Form a New Mexico LLC from Hong Kong: Complete 2026 Guide

What makes New Mexico worth a look for someone in Hong Kong: the state fee is $50 on paper ($50 online), and after that the state-level upkeep is $0 ever — New Mexico is one of the only states with no ongoing annual report or annual fee for LLCs. The state levies no tax on LLC income earned outside the state for non-resident owners. New Mexico does not publicly disclose member or manager names in its formation records. None of this changes your Hong Kong tax position, which sits on top of the US picture, but it does mean New Mexico itself adds little friction. Among the five states we cover, New Mexico is the only one of the five with no annual filing at all.

Hong Kong traders, consultants, developers and e-commerce sellers form US LLCs to invoice international clients in dollars, hold a US business bank account and present a domestic US vendor to American customers. The Hong Kong dollar is linked to the US dollar, so funding a dollar account involves little exchange-rate risk. Hong Kong taxes on a territorial basis, so the questions for an owner are about where the profit is sourced and about the American filings.

Checklist once the EIN letter arrives: (1) Operating Agreement signed and stored; (2) bank account application submitted; (3) Stripe and/or PayPal applications, subject to their own review; (4) there is no New Mexico annual filing to calendar in your calendar; (5) Form 5472 with a pro forma 1120 on the federal calendar. 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.

Choose New Mexico when minimizing ongoing paperwork is the top priority — no annual report, ever, is unique among these five states — and strict privacy matters more to you than name recognition. If your priorities lean another way, compare the other four states first, because moving a New Mexico LLC to another state later means dissolving it and forming a new one.

The IRS international EIN line (267-941-1099) answers from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern. Hong Kong is twelve hours ahead of Eastern Time while the US is on daylight time, so the window runs from 6 p.m. to 11 a.m. Hong Kong time, and thirteen hours ahead in US standard time, so it runs from 7 p.m. to noon. Call from your evening or early morning and plan on 45-60 minutes.

Forming from Hong Kong is a five-step job. One: choose and check the name. Two: appoint a registered agent with a physical New Mexico address. Three: file the New Mexico formation documents. Four: obtain the EIN, entering "Foreign" or "N/A" where Form SS-4 asks for an SSN or ITIN; by phone on 267-941-1099 it takes about 45-60 minutes, by fax or mail 4-6 weeks. Five: open the business bank account online. No US trip is needed at any point.

New Mexico pairs well with a territorial home system: a $50 filing fee, no annual state report and no annual fee, leaving only the federal Form 5472 and pro forma 1120.

Over five years, the state-level cost of a New Mexico LLC is a $50 filing fee and nothing recurring, so $50 in total, before the registered agent. That makes New Mexico the cheapest of the five states on this measure. The same arithmetic across the five states runs from $50 to $2,110. For a Hong Kong owner, the main question is where the LLC's profit is sourced, so budget for a Hong Kong adviser's view alongside the US costs.

As a Hong Kong owner, your recurring dates look like this. State: New Mexico adds no state annual filing at all. 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 6 p.m. to 11 a.m. Hong Kong time in US daylight time (7 p.m. to noon 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.

Here is the first-year budget for a New Mexico LLC owned from Hong Kong. State filing: $50 ($50 online). Registered agent: typically $100-150 a year, or included in EasyBrise Global Launch at $295 for year one ($149 a year after that). EIN: free if you apply to the IRS yourself. Bank account: usually free at Mercury or Relay. Recurring state requirement: $0 ever — New Mexico is one of the only states with no ongoing annual report or annual fee for LLCs. Most founders land well under $500 all-in for year one.

Hong Kong's government has said its foreign-sourced income exemption regime upholds the territorial source principle of taxation and that the regime applies only to multinational enterprise entities carrying on business in Hong Kong. Its 2022 announcement states that individuals and local companies will not be affected. That means the regime does not reach an individual who owns a US LLC. It does not decide whether the LLC's profit counts as Hong Kong-sourced, which turns on the facts of where the profit-producing work is done. Ask a Hong Kong adviser for a written view if you work from Hong Kong. The remaining compliance is American: the LLC files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, with a $25,000 minimum penalty for a missed or incomplete filing.

The Hong Kong dollar is linked to the US dollar, which removes most of the currency risk from funding the LLC's account and from invoicing in dollars. You still convert when you move money, so compare the exchange rate, any wire fee and any intermediary charge at your Hong Kong bank, and keep records of each transfer in case your accountant needs to show the source of funds.

Hong Kong does not appear among the places with a US income tax treaty. In this case the gap matters little: because Hong Kong taxes only Hong Kong-sourced profit, there is usually no second tax for a treaty to relieve on the LLC's foreign business income. The rules that decide your outcome are the US rules for the LLC and for any US-source income.