoneer), register for a Stripe or PayPal business account, file annual federal tax returns, and sign contracts as your LLC rather than as an individual.

Yes. Neither US citizenship, a green card, nor an SSN is required to own 100% of a US LLC. US law does not restrict LLC ownership by nationality or residency, and the Wyoming/New Mexico/Delaware filing process is designed to be completed entirely online or by mail. In practice, a Bangladeshi founder can form and fully operate a US LLC without ever setting foot in the United States.

The only place an SSN would normally be required is for the EIN's online instant-issuance form — which non-residents simply bypass by using the fax/mail Form SS-4 process described above. Everything else — filing the Articles of Organization, appointing a registered agent, signing the Operating Agreement, and opening most modern fintech business accounts — can be completed remotely with just a passport, an email address, and a Bangladeshi phone number/address.

An LLC also does not, by itself, grant any US immigration status, work authorization, or right to reside in the US. It is purely a business and tax structure. If your longer-term goal includes eventually working or living in the US, that is a separate immigration process governed by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and is unrelated to LLC formation.

Traditional US banks generally require an in-person visit to open a business account, which is impractical for most Bangladeshi founders. In practice, the cheapest and most accessible route is a US-focused fintech/neobank built specifically for international founders, such as Mercury or Wise Business, both of which allow 100% remote account opening using your EIN confirmation letter (IRS Form CP 575), Articles of Organization, and passport — with no account-opening fee and no minimum balance for most standard plans.

These accounts issue a real US routing and account number, allow you to receive USD wire transfers and ACH payments, and are accepted by Stripe, PayPal, Upwork, and most US clients as a legitimate business account. Approval is not guaranteed — fintechs apply their own compliance checks — but rejection is uncommon for a properly formed LLC with a clean EIN and consistent business documentation.

Payoneer is another commonly used alternative, particularly for receiving marketplace payouts (Upwork, Fiverr, Amazon), though it functions more as a payment-receiving account than a full banking relationship. Whichever provider you choose, opening the account itself carries no cost — the only expense is the LLC formation and EIN process that must be completed first.

Compared to registering a company in Bangladesh, the documentation required to form a US LLC is minimal, which is part of why it is so inexpensive. At the filing stage, a Bangladeshi founder typically needs only: a valid passport (for identity verification during EIN and bank applications), a proposed LLC name checked for availability with the state's Secretary of State, and the registered agent's consent to serve.

1. Articles of Organization — the primary formation document filed with the state (e.g., Wyoming Secretary of State), listing the LLC name, registered agent, and organizer.
2. Operating Agreement — an internal document (not filed with the state) that defines ownership percentages, management structure, and profit distribution. Not legally mandatory in most states but strongly recommended for banking and liability protection.
3. IRS Form SS-4 — the EIN application, filed by fax or mail for non-resident founders without an SSN.
4. Registered agent agreement — proof of your appointed registered agent, usually generated automatically by the agent service you hire.
5. Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report — filed with the US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) after formation, disclosing the LLC's beneficial owners; filing is free directly through FinCEN's portal.

No notarization, apostille, or Bangladeshi government document (unlike setting up a branch office abroad) is required simply to form the LLC itself. Passport copies and, later, proof of address may be requested by your bank or fintech provider as part of their own compliance (KYC) process.

Forming a US LLC is a US legal matter, but Bangladeshi residents remain subject to Bangladeshi foreign exchange and tax rules regardless of where their company is incorporated. Under Bangladesh Bank's foreign exchange regulations, Bangladeshi residents are generally required to route and report significant foreign remittances and foreign income through authorized banking channels, and income earned abroad (including through a foreign entity you own) is generally reportable to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) as part of your personal income tax return, subject to Bangladesh's tax treaty and foreign income rules.

This means owning a cheap Wyoming LLC does not exempt a Bangladeshi resident from Bangladeshi tax or foreign exchange reporting obligations — the LLC's low US cost is about formation and maintenance fees, not a way to avoid domestic compliance. If you plan to repatriate significant earnings from your US LLC into Bangladesh, or hold foreign assets above reporting thresholds, it is important to structure your remittances properly and declare the relevant foreign income.

Because foreign exchange and tax rules change and depend on individual circumstances, this guide does not attempt to give personalized compliance advice — consult a licensed Bangladeshi tax advisor or lawyer for your specific situation, or reach out to Aeenx, where we help Bangladeshi founders structure both the US LLC side and the Bangladesh-side compliance together.

The cheapest part of a US LLC is often the first year; the real long-term cost comparison between states comes from annual maintenance fees. Missing these renewals can result in the state administratively dissolving your LLC, which then requires a reinstatement fee to fix.

Ongoing Cost Item	Wyoming	New Mexico	Delaware
Annual report / franchise tax	$60/year	$0	$300/year
Registered agent renewal	$50–$125/year	$50–$125/year	$50–$125/year
Federal tax return (Form 5472 + 1120, if foreign-owned single-member LLC)	$0 self-filed / $150–$400 if using an accountant (applies in all states)
Typical Total Annual Cost	$110–$185	$50–$125	$350–$425

One federal filing applies regardless of state: a foreign-owned single-member LLC that is treated as a "disregarded entity" must file IRS Form 5472 together with a pro forma Form 1120 annually, even if the LLC had no income. This is an informational filing, not a tax bill by itself, but the IRS imposes a steep $25,000 penalty for failing to file it — making it one of the most important compliance items for Bangladeshi LLC owners to never skip, even in a "cheap" state.

1. Name check & reservation (same day): Search the Secretary of State's business name database to confirm availability — free and instant online.
2. File Articles of Organization (1–3 business days): Wyoming typically approves online filings within 1–2 business days; some states offer expedited processing for an extra fee.
3. Draft Operating Agreement (same day): Can be completed the same day using a template, ideally reviewed by a professional if ownership is split between multiple people.
4. Apply for EIN via fax (4 business days–8 weeks): Fax applications are usually processed within about 4 business days; mailed applications can take 4–8 weeks — this is the main bottleneck for non-resident founders.
5. Open a bank/fintech account (1–10 business days): Once the EIN confirmation letter is issued, Mercury or Wise Business approvals are typically completed within days.
6. File BOI report with FinCEN (same day, free): Filed after the LLC is formed, within the required window set by FinCEN.

End-to-end, a Bangladeshi founder using the fax EIN method can realistically go from "no LLC" to "fully operational US company with a bank account" in 2 to 5 weeks, with the EIN processing time being the main variable. Using a formation service that expedites both the state filing and the EIN application can compress this closer to 2–3 weeks.

Filing everything yourself — the Articles of Organization, the registered agent selection, and the Form SS-4 EIN application — is the absolute cheapest route and is entirely legal for a Bangladeshi founder to do without a US lawyer. The trade-off is time and risk: an incorrectly completed SS-4 (a common mistake is entering "None" or a fabricated number instead of "Foreign" in the SSN field) can delay your EIN by weeks, and an incorrectly filed Articles of Organization can require costly amendment filings later.

Paid formation services and advisory firms charge a service fee on top of the unavoidable state and registered agent costs, but they reduce the risk of rejected filings, help you choose the right state and structure for your specific business (freelancing vs. e-commerce vs. SaaS have different tax implications), and often bundle the registered agent, EIN application, and Operating Agreement into a single package. For a first-time founder unfamiliar with US administrative systems, the modest extra cost of professional help is frequently worth avoiding weeks of delay or a rejected filing.

Aeenx works with Bangladeshi founders on both ends of this spectrum — from a fully guided US LLC formation package to targeted help with just the EIN or BOI filing. Contact Aeenx to discuss which approach fits your budget and timeline.

• Choosing Delaware by default without needing it. Many founders pick Delaware because it is the most-mentioned state online, then pay $300/year in franchise tax unnecessarily when Wyoming would serve the same purpose for a fraction of the cost.
• Letting the registered agent renewal lapse. Missing this payment can result in the state administratively dissolving your LLC, after which reinstating it costs additional state fees plus lost time.
• Skipping Form 5472/1120 or the BOI report. These are free or low-cost filings, but missing Form 5472 carries a $25,000 IRS penalty, turning a "cheap" LLC into an extremely expensive mistake.
• Paying a middleman purely for the EIN. The EIN itself is always free from the IRS; some services charge $100+ for something you can do yourself for free with the SS-4 fax method.
• Not budgeting for the recurring costs. Founders often account for the one-time $100–$150 formation cost but forget the $60–$300/year renewal, leading to an unplanned dissolution when the fee is missed.
• Ignoring Bangladesh-side tax reporting. Treating the US LLC as a way to avoid all reporting obligations back home creates compliance risk under Bangladesh Bank and NBR rules — always account for both sides.

Not necessarily. A single-member LLC owned entirely by a non-US person, with no US employees and no "effectively connected income" from actual US-based business activity (e.g., you're not physically doing work inside the US), is generally treated by the IRS as a "disregarded entity" — meaning the LLC itself does not pay US federal income tax on foreign-sourced income. However, this is a nuanced area of US tax law and depends heavily on the nature of your business, where the work is actually performed, and whether you have any US-based clients, contractors, inventory, or infrastructure.

Regardless of whether tax is owed, the informational Form 5472 + 1120 filing described earlier is mandatory every year for a foreign-owned single-member LLC, even with zero income. E-commerce sellers using US-based warehouses (e.g., Amazon FBA) or businesses with a genuine US physical presence may trigger different tax treatment, including potential state sales tax obligations. Because misclassifying your tax situation can carry significant IRS penalties, this guide provides general information only — consult a US-licensed tax professional (a CPA familiar with non-resident LLC taxation) for advice specific to your business model before assuming no tax is owed.

Aeenx is a Bangladesh-based legal-tech and business advisory firm that helps Bangladeshi entrepreneurs, freelancers, and agencies set up compliant, cost-effective US LLCs alongside their Bangladesh-side legal and tax obligations. Rather than treating US formation and Bangladesh compliance as separate problems, we help you plan both together from day one — so the cheapest US LLC does not create an expensive compliance gap back home.

Our support typically covers: choosing the right state (Wyoming vs. Delaware vs. New Mexico) based on your actual business model, preparing and filing the Articles of Organization and Operating Agreement, applying for your EIN via the correct non-resident Form SS-4 process, guiding you through opening a Mercury/Wise Business account, filing your annual Form 5472/1120 and BOI report, and advising on how to handle remittances and income declarations under Bangladesh Bank and NBR rules.

Is it legal for a Bangladeshi citizen to own a US LLC?

Yes. US law places no restriction on foreign ownership of an LLC based on nationality or residency.

What is the absolute cheapest state to form an LLC in?

On pure dollar cost, New Mexico ($50 filing fee, $0 annual fee) is the cheapest to maintain long-term, though Wyoming ($100 filing, $60/year) offers better banking and client recognition for a small extra cost.

Do I need to visit the United States to start an LLC?

No. The entire formation process — state filing, EIN application, and most bank/fintech account openings — can be completed remotely from Bangladesh.

Is an EIN really free?

Yes, directly from the IRS. Some third-party services charge a fee for filing it on your behalf, but the government itself never charges for an EIN.

Can I open a US bank account without an SSN?

Yes, using your EIN and LLC formation documents through fintech providers such as Mercury or Wise Business, which are built for non-resident founders.

What happens if I miss the annual report or Form 5472?

Missing the state annual report can lead to administrative dissolution of your LLC. Missing Form 5472 for a foreign-owned single-member LLC carries an IRS penalty starting at $25,000.

Does owning a US LLC mean I don't pay tax in Bangladesh?

No. Bangladeshi residents are generally still required to report foreign income and follow Bangladesh Bank remittance rules regardless of where their company is incorporated.

How long does the whole process take?

Typically 2 to 5 weeks end-to-end, with the EIN application (via fax for non-SSN holders) usually being the longest step.

Is Delaware worth the extra cost for a small business?

Usually not, unless you specifically plan to raise venture capital. Its $300/year franchise tax is significantly higher than Wyoming's $60/year for founders who don't need Delaware's specific legal advantages.

Can Aeenx handle the entire process for me?

Yes — Aeenx can guide state selection, filing, EIN application, banking setup, and ongoing US and Bangladesh compliance as a single coordinated service.

Further Reading (Wikipedia)

• Limited Liability Company — Wikipedia
• Internal Revenue Service — Wikipedia
• Wyoming — Wikipedia
• Delaware — Wikipedia
• Registered Agent — Wikipedia
• Foreign Direct Investment — Wikipedia

Note: All fees are approximate as of 2025 and set by US state and federal agencies, which may change them at any time. This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice — consult a licensed US tax professional and a Bangladeshi lawyer for advice on your specific situation.