Home › FINCEN BOI Reporting Requirements for 2025
Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) is crucial in understanding who ultimately owns or controls a company. This introduction to BOI outlines the basics of beneficial ownership, including who is considered a beneficial owner and the requirements for reporting this information, aiming to enhance transparency and accountability in business operations.
Take the interactive BOI reporting survey to check if reporting is required for your company.
Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) refers to identifying the individuals who directly or indirectly own or control a company. BOI Reporting, as the name suggests, refers to reporting information regarding the ownership of a company.
Beneficial Owners are individuals who either directly or indirectly:
There are four different ways that an individual can exercise substantial control. An individual is considered to be exercising significant control if they fall into any of the following four categories:
The individual is a senior officer (president, CEO, CFO, etc.)
The individual has the authority to appoint or remove other officers, directors, or similar officials of the reporting company.
The individual is an important decision-maker in the reporting company.
The individual has another form of substantial control.
Take the interactive BOI reporting survey to check if reporting is required for your company.
Companies that are required to report BOI are called reporting companies. There are two types:
Domestic reporting companies are corporations, limited liability companies, and other entities created by filing a document with the secretary of state or similar office in the U.S.
Foreign reporting companies are entities formed under the law of a foreign country that have registered to do business in the U.S. by filing a document with the secretary of state or similar office.
A variety of information is required for a BOI report. The information required also depends on when the company was created/registered.
If a company was created/registered on or after this date, then the reporting company must include information on the company, its beneficial owners, and its company applicants.
If a company was created/registered before this date, then the reporting company must include information about the company and its beneficial owners.
A reporting company must report the following information about itself:
For beneficial owners and company applicants, the information required will be the same, but if the company applicant works in a corporate formation, then the reporting company must use the company applicant’s business address. If not, then the company applicant’s residential address must be used.
For companies created/registered on or after January 1, 2024, the reporting company must report the following information about its company applicants:
Driver’s license, identification document issued by a U.S. state or local government, or Indian Tribe, passport issued by the U.S. government, or passport issued by a foreign government
Provide a copy of a non-expired form of identification.
The deadline to report BOI to FinCEN varies depending on when the business was created.
If the reporting company was created/registered before January 1, 2024, then they will have until January 1, 2025, to submit their first BOI report.
If the reporting company was created/registered between January 1, 2024, and January 1, 2025, then they will have 90 calendar days after receiving notice that the business was created/registered to complete their first BOI report.
If the reporting company was created/registered on or after January 1, 2025, then they will have 30 calendar days after receiving notice that the business was created/registered to complete their first BOI report.
Yes, these penalties are specified in the Corporate Transparency Act. If a person willfully violates the BOI reporting requirements, then they may be subject to civil penalties of up to $500 per day. They may also be subject to criminal penalties of up to two years imprisonment and fines of up to $10,000. Violations include:
Yes, there are 23 types of entities that are exempt from BOI reporting requirements. These include entities that are publicly traded companies that meet certain requirements, many nonprofit organizations, and certain large operating companies. These entity exemptions are as follows:
| Exempt Entities from BOI | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Securities reporting issuer | Governmental authority | Bank | Credit union |
| Depository institution holding company | Money services business | Broker or dealer in securities | Securities exchange or clearing agency |
| Other Exchange Act registered entity | Investment company or investment adviser | Venture capital fund adviser | Insurance company |
| State-licensed insurance producer | Commodity Exchange Act registered entity | Accounting firm | Public utility |
| Financial market utility | Pooled investment vehicle | Tax-exempt entity | Entity assisting a tax-exempt entity |
| Large operating company | Subsidiary of certain exempt entities | Inactive entity | |
The easiest way to check if BOI reporting is required for your business is to follow our flow chart below.
Takes Only 30 Seconds
BoomTax and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal, and accounting advisors prior to engaging in any transaction.
