What are Wyoming Business Taxes?
Businesses love Wyoming because of our state’s low taxes. Wyoming doesn’t have a corporate tax, and we don’t have a personal income tax either. But every business in America has to pay taxes, and businesses formed in Wyoming are no different. Throughout this page, you’ll find answers to the type of taxes different Wyoming business types (Non US, out of state, online, holding companies, etc.) will have to pay. Although we are not tax or legal professionals, we’ve helped form a lot businesses and want to share our knowledge and experience.
How Wyoming Businesses Are Taxed |
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| The majority of questions we get about business taxes typically concern four Wyoming business types: holding companies, out-of-state, online, and Non US residents. Below, we’ve outlined the kinds of taxes each company type should anticipate: | |
Holding Companies |
Many Wyoming LLCs are formed purely for the purpose of holding assets. Land, property, intellectual property, even other companies are typical kinds of Wyoming LLC holding company assets. Many holding companies in Wyoming were formed to hold intangible assets, things like IPs, stocks, bonds, and bank accounts. Wyoming does NOT levy a tax on intangible assets, which means holding companies shouldn’t expect to pay tax on intangible property.However, Wyoming does have a property tax. If the holding company owns property in Wyoming, the company should expect to pay property taxes at the following rates: Property Tax is assessed at 11.5% for industrial property and assessed at 9.5% for commercial, residential and all other property. A Wyoming LLC also has to file an annual report with the secretary of state. The annual report fee is based on assets located in Wyoming. The tax is either $60 minimum or $.0002 per dollar of business assets, whichever is greater. LLCs with $300,000 of Wyoming assets or less pay the $60 minimum fee. |
Out-of-State Companies |
Our state’s tax incentives our the envy of many entrepreneurs located outside Wyoming state lines, which makes many companies wish they were Wyoming companies. Often the simplest way to start a business is to simply start the business in the place where you live. That’s because of a little something called nexus. In the case of a business, nexus basically means that a business has enough of a presence in a state for that state to collect taxes from the business. So, the goal of many entrepreneurs living in other states is to find a way to establish Wyoming nexus so their business will be taxed as a Wyoming business. Typically, establishing nexus in Wyoming for this type of business begins with getting a Wyoming virtual office. |
Online Companies |
In some ways, online companies in Wyoming try to do the opposite of the companies trying to establish Wyoming nexus. They don’t want nexus in any state. That’s because in 1992, the Supreme Court ruled that a state cannot require retailers who lack any physical presence in that state to collect sales tax. So if you operate a business that only sells products through Amazon or your company’s own website, you will not be required to collect sales tax. If the online company has a storefront or true, physical presence in Wyoming, then the company will need to start collecting sales tax.There are some online entrepreneurs who don’t live in Wyoming, but have a Wyoming LLC address. How does that work? They hire a company like us for a virtual office or Wyoming mail forwarding service. That way they have the luxury of a Wyoming address without actually being located in Wyoming. |
Non-US Residents |
Non-US residents have the benefit of choosing whichever state they want to incorporate in. Many of these businesses don’t have a physical presence which makes them akin to an online business, so many don’t have to worry about state taxes. However, you can’t escape the federal government. Below, you’ll find what kind of taxes you’ll be looking at depending on which type of business entity you choose: a corporation or an LLC.If you form a corporation in Wyoming, your corporation will be taxed as like any other US corporation. The corporation will pay the same taxes that any other US corporation would on all US-sourced income and your Wyoming corporation would also be taxed on all foreign earnings, in accordance with US Treasury regulations. Since the corporation was formed in the United States, it is taxed as a domestic corporation and you will file Form 1120.
As a non-US resident, your Wyoming LLC will only be taxed in the US on income from US sources, meaning that income from other countries will not be taxed by the US. If you choose to form an LLC, any profits US-sourced income will be taxed by 30%. This 30% goes to the IRS. At the end of the year, you will file your US taxes on Form 1040-NR with the actual amount due. If the amount due is less than the 30% initially taxed, the IRS will issue a refund in the amount overpaid. To make sure the LLC is sending the proper amount to the IRS, the LLC must designate a tax withholding agent to calculate the proper amount that must be sent to the IRS before any of the money is released. Because of these difficulties, many non-US residents choose to form corporations, unless they are forming the LLC to do business strictly outside of the US, in which case, the LLC should not owe any US taxes. |
Wyoming Sales Tax Rates
Wyoming does have sales tax. The state’s sales tax rate is 4.0%. Municipalities, however, can impose local sales taxes, which will increase. You can check current local sales tax rates by percentage, and zip code in the charts on the Wyoming Department of Revenue Website.
Which Businesses Must Pay Sales Tax?
If a business sells particular services, products, or any tangible property in Wyoming, that business is required to collect sales tax.