Understanding the

CORPORATE TRANSPARENCY ACT

Understanding the Corporate Transparency Act

Learn how to report beneficial ownership information (BOI) to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and avoid fraudulent scams.

With the end of the year in sight, we are encouraging our business customers to complete their registration with FinCEN prior to the January 1, 2025, requirement. You are required to report your company’s BOI to FinCEN electronically through a secure filing system that is available via FinCEN’s BOI electronic filing website. For filing, additional information, and FAQs, please visit www.fincen.gov/boi.

As you prepare to file your registration, we encourage you to use caution, as FinCEN has learned of fraudulent attempts to solicit information from individuals and entities who may be subject to reporting requirements.

In 2021, Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act, a law that requires the reporting of new beneficial ownership information. This regulation is part of the U.S. 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.

This requirement, which took effect on January 1, 2024, means that U.S. companies must report information about their beneficial owners to FinCEN, a U.S. Department of the Treasury bureau. Beneficial owners are those individuals who ultimately own or control a company. Companies required to report may include, but are not limited to: corporations, limited liability companies, and other entities created in the United States by filing documents with a secretary of state, or a foreign company registered to do business in any U.S. state.

Companies created or registered:
  • prior to January 1, 2024, will have until January 1, 2025, to report their beneficial ownership information.
  • on or after January 1, 2024, and before January 1, 2025, will have 90 calendar days to complete the registration process.
  • on or after January 1, 2025, will have 30 calendar days to complete the registration process.

FRAUDULENT SCAMS MAY INCLUDE:

Correspondence requesting payment. There is NO fee to file BOI directly with FinCEN. FinCEN does NOT send correspondence requesting payment to file BOI. Do not send money in response to any mailing that claims to be from FinCEN or another government agency.

Correspondence that asks the recipient to click a link or scan a QR code. Those emails or letters are fraudulent. Do not click any suspicious links or attachments or scan any QR codes in emails, on websites, or in any unsolicited mailings.

Correspondence that references a Form 4022, or an Important Compliance Notice. This correspondence is fraudulent. FinCEN does not have a Form 4022. Do not send BOI to anyone by completing these forms.

Correspondence or other documents referencing a U.S. Business Regulations Dept. This correspondence is fraudulent; there is no government entity by this name.