New Financial Reporting Requirement
Heads up: Starting in 2024, millions of businesses must comply with a new federal requirement to provide information about their beneficial owners to a government watchdog agency.
In order to combat financial fraud, money laundering and other crimes, Congress passed a law in 2021 requiring businesses to share ownership information with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), part of the U.S. Treasury.
That law requires corporations, LLCs, and many other businesses to report information about the individuals who own or control the company. While the law exempts 23 different types of organizations from these requirements, including nonprofits and publicly traded companies, most businesses will need to comply.
You may want to speak with a lawyer to learn more about your obligations under this law. Businesses established before Jan. 1, 2024, have a full year to comply—though businesses created after that date have just 30 days. Penalties for non-compliance include fines of up to $500 a day or even jail time.