Wyoming LLC Annual Report: The Guide for Foreign Owners
TL;DR
Every Wyoming LLC — foreign-owned or not — files a state annual report with a minimum $60 license tax, due on the first day of its anniversary month. It keeps the company alive at the state level. It is completely separate from Form 5472 and every other federal filing: doing one never satisfies the other.
What is the Wyoming annual report, actually?
It is a short state filing that confirms the LLC’s principal address and pays a small license tax: the greater of $60 or $0.0002 per dollar of assets located in Wyoming. A typical foreign-owned e-commerce LLC with no physical Wyoming assets pays the minimum.
File it and the company stays in good standing; skip it and Wyoming will eventually administratively dissolve the LLC — at which point banks freeze, platforms ask questions, and you’re paying reinstatement fees to resurrect a company you still owed federal filings for the whole time. (If you actually want the company closed, dissolve it deliberately — abandonment is the worst of both worlds.)
State vs federal: the two-track reality
| Wyoming annual report | Form 5472 + 1120 | |
|---|---|---|
| Goes to | Wyoming Secretary of State | IRS (Ogden, UT) |
| Due | 1st day of anniversary month | April 15 (ext. Oct 15) |
| Cost | Min $60 license tax | Preparation + $0 tax (info return) |
| Missing it means | Loss of good standing → dissolution | $25,000 penalty exposure |
| Satisfies the other? | Never | Never |
Foreign owners routinely do one and assume the other is covered. They are parallel tracks — see the full deadline calendar.
How do you stay clean, in four steps?
- Calendar the anniversary month the day you form the LLC.
- Keep your registered agent and address current — the state’s reminders and any legal notices go there. If anything changed, update both state and IRS records.
- File online and pay the license tax — most foreign owners can do this in minutes, or your registered agent can handle it.
- Do not confuse it with tax season — April 15 belongs to Form 5472; your anniversary month belongs to Wyoming.
What it is NOT
- Not a tax return — no income is reported and no federal filing is satisfied.
- Not optional for dormant LLCs — a dormant company still owes the state its $60 to stay alive (and usually still owes Form 5472 federally).
- Not proof of compliance — a certificate of good standing says nothing about your IRS position.
Official references: Wyoming Secretary of State — Business Division · WyoBiz — online filing portal.
This article is general information, not tax or legal advice. State fees and procedures change — confirm current requirements with the Wyoming Secretary of State before filing.
File it the right way
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