The Beneficial Ownership Information filing requirement is once again in effect. A decision from U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (Court) on February 18, 2025, has reinstated the filing requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act. Generally, most businesses subject to the filing requirement will have to file their BOI with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) by March 21, 2025.

The Court in January had initially issued a stay against enforcing any of the regulations required to implement the BOI reporting scheme in the case. However, the government appealed the decision and requested a lift of the stay while its appeal was heard. The Court granted the government’s requests.

FinCEN also intends to initiate a process this year to revise the BOI reporting rule to reduce the burden for lower-risk entities, including many U.S. small businesses.

Background: The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) was included in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act as part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act. A bipartisan amendment with support from both chambers of Congress, the CTA requires companies to report information to the federal government’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) about the individuals who own or control them. The final rule implementing the legislation was issued in September 2022, and its original effective date was January 1, 2024, prior to legislation getting caught up in litigation.

 

Editor's Note: Read a Market Intel from AFBF HERE