Treasury and FinCEN Suspend CTA Enforcement and Advise “Stay Tuned”
The saga continues. Per recent press releases from the Department of Treasury (Treasury) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the on-again, off-again Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting rule under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is temporarily off again—at least with respect to enforcement.
The Treasury and FinCEN have announced that they will not enforce the current upcoming deadlines for BOI compliance for now, and FinCEN intends to issue an interim final rule soon. In the words of Treasury:
not only will it not enforce any penalties or fines associated with the beneficial ownership information reporting rule under the existing regulatory deadlines, but it will further not enforce any penalties or fines against U.S. citizens or domestic reporting companies or their beneficial owners after the forthcoming rule changes take effect either.
According to FinCEN, this means that, for now, “no fines or penalties will be issued, and no enforcement actions will be taken” against companies who do not file or update BOI reports by the current deadlines.
FinCEN also indicated that it intends to issue a final interim rule extending the deadlines by March 21, 2025—the current compliance deadline for most companies. Importantly, not only is FinCEN rethinking compliance deadlines—it also appears to be rethinking the BOI reporting requirements themselves. The agency announced that it may be issuing potential revisions to the existing requirements to minimize the burden on small businesses, for which it will solicit public comment. It intends to “consider those comments as part of a notice of proposed rulemaking anticipated to be issued later this year.”
In the words of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, this decision is “a victory for common sense,” and is “part of President Trump’s bold agenda to unleash American prosperity by reining in burdensome regulations, in particular for small businesses that are the backbone of the American economy.”
For more information, contact Troy Garris at troy@garrishorn.com.