Federal Reporting Requirement for Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI)

Federal Reporting Requirement for Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI)

Beginning this past January 1, 2024, many companies in the United States need to report to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) information about their beneficial owners. Beneficial owners are the individuals who ultimately own or control the company. FinCEN is a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. If your company was created or registered prior to January 1, 2024, you have until January 1, 2025 to report Beneficial Ownership Information or BOI.

Companies required to report are called reporting companies. Your company may be a reporting company and need to report information about its beneficial owners if your company is:

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.

There are twenty-three types of entities that are exempt from the beneficial ownership information reporting requirements. These entities include publicly traded companies, nonprofits, and certain large operating companies. Large operating companies include U.S. located entities with more than $5,000,000 in gross receipts or sales and more than 20 full time employees. Subsidiaries of large operating companies and nonprofits are also exempt from the reporting requirements.

Further explanations of the information to be reported and detailed explanation of exempt entities may be found in the Small Entity Compliance Guide on the FinCEN website.

If your company was created or registered on or after January 1, 2024, and before January 1, 2025 and is not exempt from the reporting requirement, you must report BOI within 90 calendar days after receiving actual or public notice that your company’s creation or registration is effective, whichever is earlier. Companies created after January 1, 2025 will have 30 calendar days to report BOI. Any updates or corrections to beneficial ownership information that you previously filed with FinCEN must be submitted within 30 days.

Reporting companies will have to report beneficial ownership information electronically through FinCEN’s website: Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting | FinCEN.gov

There are severe civil and criminal penalties for failure to comply and file this report ($500 per day up to $10,000, and imprisonment of up to two years).

Other important information can be found on the FinCEN website at: Frequently Asked Questions

We have attached a filing guide to help you through the process, as well as a guide to applying for a unique FINCEN ID.

You may want to consider applying for a FINCEN ID if:

1. You are the company applicant for multiple reporting companies
2. You are an applicable beneficial owner for multiple companies
3. You exercise substantial control over multiple reporting companies

Use of the FINCEN ID allows a single update to the ID rather than individually updating every reporting company affected, such as by change of address for beneficial owner/company applicant/C-Suite exec.

Please do not hesitate to contact your MUAC professional for further information.

Beneficial Ownership Information Filing Guide

FINCEN ID instructions