On Tuesday, February 18, 2025, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Smith v. United States Department of the Treasury stayed its January 7, 2025 order enjoining the Treasury from enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) against the Plaintiffs and their related entities and staying the effective date of the reporting rule. This means the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) will again be enforcing the rule.
FinCEN issued an alert today notifying businesses that the deadline for filing Beneficial Ownership Information Reports (BOIR) has now been extended to March 21, 2025 for most reporting companies. There are some exceptions to this rule for companies in certain areas affected by natural disaster and for members of a very limited group of plaintiffs in a case in federal court in Alabama. You should consult a legal advisor if you believe you belong to one of those groups.
FinCEN has promised that it will review the reporting rule over the next 30 days and “assess its options to further modify deadlines, while prioritizing reporting for those entities that pose the most significant national security risks.” The agency further noted that it “intends to initiate a process this year to revise the BOI reporting rule to reduce burden for lower-risk entities, including many U.S. small businesses.” The full alert can be found here.
If you are a business subject to the reporting rule and you have not yet filed your BOIR, it is important that you file prior to March 21, 2025. If you are unsure whether the rule applies to you or are a reporting company and would like assistance, please reach out to Stephanie Renner, Justin Johnson, or your primary Jackson Kelly contact.