FinCEN Begins Collecting Beneficial Ownership Information

Posted: Jan 03 2024

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has announced that it is accepting beneficial ownership information reports as required by the Corporate Transparency Act. Filing is free and can be completed online through the agency’s electronic filing system.
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Companies created or registered to do business in the U.S. before Jan. 1, 2024, must file by Jan. 1, 2025. Companies created or registered to do business in the U.S. in 2024 have 90 calendar days to file after receiving actual or public notice that their company’s creation or registration is effective. BOI reporting is not an annual requirement. A report only needs to be submitted once, unless the filer needs to update or correct information, the agency said.
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As for who can view that information, FinCEN in late December issued a final rule that implements a phased approach to BOI access, starting with a pilot program for a handful of key federal agency users in 2024 and then gradually expanding the list of authorized users. Financial institutions will gain direct access in the final phase of the rollout. The agency also adopted several changes to the final rule suggested by ABA, including language allowing banks to use the information for a range of Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions compliance purposes.

To read more, visit: https://www.fincen.gov/boi

To view the compliance guide for small businesses, visit: https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/shared/BOI_Small_Compliance_Guide.v1.1-FINAL.pdf

To view FinCEN’s fact sheet, visit: https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fact-sheet-beneficial-ownership-information-access-and-safeguards-final-rule