Form a New Mexico LLC from Peru: Complete 2026 Guide

What makes New Mexico worth a look for someone in Peru: 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 Peru 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.

Peruvian freelancers, developers, consultants and online 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. A founder in Peru funds the LLC from soles converted to dollars. Peru taxes residents on foreign-source income and has controlled-foreign-company rules that can reach individuals, so the Peruvian tax analysis is the main task.

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.

The IRS international EIN line (267-941-1099) answers from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern. Peru stays on UTC-5 all year, so the window matches Eastern Time in US standard time, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., and runs from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. in US daylight time. Any daytime call is comfortable. Plan on 45-60 minutes.

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.

Forming from Peru 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 suits a Peruvian founder who wants the lightest US paperwork: a $50 filing fee, no annual state report and no annual fee, leaving only the federal Form 5472 and pro forma 1120.

Here is the first-year budget for a New Mexico LLC owned from Peru. 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.

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 Peruvian owner, the controlled-foreign-company test and its passive-income focus decide the home-country result, so budget for a Peruvian adviser's written view alongside the US costs.

As a Peruvian 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 a.m. to 11 p.m. Peruvian time in US standard time (5 a.m. to 10 p.m. in US daylight 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.

Peru does not appear on the lists of US income tax treaty partners we checked. For a typical founder, the gap matters on the Peruvian side more than the US side: with no treaty, relief for foreign tax depends on Peru's domestic rules, and the LLC's US result is governed by US rules for the LLC and for any US-source income. Ask your adviser how any US tax paid is credited.

Peruvian tax residents are taxed on foreign-source dividends, interest and capital gains at progressive rates of 8, 14, 17, 20 and 30 percent according to the bracket, and individual business income is taxed at 29.5 percent on net income with a 5 percent dividend tax on distributions. The guide also warns that the tax authority can recharacterise arrangements under the general anti-avoidance rule, Rule XVI of the Tax Code, if economic substance cannot be shown. Keep the LLC's operations real and documented.

According to the 2026 Chambers practice guide, a Peruvian resident individual may be taxed on the passive income of a non-resident entity when three conditions are met together: a direct or indirect participation of more than 50 percent in the entity's results, incorporation in a low-tax, zero-tax or non-cooperative jurisdiction or a rate on the passive income at or below 75 percent of the applicable Peruvian rate, and a legal person or other entity separate from the taxpayer. The income covered is dividends, interest, royalties, capital gains and leases, and tax can apply whether or not profit is distributed. The guide also says individual business income is taxed like corporate income at 29.5 percent. Ask a Peruvian adviser how an operating LLC is treated under these tests.