In 2021 Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act aimed at reducing money laundering. Think shell companies. Every business that is required to register with their Secretary of State or Public Regulation Commission (Corporations, LLCs, Limited Partnerships, some Partnerships, Professional Associations, Registered DBAs) including Single Member LLC’s (Disregarded Entity) must now register and report to the Treasury Departments Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) regarding the beneficial ownership of the company.
Beneficial Owners are those that own 25% or more of the company either directly or indirectly. Meaning via a spouse or parent. Existing companies must report prior to 12/31/2024. All new companies and existing companies with changes occurring after 1/1/24 must report, within 30 days the new company beneficial owners and filers or changes to information previously reported by an existing company. This means that if you are an existing company and your information changes February 28, 2024, your filing deadline is no longer 12/31/24, but March 29, 2024.
What is reported? For the entity/business;
Full Legal name according to the Issuing Authority.
Any Trade or DBA names
Complete current street address of principal place of business (Note PO Box or 3rd Party agent address does not comply)
The State, Tribal or Foreign Jurisdiction of formation
IRS Taxpayer Identification Number (either EIN/TIN or SSN)
For the Beneficial Owners?
Legal Name and date of birth
Address
Unique Identifying number from non-expired US passport, non-expired State/local government/Indian Tribe, non-expired drivers license issued by a State/US Territory, or a non-expired passport issued by a foreign government
An image of the document used from above to establish unique identifier
For companies formed after 1/1/24 the above is also required for the company applicants
It is a felony offense and penalties include potential jail time and $500 each day late.