Congress enacted the bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act to reduce illicit finances. This law requires many companies doing business in the United States to report information about who owns or controls them.
Beginning January 1, 2024, many companies in the United States must report information about their beneficial ownership information (BOIR) – the individuals who ultimately own or control the company – to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. BOIR filing is not an annual requirement. Unless a company needs to update or correct information, it is only necessary to submit the report once.
In 2021, Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act on a bipartisan basis. This law creates a new beneficial ownership information reporting requirement as part of the US government’s efforts to make it harder for bad actors to hide or benefit from their ill-gotten gains through shell companies or other opaque ownership structures.
FinCEN began accepting reports on January 1, 2024.
EXISTING COMPANIES
If your company was created or registered before January 1, 2024, you will have until January 1, 2025 to file the BOI.
COMPANIES CREATED IN 2024
If your company is created or registered in 2024, you must report BOI within 90 calendar days after receiving notice that the creation or registration of your company is effective, whichever occurs first.
WHO IS THE BENEFICIAL OWNER OF A COMPANY?
A beneficial owner is a person who, either directly or indirectly: (1) exercises substantial control over the reporting company, or (2) owns or controls at least 25% of the reporting company’s ownership interests.
A reporting company can have one or more beneficial owners.
WHAT HAPPENS IF A REPORTING COMPANY DOES NOT SUBMIT THE BOIR?
A person who willfully violates BOI reporting requirements may be subject to civil penalties of up to $500 for each day 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. Possible violations include deliberately failing to report beneficial ownership information, deliberately submitting false beneficial ownership information, or deliberately failing to correct or update previously reported beneficial ownership information.
WHAT HAPPENS IF A REPORTING COMPANY DOES NOT SUBMIT THE BOIR?
An individual can exercise substantial control over a reporting company in four different ways. If the person falls into any of the following categories, the person is exercising substantial control:
- The person is a senior officer (the company’s president, chief financial officer, general counsel, chief executive officer’s office, chief operating officer or any other officer performing a similar function).
- The person has authority to appoint or remove certain officers or a majority of the directors (or similar body) of the reporting company.
- The individual is an important decision-maker for the reporting company.
- The individual has any other form of substantial control over the reporting company, as explained in more detail in the Compliance Guidance for
FinCEN’s Small Entities Compliance Guide
.
Your request to comply with the BOIR will be made by ITC – International Trading Center LLC, with many years of experience in the management and submission of corporate information to governmental entities.
With ITC’s support you can:
Send BOIR
Ensuring compliance
Individualized contact
Avoid costly fines (up to $500 per day).
Compliance with automatic reminders
REQUEST YOUR BOIR SERVICE NOW!
70 – One beneficial owner
120 – More than one beneficial owner