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A NEW MANDATORY FILING 

MOST SMALL BUSINESSES  ARE NOW REQUIRED TO FILE WITH FINCEN
BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP INFORMATION REPORT

$500.00 PER DAY FINES FOR NON-COMPLIANCE UPTO $10,000 AND 2 YEARS IN JAIL

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) established a beneficial ownership information requirement (BOI) under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) whereby most U.S entities must report information on their beneficial owners to FinCEN starting on January 1, 2024.

REPORTING COMPANY

What information will a reporting company have to report about itself?

A reporting company will have to report:

  1. Its legal name;

  2. Any trade names, “doing business as” (d/b/a), or “trading as” (t/a) names;

  3. The current street address of its principal place of business if that address is in the United States (for example, a U.S. reporting company’s headquarters), or, for reporting companies whose principal place of business is outside the United States, the current address from which the company conducts business in the United States (for example, a foreign reporting company’s U.S. headquarters);

  4. Its jurisdiction of formation or registration; and

  5. Its Taxpayer Identification Number (or, if a foreign reporting company has not been issued a TIN, a tax identification number issued by a foreign jurisdiction and the name of the jurisdiction).

A reporting company will also have to indicate whether it is filing an initial report, or a correction or an update of a prior report.

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(FinCEN’s Small Entity Compliance Guide includes a checklist to help identify the information required to be reported (see Chapter 4.1, “What information should I collect about my company, its beneficial owners, and its company applicants?”).

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BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

What information will a reporting company have to report about its beneficial owners?

For each individual who is a beneficial owner, a reporting company will have to provide:

  1. The individual’s name;

  2. Date of birth;

  3. Residential address; and

  4. An identifying number from an acceptable identification document such as a passport or U.S. driver’s license, and the name of the issuing state or jurisdiction of identification document (for examples of acceptable identification, see Question F.5).

The reporting company will also have to report an image of the identification document used to obtain the identifying number in item 4.

COMPANY APPLICANT

What information will a reporting company have to report about its company applicants?

For each individual who is a company applicant, a reporting company will have to provide:

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  1. The individual’s name;

  2. Date of birth;

  3. Address; and

  4. An identifying number from an acceptable identification document such as a passport or U.S. driver’s license, and the name of the issuing state or jurisdiction of identification document (for examples of acceptable identification, see Question F.5).

 

The reporting company will also have to report an image of the identification document used to obtain the identifying number in item 4.

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If the company applicant works in corporate formation—for example, as an attorney or corporate formation agent—then the reporting company must report the company applicant’s business address. Otherwise, the reporting company must report the company applicant’s residential address.

FinCEN’s Small Entity Compliance Guide includes a checklist to help identify the information required to be reported (see Chapter 4.1, “What information should I collect about my company, its beneficial owners, and its company applicants?”).

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MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Are some companies exempt from the reporting requirement?

Yes, 23 types of entities are exempt from the beneficial ownership information reporting requirements. These entities include publicly traded companies meeting specified requirements, many nonprofits, and certain large operating companies.

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Who is a beneficial owner of a reporting company?

A beneficial owner is an individual who either directly or indirectly:

(1) exercises substantial control (see Question D.2) over the reporting company, or (2) owns or controls at least 25% of the reporting company’s ownership interests (see Question D.4).

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FinCEN’s Small Entity Compliance Guide provides checklists and examples that may assist in identifying beneficial owners (see Chapter 2.3 “What steps can I take to identify my company’s beneficial owners?”).

[Issued September 18, 2023]

What is substantial control?

An individual can exercise substantial control over a reporting company in four different ways. If the individual falls into any of the categories below, the individual is exercising substantial control:

  • The individual is a senior officer (the company’s president, chief financial officer, general counsel, chief executive office, chief operating officer, or any other officer who performs a similar function).

  • The individual has authority to appoint or remove certain officers or a majority of directors (or similar body) of the reporting company.

  • The individual is an important decision-maker for the reporting company. See Question D.3 for more information.

  • The individual has any other form of substantial control over the reporting company as explained further in FinCEN’s Small Entity Compliance Guide (see Chapter 2.1, “What is substantial control?”).

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One of the indicators of substantial control is that the individual is an important decision-maker. What are important decisions?

Important decisions include decisions about a reporting company’s business, finances, and structure. An individual that directs, determines, or has substantial influence over these important decisions exercises substantial control over a reporting company. Chapter 2.1, “What is substantial control?” of FinCEN’s Small Entity Compliance Guide provides the following information:

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What is an ownership interest?

An ownership interest is generally an arrangement that establishes ownership rights in the reporting company. Examples of ownership interests include shares of equity, stock, voting rights, or any other mechanism used to establish ownership.

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Is an unaffiliated company that provides a service to the reporting company by managing its day-to-day operations, but does not make decisions on important matters, a beneficial owner of the reporting company?

The unaffiliated company itself cannot be a beneficial owner of the reporting company because a beneficial owner must be an individual. Any individuals that exercise substantial control over the reporting company through the unaffiliated company must be reported as beneficial owners of the reporting company. However, individuals who do not direct, determine, or have substantial influence over important decisions made by the reporting company, and do not otherwise exercise substantial control, may not be beneficial owners of the reporting company.

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Please see Chapter 2.1 of FinCEN’s Small Entity Compliance Guide, “What is substantial control?” for additional information on how to determine whether an individual has substantial control over a reporting company.

What are the criteria for the inactive entity exemption from the beneficial ownership information reporting requirement?

An entity qualifies for the inactive entity exemption if all six of the following criteria apply:

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(1) The entity was in existence on or before January 1, 2020.

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(2) The entity is not engaged in active business.

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(3) The entity is not owned by a foreign person, whether directly or indirectly, wholly or partially. “Foreign person” means a person who is not a United States person. A United States person is defined in section 7701(a)(30) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as a citizen or resident of the United States, domestic partnership and corporation, and other estates and trusts.

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(4) The entity has not experienced any change in ownership in the preceding twelve-month period.

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(5) The entity has not sent or received any funds in an amount greater than $1,000, either directly or through any financial account in which the entity or any affiliate of the entity had an interest, in the preceding twelve-month period.

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(6) The entity does not otherwise hold any kind or type of assets, whether in the United States or abroad, including any ownership interest in any corporation, limited liability company, or other similar entity.

If I own a group of related companies, can I consolidate employees across those companies to meet the criteria of a large operating company exemption from the reporting company definition?

No. The large operating company exemption requires that the entity itself employ more than 20 full-time employees in the United States and does not permit consolidation of this employee count across multiple entities.

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FinCEN’s Small Entity Compliance Guide includes a checklist for this exemption (see exemption #21).

What penalties do individuals face for violating BOI reporting requirements?

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As specified in the Corporate Transparency Act, a person who willfully violates the BOI reporting requirements may be subject to civil penalties of up to $500 for each day that the violation continues. That person may also be subject to criminal penalties of up to two years imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000. Potential violations include willfully failing to file a beneficial ownership information report, willfully filing false beneficial ownership information, or willfully failing to correct or update previously reported beneficial ownership information.

Who can be held liable for violating BOI reporting requirements?

Both individuals and corporate entities can be held liable for willful violations. This can include not only an individual who actually files (or attempts to file) false information with FinCEN, but also anyone who willfully provides the filer with false information to report. Both individuals and corporate entities may also be liable for willfully failing to report complete or updated beneficial ownership information; in such circumstances, individuals can be held liable if they either cause the failure or are a senior officer at the company at the time of the failure.

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  • i. Can an individual who files a report on behalf of a reporting company be held liable?

    • Yes. An individual who willfully files a false or fraudulent beneficial ownership information report on a company’s behalf may be subject to the same civil and criminal penalties as the reporting company and its senior officers.

  • ii. Can a beneficial owner or company applicant be held liable for refusing to provide required information to a reporting company?

    • Yes. As described above, an enforcement action can be brought against an individual who willfully causes a reporting company’s failure to submit complete or updated beneficial ownership information to FinCEN. This would include a beneficial owner or company applicant who willfully fails to provide required information to a reporting company.

What should a reporting company do if a beneficial owner or company applicant withholds information?

While FinCEN recognizes that much of the information required to be reported about beneficial owners and company applicants will be provided to reporting companies by those individuals, reporting companies are responsible for ensuring that they submit complete and accurate beneficial ownership information to FinCEN. Starting January 1, 2024, reporting companies will have a legal requirement to report beneficial ownership information to FinCEN.

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Existing reporting companies should engage with their beneficial owners to advise them of this requirement, obtain required information, and revise or consider putting in place mechanisms to ensure that beneficial owners will keep reporting companies apprised of changes in reported information, if necessary. Beneficial owners and company applicants should also be aware that they may face penalties if they willfully cause a reporting company to fail to report complete or updated beneficial ownership information.

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Persons considering creating or registering legal entities that will be reporting companies should take steps to ensure that they have access to the beneficial ownership information required to be reported to FinCEN, and that they have mechanisms in place to ensure that the reporting company is kept apprised of changes in that information.

Is my accountant or lawyer considered a beneficial owner?

Accountants and lawyers generally do not qualify as beneficial owners, but that may depend on the work being performed. Accountants and lawyers who provide general accounting or legal services are not considered beneficial owners because ordinary, arms-length advisory or other third-party professional services to a reporting company are not considered to be “substantial control” (see Question D.2).

 

In addition, a lawyer or accountant who is designated as an agent of the reporting company may qualify for the “nominee, intermediary, custodian, or agent” exception from the beneficial owner definition.

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However, an individual who holds the position of general counsel in a reporting company is a “senior officer” of that company and is therefore a beneficial owner. FinCEN’s Small Entity Compliance Guide includes a checklist to help determine whether an individual qualifies for an exception to the beneficial owner definition (see Chapter 2.4, “Who qualifies for an exception from the beneficial owner definition?”).

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[Updated November 16, 2023]

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