Wyoming franchise tax information
Wyoming technically doesn't have a franchise tax in name, but corporations, LLCs, LPs, and registered LLPs must pay an Annual Report License Tax that behaves much the way a franchise tax does elsewhere. The corporation statute, W.S. 17-16-1630(a), calls it a "license tax"; the LLC statute, W.S. 17-29-209(a), calls the same charge a "license fee." LPs and registered LLPs are pulled into the corporate formula by cross-reference, under W.S. 17-14-209(b) and W.S. 17-21-1101(n) respectively.
The tax is asset-based rather than income-based, and it runs off balance sheet data for assets located and employed in Wyoming. The state's own worksheet rules liken the starting figure to line 15 of Schedule L of IRS Form 1120 or 1120S. The calculation runs on financial detail, so many filers hand it to their accountant.
Miss the Annual Report and the consequence depends on your entity type. The Secretary of State may administratively dissolve a corporation, which has 60 days from service of the dissolution notice to cure the grounds (W.S. 17-16-1421(b)); an LLC instead faces administrative forfeiture of its articles of organization for unpaid annual fees, on the same 60-day clock (W.S. 17-29-705(b), which runs through the annual fee imposed by W.S. 17-29-210). Either entity can be revived within two years by clearing what is delinquent: corporations pay the delinquent fees and taxes plus a reinstatement certificate fee (W.S. 17-16-1422(a)), while the LLC provision names only the delinquent fees, with a $100 reinstatement for tax charge set by the SOS fee schedule rather than by statute.
How to file and pay Wyoming's license tax
The license tax is paid with the Wyoming Annual Report; the Wyoming Annual Report filing guide covers the full process. For corporations, LLCs, LPs, and registered LLPs, reports are due the first day of the anniversary month of formation, or of registration for foreign entities, so an entity registered on June 15 files by June 1 each year, and you can submit up to 120 days early through the Annual Report Wizard. Statutory trusts are the exception, filing on or before January 2 regardless of formation date per the SOS annual report guide, with a $100 penalty added if the annual tax goes unpaid past February 1.
Online filing carries a card processing fee of 2.4% with a $1 minimum, per the official filing portal, which describes the base as the filing fee in one place and the total license tax in another; for these entities the two are the same number. If your fee exceeds $500, which corresponds to more than $2.5 million in Wyoming assets at the $.0002 rate, e-filing is not permitted; print, sign, and mail the report instead. Mailing carries no card fee, and the Wizard prints a mail-ready report at its Confirmation step.
Calculating the Annual Report License Tax
The tax is $60 or two-tenths of one mill on the dollar ($.0002) of Wyoming assets, whichever is greater, per the SOS fee schedule, revised June 2026 and effective July 1, 2026. A company with $300,000 or less in Wyoming assets pays the $60 minimum, because $.0002 on $300,000 works out to exactly $60, a breakpoint in the math rather than a figure named in statute. Neither the fee schedule nor the worksheet rules set a maximum. The $60 floor rose from $50 under 2021 Enrolled Act 39, effective July 1, 2021, and has not moved since.
Wyoming publishes the worksheet as Appendix 1 to the Tax Worksheet Rules. Start from total balance sheet assets for the year most recently ended, count only Wyoming assets, and value each class the way the rules direct:
Asset class | Value reported on the worksheet |
|---|---|
Land | Wyoming assessed value, not balance sheet value |
Buildings and improvements carrying an assessed value | Assessed value, with no deduction for depreciation |
Other property with no assessed value | Book value less accumulated depreciation |
Depletables such as coal, mineral oil, or gold | Assessed value of the gross product |
Corporate stock, net worth, and net equity | Excluded from the calculation |
The completed worksheet is not a public record under W.S. 16-4-203(d)(v), though the license tax figure printed on page one of the annual report form is disclosable. That single figure is the same charge the filing portal calls the Annual Report fee, so license tax and filing fee language on Wyoming screens refers to one payment rather than two.
Put Wyoming annual report filings on autopilot with Discern
Wyoming's license tax rides along with an anniversary-month report deadline, and every entity you add brings another date and another asset worksheet with it. Discern files your Wyoming Annual Reports, tracks each entity's anniversary-month due date, and provides registered agent services in Wyoming. The license tax figures themselves stay with your accountant.
For firms holding entities in more than one state, Discern manages annual reports, registered agent coverage, formations, and foreign registrations across all 51 jurisdictions from a single platform, with forms pre-filled ahead of each due date. Delaware franchise tax is filed directly; for franchise tax in other states, Wyoming included, Discern tracks the deadlines and sends alerts rather than preparing the return. Annual report filings across jurisdictions take less than 15 minutes.
Frequently asked questions about Wyoming's Annual Report License Tax
Filers most often get stuck on three things: what they owe, whether their entity type owes it at all, and what the state does when a report slips.
How much is the Wyoming Annual Report License Tax?
The greater of $60 or $.0002 per dollar of Wyoming assets. Anything at or under $300,000 in Wyoming assets lands on the $60 floor, and no maximum applies at the top end.
Which entities have to pay it?
Corporations and LLCs pay under their own acts, and LPs and registered LLPs pay the identical formula through statutory cross-references to the corporation provision. Statutory trusts file on the fixed January 2 cycle instead of an anniversary month.
How do I value my Wyoming assets?
Start from total assets on your balance sheet for the year most recently ended and count only what is located and employed in Wyoming. Land and improvements carrying a Wyoming assessed value go in at assessed value with no depreciation deduction, other property goes in at book value less accumulated depreciation, and stock value, net worth, and net equity are excluded.
Can I file online if I owe a large license tax?
Only up to $500. Above that the state blocks e-filing, so you print the report from the Confirmation step of the Wizard, sign it, and mail it, which also avoids the card processing fee.
What happens if I miss the deadline?
A corporation can be administratively dissolved and an LLC can have its articles of organization administratively forfeited, in each case 60 days after the Secretary of State's notice. Either can be revived within two years by paying what is then delinquent, with a reinstatement certificate fee for corporations and a $100 reinstatement for tax charge for LLCs.
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