Welcome to 2024! So many changes are in store for us. One of those changes includes the The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).
Many people who own businesses or even rental property inside an entity like an LLC or corporation now have a new filing requirement unrelated to taxes.
The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) was enacted by Congress in 2021 and is going in full effect in 2024. The CTA requires a filing, the Beneficial Ownership Information Report, which discloses the individuals who own or control the company (aka..beneficial owner information (BOI)). If you own or control an entity that has filed a document with the Department of State, you may likely have a filing requirement unless you are a very large company or one of several other exemptions. These reports need to be filed online with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the Department of Treasury. Here is a link to the website: https://boiefiling.fincen.gov/
The filing requires the disclosure of the full legal name, date of birth, current home address and copy of the driver's license or passport for each of the beneficial owners. You'll also need to report basic data related to the entity itself.
If your entity was in existence on or before 12/31/23, you have until the end of 2024 to complete the filing. Any new entities created in 2024 need to file the report within 90 days. After 2024, the initial reporting deadline drops to 30 days for new entities.
It's also very important to note that after the initial filing, you need to report any changes in beneficial owners (like a new address) within 30 days of the occurrence. It is possible to go years before needing to file any updates.
There can be severe penalties for noncompliance.
While most of our clients will find this new requirement, which is essentially a legal requirement, fairly straightforward to navigate, we do recognize that some folks may need a bit of guidance on this matter. We are here to help answer your questions and even plan to host a few dates later in the year (after crazy tax season) to assist clients not as comfortable with online activities to come to our office and we can help you in real time to get into compliance. Stay tuned for those dates. (We can help, we just can't do!)