11/18/2024
Clarifying announcement on information you may have seen regarding the newly enacted Corporate Transparency Act/BOI reporting requirements implemented earlier this year (2024):
In 2021 Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act, aimed at reducing money laundering. It is a small business reporting requirement with potential penalties including prison for committing a felony by not reporting.
You read correctly- failing to fill out this form is a potential felony with two years of prison time, plus a potential $500 daily penalty.
If your business is an LLC or corporation, including a single member LLC, you must fill out this report by the end of 2024, and if you start a new business in 2024, you must report within 30 days of formation. Reporting is done with a special electronic filing with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (Not the IRS).
Initial Reporting:
• New companies formed after 1/1/2024 within 30 days of formation.
• Existing companies formed before 1/1/2024 by 1/1/2025.
Updates:
Within 30 days of a change in beneficial ownership, name or address change.
Annual reporting: None
The required information includes owners information; for new businesses formed in 2024, information regarding the company or person submitting formation documents to your secretary of state or corporation commission.
To clarify, even if you have set up an LLC merely to own or manage a rental property, this form is required, and a separate filing and form is required for every single entity, whether an LLC, an S corporation, or a C Corporation.
Some exemptions exist, primarily for larger companies and not-for-profit entities. We are particularly concerned about folks that have set up their own LLC online, for whom the potential filing penalty is also $500 for each day late plus potential prison time.
Please make sure you have these filings completed in the appropriate timeframe. If you would like help filing, our company has decided to make ourselves available for a nominal filing fee. Please contact us directly if you'd like help.