What a US LLC actually costs you
Everyone publishes the formation price. The fixed cost that repeats every year, and what five years of it adds up to, is the part that usually goes missing. Run it here for four states and two setup routes.
All figures in USD. Tax math sits outside this tool. Every line carries a source link and the date it was verified.
Build your number
4 QUESTIONSYear 1 line items
$139- Registered agent formation service feellcuniversity.com2026-08-25verified$39
The do-it-yourself route starts from the registered agent's $39 service fee, that fee carries the first year of registered agent service with it, and going through the partner link below earns me a commission while your price stays the same.
- State formation feesos.wyo.gov2026-08-25verified$100
- Registered agent, year 1registeredagentcost.com2026-08-25verified$0
When the registered agent handles formation, the first year of service is included. Payment starts in year two.
- EINirs.gov2026-08-25verified$0
The IRS charges nothing. You fax the SS-4 and write Foreign on line 7b instead of an SSN. Roughly four business days by fax, though IRS workload moves that number.
- State annual item, year 1sos.wyo.gov2026-08-25verified$0
No state annual report is due in the formation year. The first payment starts in the following period.
- not in the totalYear 1 filing (Form 5472 + 1120)form5472.online2026-08-25verified$299 - $500
The formation year's filing is submitted the following year. It sits out of the year 1 total to avoid double counting and appears as a year 2 line.
Annual line items
$484 - $685/ yr- Registered agent renewalregisteredagentcost.com2026-08-25verified$125
- State annual itemsos.wyo.gov2026-08-25verified$60
Sources conflict in Wyoming: an older line in the state fee schedule PDF shows $50, while the same office's FAQ page and every 2026 source say $60. I use $60; the gap is $10 a year.
- Filing prep (Form 5472 + 1120)form5472.online2026-08-25verified$299 - $500
This structure works for you.
Your annual fixed cost is $484 - $685. The midpoint of the revenue band you picked is $3,000. The cost takes a small slice of that, so the structure pays for itself comfortably. What is left is running the setup in the right order.
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The link opens the same calculation. The card below is sized for a screenshot.
If you want to do it yourself
I formed my own LLC in Florida through this registered agent. The service fee is $39 plus the state fee, and the first year of registered agent service comes included.
If you form through this link I earn a commission. What you pay stays the same.
The partner link is not in my hand yet. It will appear here once it is.
Get your setup plan by email
The formation steps in order for the state and route you picked, with the calendar dates and which document is needed at which stage. One plan email, then the occasional setup update. One click to leave.
Your address is used only for this plan and setup updates.
This tool gives no tax or legal advice; it is educational. Check your own situation with your accountant. Figures were verified as of 25 August 2026. State fees and service prices change during the year, so re-check the official source on the day you file.
Last checked: August 25, 2026 · Next refresh: September 3, 2026
The objections that come up
01Formation looks cheap. What about every year after?
There are three items on the annual side. Form through a registered agent and the first year of service is included, so year one is just the formation cost.
From year two, three items start: registered agent at $125, the state's annual item (New Mexico $0, Wyoming $60, Florida $138.75, Delaware $400), and Form 5472 prep. File it yourself and that third line is zero; hire it out and it typically runs $299 to $500.
File it yourself and the annual load drops to $125 in New Mexico. Hire it out at the mid band and New Mexico runs $424 - $625, Delaware $824 - $1,025. Nothing hidden, every line is broken out in the table above.
Checked 25 August 2026
02Exchange rates move constantly. How do I carry a dollar cost on local revenue?
You do not, and it is worth saying plainly. When the expense is in dollars, every currency move lands directly on you and local revenue has no line that offsets it.
The fix is on the revenue side. Under roughly $3,000 a year in dollar income, this structure is early for you. Build a line that sells abroad first. Once dollars come in, the cost comes out of that revenue and currency moves stop hurting.
When this tool shows a local-currency figure it pulls the rate live and stores no fixed rate anywhere. If the rate cannot be fetched, no conversion is shown at all.
03Card apps already solve this for me. Why bother with an LLC?
At low volume they are a reasonable answer and they genuinely work. The fragility is also plain: those accounts can close unilaterally, what happens to your balance and your flow stops being your call, and there is often no institution to appeal to.
An LLC with a US bank account is a structure filed in your own name. Even under review there is an institution running a process, and you can show your documents and keep going.
The decision tracks volume. At a few hundred dollars a month the cost of fragility is low. Once your main revenue runs through it, one closure stalls you for weeks, and at that point the annual fixed cost in the table above is cheap.
04Does Apple Pay really work?
Apple Pay is not officially supported in Turkey. Turkey is absent from Apple's own country list, which I checked on 25 August 2026.
In my setup the US bank card went into Apple Wallet and I use it. That is not a guarantee from Apple, and results can differ by merchant terminal.
So do not treat it as a promise. Do not build the LLC decision on Apple Pay either; let payments, collections and customers drive it. If Apple Wallet works, treat it as a bonus on top.
Source: Apple country list, 25 August 2026
05What happens on the tax side?
This tool does no tax math and gives no tax advice.
One federal obligation you do need to know: a foreign-owned single-member LLC files Form 5472 with a pro-forma Form 1120 every year, even with zero income. The deadline is 15 April, extendable to 15 October with Form 7004. Missing it costs $25,000 per form.
Anything on your home country's side, including reporting and place-of-management questions, is a separate matter for your accountant. What is here is educational; check your own situation with a professional.
Source: IRS Form 5472 instructions
06What if my bank account gets closed?
Address is the most common reason for rejection and closure, and it is also the most commonly confused part.
Mercury's own eligibility page says it directly: for the principal place of business, a US or international address is accepted, and residential addresses are accepted. What is not accepted: registered agent addresses, PO boxes and store-type mailbox addresses.
So your home address abroad qualifies, and the free business address your registered agent hands you does not. Apply knowing that distinction and you remove the single biggest rejection cause up front.
Turkey is not on Mercury's prohibited-country list, which I checked on 25 August 2026. The risk is not zero, but with the right address and the right documents the application becomes largely predictable.
Source: Mercury eligibility and prohibited-country pages, 25 August 2026