On Monday, January 1, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) began accepting beneficial ownership information reports. The Corporate Transparency Act, enacted in 2021 to curb illicit finance, requires many companies doing business in the United States to report information about the individuals who ultimately own or control them. The purpose of the Corporate Transparency Act is to “help prevent and combat money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption, tax fraud, and other illicit activity.”
Filing is simple, secure, and free of charge at https://www.fincen.gov/boi. Companies that are required to comply (“reporting companies”) must file their initial reports by the following deadlines:
Existing companies: Reporting companies created or registered to do business in the United States before January 1, 2024 must file by January 1, 2025.
Newly created or registered companies: Reporting companies created or registered to do business in the United States in 2024 have 90 calendar days to file after receiving actual or public notice that their company’s creation or registration is effective.
Beneficial ownership information reporting is not an annual requirement. A report only needs to be submitted once, unless the filer needs to update or correct information. Generally, reporting companies must provide four pieces of information about each beneficial owner:
name;
date of birth;
address; and
the identifying number and issuer from either a non-expired U.S. driver’s license, a non-expired U.S. passport, or a non-expired identification document issued by a State (including a U.S. territory or possession), local government, or Indian tribe. If none of those documents exist, a non-expired foreign passport can be used. An image of the document must also be submitted.
The company must also submit certain information about itself, such as its name(s) and address. In addition, reporting companies created on or after January 1, 2024, are required to submit information about the individuals who formed the company (“company applicants”).
Alert: FinCEN has been notified of recent fraudulent attempts to solicit information from individuals and entities who may be subject to reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act. The fraudulent correspondence may be titled "Important Compliance Notice" and asks the recipient to click on a URL or to scan a QR code. Those e-mails or letters are fraudulent. FinCEN does not send unsolicited requests. Please do not respond to these fraudulent messages, or click on any links or scan any QR codes within them.
REGARDLESS OF WHETHER we have been working with you or your company AT ANY POINT, please be advised that we are unable to file this report on your behalf. We will require a new and separate engagement agreement in writing to assist in the preparation of each Beneficial Ownership Information report.
Please feel free to reach out with questions and any requests for assistance with reporting. The information above regarding all the particular requirements of the new law is not intended to be exhaustive. More information can be found at https://www.fincen.gov/boi which includes helpful resources published by FinCEN to aid in reporting.