We’re over 80% of the way through 2024, and with that another deadline approaches: the January 1, 2025 deadline to file Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reports through FinCEN. This morning, we filed ours for Clayton Financial and Tax LLC. The entire process took less than ten minutes.
FinCEN offers both an online process and a pdf process; we used the online process. We had to scan our driver’s licenses (a photo would have been fine), and type our personal information (addresses, dates of birth) and our business information (address, state of formation). It’s a relatively easy process.
If you have a business entity registered with a state, you likely have this filing requirement; less than one-third of businesses that need to file have filed. This requirement is by business, not by owner. If you have five LLCs (each one holding a rental property), you must file five reports. Individuals can obtain a FinCEN identifier so that they don’t have to type in duplicative ownership information (and, instead, just type the identifier number).
The penalties on not filing BOI reporting are steep, so this isn’t something to sleep on. While there are legal challenges to the reporting requirement, it appears that it’s far more likely to survive legal scrutiny than ultimately be found to be unconstitutional.
It is true that some businesses are exempt from filing (this is detailed in the FinCEN webpage on Frequently Asked Questions); however, most small businesses are not exempt. If you have a business, you or your attorney should review the requirements and make sure you’re in compliance sooner rather than later.
Tags: BOI