The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in September 2022 issued final regulations implementing the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). The law requires certain business entities created or registered to do business in the United States to report identifying information about their “beneficial owners” to FinCEN.
Recently, FinCEN issued frequently asked questions (FAQs) on these beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements, which will take effect on January 1, 2024. Here are some highlights:
Reporting entities. Unless exempt, an entity will need to report its BOI to FinCEN if it must file a document with its state, territory or tribal government to create or register itself as a business entity in that jurisdiction. Sole proprietors using a fictitious or “doing business as” (DBA) name may also need to report BOI if they had to register the DBA entity with a state agency.
Required information. A reporting entity will need to provide FinCEN with its legal name and any trade name or DBA name, its address, the jurisdiction in which it was formed or first registered, and its Taxpayer Identification Number.
Per the FAQs, a “beneficial owner” of a reporting entity is any individual who exercises substantial control over the entity or who owns or controls at least 25 percent of it. For each beneficial owner, the reporting company will need to provide the person’s legal name, birthdate and address. The reporting business will also need to provide:
- A unique identifying number from an acceptable identification document (such as a driver’s license, passport or other approved document), and
- The name of the state or jurisdiction that issued the identification document.
Initial reports. For entities created or registered to do business in the United States before January 1, 2024, initial BOI reports are due by January 1, 2025. For entities created or registered to do business in the United States on or after January 1, 2024, BOI reports are due within 30 calendar days of receiving notice that an entity’s creation or registration is effective.
Updated reports. When there’s a change to previously reported information about the reporting entity or its beneficial owners, an updated report will be required. The reports will be due within 30 calendar days after a change occurs.
Corrected reports. Corrected reports will be required when previously reported information was inaccurate when filed. The report will be due within 30 calendar days of the error’s discovery.