SIMBA Small Business Blog: BOI Update

In the immortal words of Beyonce, “BOI Bye.” If you’ve been reading our newsletters in the last year (and why aren’t you - they are full of important small business advice and ways to support your local economy), you’ve heard us talk about the BOI . BOI is an acronym for Beneficial Ownership Information reporting, which was required for about a year (starting January 1, 2024) due the the passage of the Corporate Transparency Act of 2021. The CTA was passed in part to stop illegal financial activities, like money laundering, in businesses operating in the United States.

As of January 1, 2024, all LLCs, corporations, formal partnerships, and most business structures (excluding non-profits and sole proprietorships) were required to file information regarding the beneficial owners of each business with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen). FinCen is a division of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The filing was quick and easy, requiring only names, addresses, and photo id for each business owner via an online platform. There were significant penalties to be assessed - up to $500 per day - for any business that did not file the report under a certain timeline.

After more than a year of lawsuits moving through various courts, completing a BOI filing is generally voluntary. There are no penalties for non-filing for U.S.-based companies. Foreign-based companies operating in the United States still have BOI filing requirements and possible penalties, but domestic companies do not. Read more about it on FinCen’s website.