- The Corporate Transparency Act requires certain entities, including many small businesses, to report to FinCEN information about the individuals who ultimately own or control them.
- A separate regulatory requirement currently requires many financial institutions to also collect beneficial ownership information from certain customers that seek to open accounts as part of Federal customer due diligence requirements.
A recent notice from FinCEN provides answers to key questions about: (1) reporting beneficial ownership information to FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and (2) providing beneficial ownership information to financial institutions in connection with Federal customer due diligence requirements. The notice provides answers to questions regarding the duplicative reporting requirement to both a financial institution and FinCEN.
Attached is the complete “Notice to Customers — Beneficial Ownership Information Reference Guide.”
- Will an entity potentially have to provide beneficial ownership information to both FinCEN and a financial institution? FinCEN and financial institutions both collect beneficial ownership information from entities. However, they collect that information for different reasons and, in some cases, may collect different types of information. If an entity is required to report beneficial ownership information to FinCEN, that requirement cannot be fulfilled by providing beneficial ownership information to a financial institution.
- Are FinCEN and financial institutions collecting the exact same beneficial ownership information? The two charts in this guide compare the requirements. FinCEN and financial institutions do not collect the exact same types of beneficial ownership information. For example, financial institutions are required to collect social security numbers of beneficial owners, but social security numbers are not required to be reported to FinCEN.
A reminder from FinCEN:
FinCEN began accepting beneficial ownership reports pursuant to the CTA on January 1, 2024.
- If your company was created or registered prior to January 1, 2024, you have until January 1, 2025, to report.
- If your company is created or registered in 2024, you must report within 90 calendar days after receiving actual or public notice that your company’s creation or registration is effective, whichever is earlier.
- If your company is created or registered on or after January 1, 2025, you must report within 30 calendar days after receiving actual or public notice that its creation or registration is effective.
- Any updates or corrections to beneficial ownership information that you previously filed with FinCEN must be submitted within 30 calendar days.