The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is now 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.
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.
Currently, the information cannot be viewed by U.S. government agencies or financial institutions. In late December, FinCEN 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 fifth and final phase of the rollout. The agency also adopted several changes to the final rule suggested by the American Bankers Association, including language allowing banks to use the information for a range of Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions compliance purposes.