BOI Report Voluntary Again
December has yielded several updates to the filing requirements surrounding the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Report. The most recent update took place on the 26th, which saw the merits panel of United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit restore the nationwide preliminary injunction against the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) ability to enforce BOI Reporting requirements.
That means the BOI Report is once again voluntary to file while further considerations and arguments are happening in the court system. With information coming out at such a rapid pace, we’ve remained up to date on any updates to BOI Reporting requirements for new and existing businesses. Here’s what the December 26th BOI Report injunction reinstatement means for you and your business.
To read through the full timeline of updates to the BOI Report, read our previous blogs on the December 3 Texas injunction and the December 23rd stay on the injunction.
CTA Injunction Reinstated by Fifth Circuit
The BOI Report was once a required filing for most business owners as a part of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), a federal law aiming to combat money laundering and other financial crimes. Through this report, business owners were required to disclose information on the beneficial parties involved in a company, called beneficial owners and company applicants. Certain companies were exempt from BOI Reporting requirements.
On December 26th, 2024, the Fifth Circuit reinstated an injunction on the CTA that came down earlier in the month making the BOI Report, a once mandatory filing, voluntary. The injunction needed reinstating after a December 23rd stay of the injunction that called for the BOI Report to once again be mandatory. If you’re only just catching up on what’s been happening with the BOI Report, here’s a quick timeline of events:
|
Ruling Date |
BOI Report Updates |
|
December 3rd, 2024 |
U.S. District Court in Eastern Texas issues preliminary injunction against enforcement of the BOI Report making it a voluntary filing. |
|
December 5th, 2024 |
U.S. Department of Justice appeals injunction, but the BOI Report is still voluntary. |
|
December 13th, 2024 |
Department of Justice files an emergency motion to stay, or suspend, the injunction. This motion required a decision to be made no later than December 27th, 2024 |
|
December 17th, 2024 |
BOI Reporting deadline extension until January 1st, 2026 is proposed by U.S. Congress |
|
December 20th, 2024 |
BOI deadline extension is removed from stopgap spending bill |
|
December 23rd, 2024 |
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stays the injunction, making the BOI Report a mandatory filing once again and FinCEN issues extended filing deadlines. |
|
December 26th, 2024 |
Injunction is reinstated and the BOI Report is voluntary once more with a January 1, 2025 deadline to submit reports. |
With the December 26th injunctions reinstatement, enforcement of the BOI report is now under review again and a voluntary filing for reporting companies.
With so much information circulating about the BOI Report, it can be hard to understand how you, as a business owner, can remain compliant and avoid fees and penalties. If you decide that you’d rather play things safe, Northwest can help by filing your BOI Report for you.
Has the BOI Report been reinstated?
BOI Report filing was never technically suspended but, instead, FinCEN’s right to enforce its requirement was called into question by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. As a result of this court’s injunction filing, and this injunction’s recent reinstatement, the BOI report is considered a voluntary filing for reporting companies or non-exempt businesses.
FinCEN issued a statement on their website today supporting this information, stating that reporting companies “are not subject to liability” for failing to file beneficial ownership information.
The latest on BOI Report requirements
This decision is still being argued in court, and the nuances of both sides of the conflict will be reviewed during the next oral argument panel. In other words, things are moving very quickly when it comes to the BOI Report. Several courts are working hard in their tug-of-war with BOI Report filing, but Northwest is working just as hard to keep the facts straight or at least current.
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