Back in March, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published its first set of guidance materials to aid the public, and in particular the small business community, in understanding upcoming beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements taking effect on January 1, 2024. The new regulations require many corporations, limited liability companies, and other entities created in or registered to do business in the United States to report information about their beneficial owners—the persons who ultimately own or control the company—to FinCEN.
“The Corporate Transparency Act, through its beneficial ownership reporting requirements, provides the historic opportunity to unmask shell companies and protect the U.S. financial system from abuse by money launderers, drug traffickers, sanctioned oligarchs, and other criminals,” said Himamauli Das, Acting Director of FinCEN. “We are committed to making this transparency process as simple as possible, particularly for small businesses who may have never heard of or interacted with FinCEN before.”
The following materials are now available on FinCEN’s beneficial ownership information reporting webpage, www.fincen.gov/boi:
- Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the reporting requirement.
- One Pagers on Key Filing Dates and Key Questions.
- An Introductory Video and more detailed Informational Video about the reporting requirement.
Additional guidance has been published at www.fincen.gov/boi to include a Small Entity Compliance Guide. Please check back often for more information.
FinCEN will not be accepting any beneficial ownership information before January 1, 2024. Information on how to submit beneficial ownership information to FinCEN will be forthcoming.
Businesses with questions about the upcoming reporting requirements may contact FinCEN at https://www.fincen.gov/contact.
