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FinCEN Guts Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements under the CTA

Michael Christians • March 24, 2025

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued an interim final rule removing the requirement for domestic reporting companies to file their beneficial ownership information directly with the agency.

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), passed by Congress in 2020, required reporting companies to submit information about their beneficial owners directly to FinCEN. The interim final rule now exempts domestic reporting companies from this registration requirement. A domestic reporting company is defined as any corporation, limited liability company, or other entity that is created by a filing with the secretary of state (or similar office) under the laws of any state or Indian tribe.

Foreign reporting companies will continue to be subject to the reporting requirement; however, will not have to report information about any of its beneficial owners that are US persons. Existing foreign reporting companies will have 30 days from the rule's publication in the Federal Register to submit their information to FinCEN. New foreign reporting companies will have 30 days from formation to submit their information.

FinCEN's interim final rule does not change the 2018 customer due diligence requirements, which charge financial institutions with collecting beneficial ownership information about legal entity customers at the time of account opening.

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