New Mexico LLC Cost: $50 Filing + $0 Annual Report (2026)
Forming an LLC in New Mexico costs $50 to file Articles of Organization and $0/yr for ongoing maintenance. No annual report. No franchise tax. No publication requirement. Member names are not required on public filings. Five-year cost: $50, the cheapest in the United States. New Mexico is the dark horse anonymous-LLC state; cheaper than Wyoming, with comparable privacy protections.
Reviewed by Soft Crown Editorial Team, fact-checked against primary government sources • Last updated 2026-05-02 • 3 primary government sources cited
TL;DR
New Mexico LLCs file Articles of Organization with the New Mexico Secretary of State for $50, among the cheapest filing fees in the country (tied with Mississippi, Missouri). After filing, there is no annual report fee. There is no franchise tax. There is no publication requirement. Member names are not required on the public Articles. The total state-level cost over 5 years for a dormant or low-activity LLC: $50, paid once. New Mexico is one of only 7 states with no annual report or franchise tax for LLCs (along with AZ, MO, OH, SC, TX-under-threshold, MS).
New Mexico LLC cost breakdown (2026)
| Line item | Cost | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Articles of Organization | $50 | bizportal.sos.state.nm.us |
| Annual Report | $0 (not required) | sos.nm.gov |
| Franchise Tax | $0 | tax.newmexico.gov |
| Registered Agent service (NM-resident agent required) | $50-$125/yr | sos.nm.gov RA requirements |
| Year 1 total (DIY, NM resident) | $50 | |
| Year 1 with RA service | $100-$175 | |
| Year 2+ ongoing (DIY) | $0 | |
| 5-year total (DIY) | $50 |
All figures verified 2026-05-02 from primary New Mexico state sources.
Why New Mexico beats Wyoming on cost
Wyoming gets the headlines for privacy, but New Mexico beats it on cost. The math:
- Wyoming 5-year DIY total: $100 filing + ($60 × 5 years) = $400
- New Mexico 5-year DIY total: $50 filing + ($0 × 5 years) = $50
- NM saves $350 over 5 years vs Wyoming.
Both states allow anonymous filings (member names not required on public Articles). Both states have no state income tax for non-residents. The differences:
- Wyoming has a 49-year-old LLC statute (1977) with extensive case law. New Mexico's LLC statute is newer (1993) with less developed precedent.
- Wyoming has explicit charging order protection. New Mexico's NMSA 1978 § 53-19-32 provides similar protection but with less litigation history.
- New Mexico is genuinely cheaper. $50 once vs $100 + $60/yr.
For asset protection where case law matters (high-net-worth individuals, complex structures), Wyoming wins. For pure cost minimization on a dormant or simple LLC, New Mexico wins.
Filing steps (DIY, no service)
- Pick a name, search availability via the NM Business Portal. Names must include "Limited Liability Company," "LLC," or "L.L.C."
- Designate a registered agent, must have a New Mexico street address. NM-resident services start at $50/yr.
- File Articles of Organization, $50 fee. File online via the NM Business Portal or by mail to NM Secretary of State, 325 Don Gaspar, Suite 300, Santa Fe, NM 87501.
- Get a federal EIN, free at irs.gov.
- Draft an operating agreement, not required by NM law but recommended. Free templates fine for single-member LLCs.
- Open a business bank account, NM-located banks (Bank of America, Wells Fargo, US Bank) accept NM LLC documents.
- Register for any state taxes, gross receipts tax (5.125% state, plus local) if selling tangible goods or services in NM.
- File FinCEN BOI report, within 30 days of formation. Free at fincen.gov/boi.
- Maintain registered agent, only annual cost.
- No annual state filing required. Calendar nothing for the SOS.
NM filings via the online portal are processed within 1-3 business days.
Page-unique facts
- NM is the only state where the 5-year LLC cost can be $50 total. Mississippi and Missouri also have $0 annual reports but charge slightly more in setup or have weaker statutory privacy.
- Member names are not required on public Articles. Only the organizer and registered agent are public.
- NM has a 5.125% gross receipts tax (GRT) that applies to in-state sales. Out-of-state operations are GRT-exempt for the LLC's NM filing.
- NM does not require an operating agreement. No statute mandates one.
- NM is one of only 7 zero-annual-report states. (AZ, MO, NM, OH, SC, TX-under-threshold, MS).
FAQ
Does New Mexico require an annual report?
No. New Mexico is one of only 7 states with no annual report or franchise tax for LLCs. Combined with the $50 filing fee, NM has the cheapest 5-year total cost in the US ($50) for a state-level dormant LLC. The other 6 zero-fee states are Arizona, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Texas (under the $1.23M revenue threshold). Source: sos.nm.gov, verified 2026-05-02.
Can I form an anonymous LLC in New Mexico?
Yes. NM does not require member names on Articles of Organization, only the organizer and registered agent are public. Combined with no annual reporting (so no recurring chance for member info to leak into public records), NM offers strong anonymity at the lowest cost in the country. FinCEN BOI reporting (federal, non-public) still applies. Source: bizportal.sos.state.nm.us.
Is New Mexico LLC accepted by US banks?
Yes, NM LLCs are recognized in all 50 states under the full faith and credit clause. Banking acceptance is identical to any other state. Some banks do additional verification on anonymous-LLC applicants but this is true for WY and DE LLCs too. Most major banks (Chase, Wells Fargo, BoA, Capital One) open business accounts for NM LLCs without difficulty.
Does New Mexico have a state income tax?
Yes, for residents. NM has a personal income tax (1.7%-5.9% sliding scale, 2026). LLC pass-through profits are taxed at the owner's NM personal rate if the owner is a NM resident. Non-resident owners with no NM-source income owe no NM income tax. Source: tax.newmexico.gov.
How is New Mexico's anonymity different from Wyoming's or Delaware's?
All three states allow LLC formation without listing members on the public Articles. The differences come from what happens after formation: Wyoming requires a $60 annual report (no member disclosure), Delaware requires a $300 franchise tax (no member disclosure), and New Mexico requires no annual report at all, meaning there is never a recurring opportunity for member information to leak into public records. Single-member NM LLCs effectively have only the organizer-of-record (often a registered-agent service) and the RA on the public file, in perpetuity. FinCEN BOI federal reporting (non-public) still applies to all three. The American Bar Association Section of Business Law maintains a state-by-state privacy comparison table for asset-protection planners.
Does New Mexico's gross receipts tax apply to a non-NM-resident-owned LLC?
Only if the LLC has New Mexico nexus, meaning physical presence (office, employees, inventory) or substantial NM-source sales. A NM LLC owned by a Texas resident with all customers in California pays no NM gross receipts tax. The IRS treats NM LLCs the same as any other state for federal classification: default disregarded for SMLLC, partnership for MMLLC, with optional S-corp or C-corp election. See IRS New Mexico Small Business Resources for federal cross-reference.
State quirk: zero annual report, in perpetuity
New Mexico is one of only seven US jurisdictions with no annual report or franchise tax for LLCs (along with AZ, MO, OH, SC, MS, and TX-under-threshold), and it is the only one of those seven that also does not require member names on the public Articles of Organization. The combination, $50 one-time fee, $0 ongoing, anonymous filing, gives New Mexico the cheapest 5-year cost of any US LLC structure. The state's LLC framework dates to 1993 (NMSA 1978 § 53-19) and was modeled on Wyoming's 1977 act, but stripped out the annual report requirement to attract small-business formations to the state. The Albuquerque-based Secretary of State office runs the lightest LLC workflow in the country: one filing, one fee, one form, no recurring touchpoints.
Common mistake in New Mexico
The most common New Mexico LLC mistake is assuming "no annual report" means "no compliance work." NM LLCs still owe FinCEN BOI reporting within 30 days of formation, federal Form 1065 (multi-member) or Schedule C (single-member) with the owner's annual federal return, and any NM gross receipts tax registration if the LLC has NM customers. Founders sometimes form a NM LLC, do nothing for two years, then discover federal penalty assessments for missed Form 5472 (if foreign-owned) or missed BOI.
Sources
- New Mexico Secretary of State Business Services, last verified 2026-05-02
- NM Business Portal, last verified 2026-05-02
- NM Taxation and Revenue Department, last verified 2026-05-02
- IRS New Mexico Small Business and Self-Employed Resources, last verified 2026-05-02
- American Bar Association Section of Business Law, last verified 2026-05-02
About the author
Aissam Baidi is the founder and researcher behind llcformationcost.com. He verifies New Mexico LLC fees directly from sos.nm.gov on a quarterly cycle. Connect on LinkedIn.
Not legal advice. Estimates based on publicly available data from each state's Secretary of State office. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.
This is a syndicated post. Original article + interactive calculator: https://llcformationcost.com/new-mexico-llc-cost/
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