The Corporate Transparency Act had a rocky couple of years. But Beneficial Ownership Information reporting is now a real requirement — and the penalties are real too.
If you’ve been following the news around the Corporate Transparency Act, you know it’s been a rollercoaster. Court injunctions, enforcement pauses, and a lot of confusion about whether BOI reporting was actually required. We completely understand if you tuned it out.
But here’s where things stand today: Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting is in effect, enforcement is active, and businesses that haven’t filed or haven’t updated their reports need to get on this now.
What BOI Reporting Actually Is
The Corporate Transparency Act, passed in 2021, requires most small businesses registered in the U.S. to report information about their beneficial owners — meaning the real humans who own or control the company — to FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which is part of the U.S. Treasury).
The goal is to combat money laundering, fraud, and the use of shell companies to hide illegal activity. But the filing requirement applies broadly, including to the vast majority of small LLCs and corporations that have nothing to do with any of that.
Who Has to File?
Most businesses formed by filing a document with a state government — which includes most LLCs and corporations — are covered. There are exemptions for larger companies (over 20 full-time employees and $5 million in revenue) and for certain regulated entities like banks. But for the average small business owner? You’re almost certainly required to file.
- Single-member LLCs: Yes, required to file
- Multi-member LLCs: Yes, required to file
- S-corporations and C-corporations: Yes, required to file
- Sole proprietorships (no entity filing): Generally exempt
Penalties for non-compliance can reach $591 per day. This is not a requirement to ignore.
What You Have to Report
For each beneficial owner — generally anyone who owns 25% or more of the company, or who exercises substantial control — you need to report their full legal name, date of birth, residential address, and a copy of a government-issued ID (like a driver’s license or passport).
You also need to report information about the company itself: legal name, any trade names, address, and the state where it was formed.
What to Do If You Haven’t Filed Yet
If your business was formed before January 1, 2024, and you still haven’t filed your initial BOI report, you need to take care of this as soon as possible. If your business was formed in 2024 or later, you had a 90-day window from formation to file — and for businesses formed in 2025 or 2026, that window is 30 days.
Updates are also required within 30 days of any change — like a new owner, a change of address, or an updated ID.
We help businesses navigate BOI filing and make sure their reports are accurate and timely. It’s not complicated once you know what’s required, but the stakes for getting it wrong are high enough that it’s worth doing carefully.
Ready to Get This Off Your Plate?
At Basc Expertise, we handle compliance, BOI filing, and regulatory requirements so you can focus on running your business. Reach out to us at www.bascexpertise.com — we’d love to chat.