With every new year comes a few changes! On January 1st, 2024 the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) went into effect and requires most small business owners (and others) to file beneficial ownership information with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
This is a brand new requirement in 2024 and there are expected to be upwards of 33 million filings this year. Oftentimes the creation of one or more business entities is a common strategy in estate planning. However, due to the enactment of the CTA, you may be required to submit certain information that was not previously required about one (or more) business entities. The penalty for failure to file is up to two years in prison and $10,000. There is even talk among attorneys of creating standalone companies to assist fliers with this process.
The report only needs to be filed once, per company, unless the filer needs to update or correct information.
Generally, reporting companies must provide four pieces of information about each "beneficial owner":
) the beneficial owner's name;
) the beneficial owner's date of birth;
) the beneficial owner's address; AND
) and an image of and the identifying number and issuer from either a non-expired U.S. driver’s license, a non-expired U.S. passport, or a non-expired identification document issued by a State (including a U.S. territory or possession), local government, or Indian tribe.
If a company was created before January 1, 2024 then they must file by January 1, 2025. Any new company that is created this year will also have to file moving forward.
If you need assistance in determining whether your small business or even Trust needs to file under the CTA feel free to reach out to us to schedule a consultation or to book an appointment to have us assist you with your filing(s).
Existing clients feel free to contact us now to book your time to file using the
BOI E-Filing System at our reduced existing client rate.