Form a Delaware LLC from Colombia: Complete 2026 Guide

Start with the numbers. A Delaware LLC costs $110 to file (or $110 online), and the recurring state cost is $400 flat annual franchise tax (raised from $300 under Delaware House Bill 400, signed May 21 2026, effective retroactively for the 2026 tax year; first billed with payments due June 1, 2027), no separate annual report required. State tax treatment: no tax on LLC income earned outside the state, though the flat annual tax applies regardless of activity. Privacy treatment: Delaware does not require member names on the public formation certificate. For a founder in Colombia the practical reading is that Delaware is the state most recognised by US investors and lawyers, so the question to ask is whether that trait matches how you plan to run the business.

Delaware state fees are $110 to file ($110 online where available). The other line items are the same wherever you form: a registered agent at roughly $100-150 a year, a free EIN straight from the IRS, and a free business bank account at Mercury or Relay. What differs by state is the recurring cost, and for Delaware that is $400 flat annual franchise tax (raised from $300 under Delaware House Bill 400, signed May 21 2026, effective retroactively for the 2026 tax year; first billed with payments due June 1, 2027), no separate annual report required. With EasyBrise Global Launch ($295 in year one, registered agent included; $149 a year to renew) the typical first year stays well under $500.

A Colombia-based founder should lean toward Delaware if you're planning to raise US venture capital or want the state most investors and legal counsel are already familiar with, and you're comfortable with the flat $400 annual tax (raised from $300 by 2026's House Bill 400) regardless of your LLC's size. Weigh it against the other four states on cost, privacy and reporting now, since a later switch is a dissolve-and-reform exercise, not an amendment.

Colombian freelancers, agency owners and online sellers form US LLCs to bill clients in dollars, accept US payment processors and operate through a US business bank account. Colombian tax residents are taxed on worldwide income, so the LLC does not shelter profit from Colombian tax. What it does give you is a US operating entity, and the key Colombian question is whether the LLC counts as an entity controlled from abroad under the country's ECE rules, because that decides when profit is taxed to you.

Housekeeping for a new Delaware LLC owned from Colombia. Federal Beneficial Ownership Information reporting is not something you need to do: FinCEN's rule in force since August 14, 2026 permanently exempts all US-formed LLCs. What you do need: an Operating Agreement, a business bank account, payment-processor accounts if you will take cards, and two recurring dates, your Delaware annual obligation ($400 flat annual franchise tax (House Bill 400, raised from $300), first billed with payments due June 1, 2027) and the annual federal Form 5472 and pro forma 1120.

Accrual taxation is easiest to grasp with an example. Suppose the LLC earns passive income in a given year and leaves it in the US bank account. Under the ECE regime that income can still be taxed to you in Colombia for that year, even though you took nothing out. Active business income is analysed differently, which is why classifying the LLC's income before the first invoice is more useful than reacting after the year ends.

The IRS international EIN line (267-941-1099) answers from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern. Colombia is on UTC-5 all year with no daylight saving. When the US is on daylight time that window is 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Colombian time; in US standard time the two match, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. A late-morning call works in both periods. Plan on 45-60 minutes.

Nothing about Delaware formation requires you to be in the US. Your registered agent supplies the Delaware address and receives official mail, the Articles of Organization go to the Delaware Secretary of State, and the EIN comes from the IRS afterwards. Since a Colombia resident has no SSN, Form SS-4 gets "Foreign" or "N/A" in the SSN line. The international phone line (267-941-1099) takes roughly 45-60 minutes and is the quickest route; fax and mail take 4-6 weeks.

Delaware suits a Colombian founder who expects to bring in US investors; the $400 flat annual tax is the price of familiarity. Investors may ask how the entity is treated under Colombia's ECE regime, so have that answer documented.

Bring three questions to your Colombian accountant. Does your ownership level reach the 10% threshold that engages the ECE regime? Is the LLC's income passive or active business income for ECE purposes, since passive income is taxed on accrual? And how will you evidence US tax paid so that Colombia credits it? A short written opinion before formation avoids a surprise at your first Colombian filing.

Over five years, the state-level cost of a Delaware LLC is a $110 filing fee plus $400 a year for five years, so $2,110 in total, before the registered agent. That makes Delaware the most expensive of the five states on this measure. The same arithmetic across the five states runs from $50 to $2,110. For a Colombian owner, the bigger variable is not this US state cost but how the ECE regime treats the LLC's income, since passive income can be taxed on accrual.

As a Colombian owner, your recurring dates look like this. State: Delaware's $400 annual tax is first billed with payments due June 1, 2027, and there is no separate annual report. Federal: Form 5472 with the pro forma Form 1120 is due on the return due date, April 15 for a calendar-year LLC, extendable with Form 7004. For the one-off EIN call, the IRS line (6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern) is open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Colombian time in US daylight time (6 a.m. to 11 p.m. in US standard time). Put the state date and the federal date in your calendar when the EIN arrives, because a missed Form 5472 carries a $25,000 minimum penalty.

Colombia's Controlled Foreign Entities regime (Entidades Controladas del Exterior, or ECE), introduced by Law 1819 of 2016, can apply when a Colombian resident holds 10% or more of a foreign entity. The practical consequence is the part that surprises founders: passive income of an ECE can be taxed to the Colombian owner on an accrual basis, in the year it arises, rather than only when you take money out. Whether your LLC's income is passive or active business income is therefore central, and a Colombian accountant should classify it before the first invoice. On the US side the LLC files Form 5472 and a pro forma Form 1120 every year, with a $25,000 minimum penalty for a missed or incomplete filing.