A business license is government permission to operate a business in a specific city, county or state. Most US states have no general statewide business license, so most businesses get one from their city or county. At the state level, a business license costs $0 to $500 a year in 2026.
Short answer: If you live and do business in one US state, form your LLC in that state. Forming somewhere else means registering in your home state too and paying
California Form 568 is the Limited Liability Company Return of Income filed with the Franchise Tax Board. LLCs organized, registered, doing business or earning income in California file it each year, including single-member LLCs, to report the $800 annual tax, the LLC fee of $900 to $11,790 and their income.
Wyoming is the best state to form an LLC for most Amazon FBA sellers who do not run the business from a physical location in one state: $100 to form, a $60 minimum annual report, no state income tax and owner names kept off the public record. If you live and work in one US state, form the LLC there, because it has to register in that state anyway. Non-US sellers form in Wyoming or New Mexico. Your formation state does not change sales tax: Amazon collects and remits sales tax on marketplace sales in every state that has one.
Wyoming is better for most small businesses, solo owners and non-US residents: it costs $100 to form and $60 minimum a year, has no state income tax and keeps member names off the public record. Delaware is better for companies raising venture capital or planning an IPO: it costs $110 to form and $400 a year, and its Court of Chancery gives investors predictable business law.
Wyoming is the best of the three for most small businesses and non-US owners: $100 to form an LLC or a corporation, $60 minimum a year, no state income tax and owner names kept off the public record. Delaware is the best for startups raising venture capital, at $110 to form an LLC and a $400 annual LLC tax. Nevada has no state income tax but costs the most, $425 to form an LLC and $350 a year, and its annual list names managers publicly.
California is the most expensive state to keep an LLC, because of its $800 minimum franchise tax every year. Massachusetts has the highest formation fee at $520, New York adds a newspaper publication requirement that costs hundreds to thousands of dollars, and Nevada charges $425 to form and $350 a year. The median state filing fee is $100, according to our LLC cost by state table.
An anonymous LLC keeps a real estate investor’s name off public property and business records. The LLC owns the property, and the state filing shows the registered agent, not the members. Wyoming, New Mexico, Delaware and Missouri allow anonymous LLCs. Investors in other states hold each property in a home-state LLC owned by an anonymous Wyoming or New Mexico holding LLC. If you are still deciding how to hold property, compare an LLC vs sole proprietorship for real estate investors.
