By Terry Ann Donner RN, JD, CCM, CSA
Hot off the presses, the United States Department of the Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) has reinstated the Beneficial Ownership Information (“BOI”) reporting for companies that must comply by March 21, 2025.
What Has Transpired to Spur this Step?
This new deadline is the result of the order in Smith v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, which ended the nationwide injunction that had prevented the enforcement of the reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act.
What Happens if Companies Do Not Report?
There are possible civil and criminal penalties that can be imposed if BOI is not reported.
Can the Reporting Rules Change?
FinCEN is reviewing the issue of whether there should be “exemptions” from reporting of BOI for what is considered “low risk” companies. Those entities that have a low likelihood of engaging in the type of fraudulent or criminal activity FinCEN was created to detect and eliminate.
FinCEN did say that it would prioritize reporting for those companies that pose national security concerns when considering whether to make further changes to reporting deadlines.
What about Pending Legislation?
The House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 736 (the “Protect Small Business from Excessive Paperwork Act”), which would extend the BOI reporting deadline until January 1, 2026. The Senate has not acted. This extension is not guaranteed to become law.
Certain Republicans in Congress introduced legislation to repeal the CTA. The Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act (H.R. 125 and S. 100), introduced January 15, 2025, has not received bipartisan support and remains in committee.
What Should You Do?
It looks more and more like voluntary reporting sooner, rather than later, to avoid system overloads and potential late filing penalties may be the best action.
If you would like to wait a little closer to the March 21, 2025, reporting deadline, it may be helpful to gather the BOI information that you need to report, so you do not have to find something you may be missing at the last minute.
Donner Health Communications LLC will continue to watch the developments in this matter and provide updates for freelancers and others who must comply.
February 20, 2025
Donner Health Communications LLC