Court Ruling Requires Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)

SECOND UPDATE: After the update below was sent, on Thursday, December 26 a different panel within the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the previous ruling and reinstated the national injunction against the enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act.

While the ultimate outcome of the CTA remains in limbo, neither the original filing deadlines nor the extended filing deadlines announced on December 23 are in effect.

Stay tuned for further updates.

---

A December 23rd ruling by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), an anti-money laundering law, will now require millions of small business owners to register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) by January 13th. 

​This ruling may require immediate action from many of our members. 

​​Failure to file leads to penalties of up to $591 per day and could even lead to $10,000 in fines and jail time.  FinCEN requires beneficial ownership information, or BOI, to be filed online with items such as:

1. Company's full legal name
2. Business address
3. State where the company was formed or first registered.
4. Taxpayer identification number and an identity document, such as a filed Articles of Incorporation.
5. Beneficial owners' full legal names and birth dates.
6. Beneficial owners' home addresses.
7. A photocopy of beneficial owners' U.S. driver's license or passport.

 
Not all businesses need to file, such as some sole proprietors, banks, publicly traded companies and non-profit organizations. For a complete list please click here.  

Due to the late court ruling FinCEN extended the deadline by 2 weeks from the end of the year until January 13th, but some business groups are saying that is still not enough time and may appeal.

Business members are encouraged to review and submit the necessary documentation to FinCEN by the deadline. Questions can be answered by Alex Rahn, the Chamber's Government Affairs Consultant at [email protected]

Not getting Chamber email updates? 

SIGN UP NOW!