Please ensure you read the following information pertaining to new reporting requirements by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). We are sending a reminder email due to the importance of this situation. We highly recommend watching the video created below. If business owners chose to ignore the new directive, they can face $561 penalties per day and jail time. The fines increased from $500 to $561 per day between present day and when the video was created.
“As a valued client of Aiken Warner PLLC, CPAs, we want to inform you of a new reporting requirement affecting most companies. We will be offering assistance for this reporting requirement under a separate engagement. Please see the information below for further details.
The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has announced a new reporting requirement to aid in efforts to combat money laundering, terrorism, tax evasion, and financial crimes. Beginning on January 1, 2024, millions of small companies will be required to file a Beneficial Owners Information Report (BOIR). Domestic and foreign reporting companies, as well as other entities (such as partnerships and trusts), will be impacted. For existing companies, filing must occur no later than January 1, 2025. New companies formed during 2024 have 90 days to submit their initial filing, and new companies formed during 2025 will have 30 days to file their initial BOI Reports. Update reports will be required when necessary (within 90 days of changes) and for correction reports (within 90 days of incorrect report).
Entities can complete their BOIR online at https://boiefiling.fincen.gov/. The BOIR is estimated to take between 1.5 and 11 hours to complete depending on the number of beneficial owners. The BOIR has five sections, and entities will be required to report the company applicant and beneficial owners. The company applicant is the individual who directly files the documents for the entity. Beneficial owners are any individuals who own more than 25% of the entity or have substantial control over important decisions. Both domestic and foreign individuals can be beneficial owners. Beneficial owners will be required to provide their name, address, identification number, and a copy of their passport, foreign passport, driver’s license, or tribal identification.
Who is exempt? If your company has more than 20 full-time U.S. employees, filed a tax return exceeding $5M in gross receipts the prior year, and has a physical presence in the U.S, you may be exempt. There are 23 named exemptions including 501(c) entities, governmental bodies, insurance companies, and banks: https://www.fincen.gov/boi-faqs#C_2.
For further information, we encourage you to watch our informational video:
BOI Reporting engagements are separate from tax return engagements. Pricing for the BOI Reporting engagements will begin at $750 and will increase based on the complexity of your entity structure.
As always, it is our pleasure to continue to serve you, and we welcome any questions or concerns you may have.
Thank you!”
