January 1 Deadline Approaching for Beneficial Ownership Information

Update as of December 10, 2024: In light of a recent federal court order, reporting companies are not currently required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN and are not subject to liability if they fail to do so while the order remains in force. However, reporting companies may continue to voluntarily submit beneficial ownership information reports.
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As of January 1, 2024, many companies in the United States must report beneficial ownership information (BOI) to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The
reporting deadline is fast approaching!

If your company was created or registered prior to January 1, 2024, you have until January 1, 2025, to report. If your company is created or registered in 2024, you must report within 90 calendar days after receiving actual or public
notice that your company's creation or registration is effective, whichever is earlier.

Please note, reporting is not an annual requirement, and unless a company needs to update information, a BOI report only needs to be submitted once.

Who is a "beneficial owner?"
Beneficial owners are individuals who exert substantial control over or own or controls at least 25% of the reporting company.

Does this apply to your business?
Most small business owners will fall within the parameters of companies that must submit a BOI report:

1) a corporation, a limited liability company (LLC), or was otherwise created in the United States by filing a document with a secretary of state or any similar office under the law of a state or Indian tribe; or

2) a foreign company and was registered to do business in any U.S. state or Indian tribe by such a filing.

Some types of entities are exempt from beneficial ownership information reporting requirements, including certain "large operating companies." These include companies that employ at least 20 full-time employees in the U.S., have
an operating and physical presence in the U.S., have filed a federal tax return for the previous year, and reported gross receipts or sales of more than $5 million.

What are the consequences of not filing?
Willfully violating the BOI reporting requirements may result in civil penalties of up to $500 for each day (adjusted annually inflation) that the violation continues. A person who willfully violates the BOI reporting requirements may also be subject to criminal penalties of up to two years imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000.

Where can I learn more?
To determine whether your business is required to submit a BOI report, please reference FinCEN's Small Entity Compliance Guide. FinCEN has additional information, as well as BOI-specific resources and support available on
their website.

Source:  https://www.fincen.gov/boi