Mississippi LLC vs Wyoming LLC (2026)
Written for owners based in Mississippi.
Based in Wyoming? Read Wyoming LLC vs Mississippi LLC →
Compare Mississippi LLC vs Wyoming LLC on filing fees, taxes, privacy laws, and annual costs. Find out which state is actually better for your business.
Last updated: September 23, 2026
Verdict: for most owners, form where the business is based
Wyoming's reputation rests on privacy rather than price: $100 for articles of organization against Mississippi's $50, and an annual report license tax with a $60 floor against a free Mississippi report. That $60 is a minimum, not a flat fee. It is the greater of $60 or $0.0002 per dollar of assets located and employed in Wyoming, so $1,000,000 of in-state assets produces $200 and $10,000,000 produces $2,000. Wyoming does keep members off the public record and levies no personal income tax, though a Mississippi resident still files here. That LLC then needs $250 to register in Mississippi plus $250 every year.
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| Factor | Mississippi | Wyoming |
|---|---|---|
| Filing Fee | $50 | $100 |
| Processing Time | Same day (online) | Instant online; up to 15 business days paper |
| Annual Report Fee | $0 | $60 |
| Annual Report Due | April 15 | First day of anniversary month |
| State Income Tax | Yes | No |
| Anonymous LLC | No | Yes |
| Publication Requirement | No | No |
| Foreign LLC Cost (if forming out-of-state) | N/A, you're in your home state | $250 + registered agent ~$150/yr |
Full fee breakdown for either state: Mississippi LLC cost and Wyoming LLC cost.
Business Climate: Mississippi vs Wyoming
| Factor | Mississippi | Wyoming |
|---|---|---|
| 5-year business survival rate | 53.5% (#15 of 51) | 47.5% (#42 of 51) |
| Business application growth (2026 YTD (Jan to Jul) vs 2025 YTD (same months)) | +29.5% YoY (#32 of 51 by volume) | +13.3% YoY (#22 of 51 by volume) |
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics · U.S. Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (BFS)
Compare LLC Costs: Mississippi vs Wyoming
Mississippi
Wyoming
A figure shown as "from" is the least the state can charge, not a price. Tennessee's report is $300 for up to six members and $50 for each member above six, its franchise tax is the greater of $100 or 0.25% of Tennessee net worth, Wyoming's report is the greater of $60 or $.0002 per dollar of in-state assets, Kentucky's entity tax is $175 up to $3 million of gross receipts and graduated above it, and New York's annual filing fee is graduated on New York source gross income. A total that contains one of those is shown as "from" for the same reason. Costs include every mandatory state charge: the filing fee, the report fee (annualised where a state files biennially), any state entity-level tax shown in its own row above, a one-time publication cost where the state publishes a rate for it, and any one-time registration charge a state requires before the LLC may trade. Two exclusions follow from that wording. Arizona and Nebraska require publication and publish no rate, so no newspaper cost is carried for either and their totals are not the whole cost. Alaska's $50 annual state business licence is a separate charge from the Secretary of State fees and is not carried here either. Annualising makes the 1, 3 and 5 year rows a cost of ownership rather than a payment schedule: a biennial state charges its whole report fee in the years it falls due and nothing in between. Entity-level taxes that only apply after a corporate election, or above an owner or income threshold, are excluded and flagged on the state's own cost page. New York's publication cost is carried at a $250 floor, roughly $200 of newspaper cost in a low-cost county plus the $50 Certificate of Publication fee. No county-clerk-designated New York City newspaper publishes a rate card, so the four-figure NYC estimates in wide circulation cannot be traced to a primary source and are not asserted here; budget for materially more than the floor if you file in a NYC county. Every fee was verified against the state's own fee schedule, statute, or revenue authority on 29 July 2026. Excludes registered agent and legal fees. For informational purposes only, not legal or tax advice.
Filing Fees & Formation Costs
Mississippi charges $50 to form an LLC, while Wyoming charges $100. Mississippi is $50 cheaper upfront. The cost that usually gets overlooked: if you form in Wyoming but operate in Mississippi, you must also register as a foreign LLC in Mississippi (a $250 filing) and maintain a registered agent in Wyoming (typically around $150 per year). That puts the realistic first-year cost of the Wyoming route at roughly $500, versus $50 for simply forming in Mississippi. Both states publish a turnaround, which is unusual, Mississippi at same day (online), and Wyoming at instant online, up to 15 business days paper.
Taxes: Mississippi vs Wyoming
Wyoming has no personal income tax while Mississippi does, but forming your LLC in Wyoming won't change that. LLC profits pass through to you and are taxed where you live and operate (in Mississippi), not where the LLC is registered, so a Wyoming LLC offers no income-tax savings for a Mississippi-based business. Mississippi taxes individual income at a flat 4.0% on taxable income over $10,000 for tax year 2026 (down from 4.4% in 2025); the 2025 'Build Up Mississippi Act' (HB 1) schedules further phase-down toward eventual elimination, subject to revenue triggers. No franchise or privilege tax on LLCs (Mississippi's franchise tax applies to corporations and is being phased out); note the foreign LLC annual report carries a $250 fee while the domestic LLC annual report is $0. Wyoming charges an annual report license tax of $60 minimum ($62 filed online), based on in-state assets; no franchise or privilege tax otherwise.
Privacy & Asset Protection
Wyoming allows anonymous LLC formation. Member and manager names don't appear on routine public filings. Neither the Articles nor the annual report requires listing members or managers; only an organizer/signer appears, so ownership stays off public filings. Mississippi doesn't offer that same privacy. The Certificate of Formation doesn't list members, but the mandatory annual report under Miss. Code § 79-29-215 requires the names and business addresses of managers (if manager-managed) or the name and address of at least one member (if member-managed), plus principal officers if any. Both states provide charging-order protection for LLC members, and for most small businesses the practical difference in asset protection between the two is minimal. Wyoming's charging-order statute (W.S. 17-29-503) makes the charging order a creditor's exclusive remedy (including for single-member LLCs) and is widely regarded as the strongest in the country. One important caveat: if you register your Wyoming LLC as a foreign LLC in Mississippi, that Mississippi registration is itself a public record, which can undercut much of the privacy benefit for a business that operates in Mississippi.
Annual Maintenance Costs
Mississippi LLCs file a free annual report (due April 15), and Wyoming LLCs file an annual report (at least $60, due in the anniversary month). If you form in Wyoming while operating in Mississippi, you maintain filings in both states, Wyoming's report plus Mississippi's equivalent for your foreign registration, and pay a Wyoming registered agent roughly $150 per year. Counting report fees, the agent and any entity-level tax, that brings the Wyoming route to roughly $210 a year, versus about $0 to keep a domestic Mississippi LLC in good standing. The taxes inside those totals: No franchise or privilege tax on LLCs (Mississippi's franchise tax applies to corporations and is being phased out); note the foreign LLC annual report carries a $250 fee while the domestic LLC annual report is $0. Wyoming charges an annual report license tax of $60 minimum ($62 filed online), based on in-state assets; no franchise or privilege tax otherwise.
When Wyoming Actually Makes Sense
Forming in Wyoming makes sense in a few specific situations: you need anonymous ownership. Mississippi puts owner or manager information on public filings and Wyoming doesn't (usually via a holding company, since operating in Mississippi still requires a public foreign registration there), your business genuinely operates in Wyoming, with a real office, employees, or property there, or you're relocating to Wyoming in the near future, which would also move you out of Mississippi's personal income tax. For a typical small business based in Mississippi, none of these usually apply. Registering a Wyoming LLC to do business back home means $250 in Mississippi foreign-registration fees, on top of Wyoming's $100 formation fee, while Mississippi's own annual report stays free to file and is due April 15. When in doubt, form where you actually do business.
Frequently Asked Questions
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