Corporate Transparency Act and Beneficial Ownership Information

UPDATE: 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. 

Effective January 1, 2024, a significant number of businesses are required to comply with the Corporate Transparency Act ("CTA"). The CTA was enacted into law as part of the National Defense Act for Fiscal Year 2021. The CTA requires the disclosure of the beneficial ownership information (otherwise known as "BOI") of certain entities from people who own or control a company.  The CTA is not a part of the tax code. Instead, it is a part of the Bank Secrecy Act, a set of federal laws that require record-keeping and report filing on certain types of financial transactions. Under the CTA, BOI reports will not be filed with the IRS, but with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), another agency of the Department of Treasury.

After extensive consideration, our firm has decided to refer our clients to their attorney for assistance with preparing and filing the BOI report or any questions regarding the new BOI reporting requirement. Axley & Rode, LLP will not be preparing or filing BOI reports. If you need assistance gathering ownership information for complicated entity structures, we are happy to work with you and your attorney to provide this information. Another alternative is to do the BOI online reporting  yourself, especially for small businesses.

For more information about the CTA or to file the BOI online, visit the beneficial ownership page on the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network site.