FinCEN Issues Final Rule on Corporate Transparency Act Reporting Requirements  

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a Final Rule, effective August 14, 2026, adopting FinCEN’s 2025 Interim Final Rule, which narrowed the beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements under the federal Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) to apply only to non-U.S. companies registered to do business in any U.S. state.  Like the Interim Final Rule, the Final Rule exempts non-U.S. companies from having to report the BOI of beneficial owners who are U.S. persons.  In addition, the Final Rule exempts non-U.S. companies from having to submit information about “company applicants” who are U.S. persons.  FinCEN has also stated its intent to delete from its BOI database all previously reported information about U.S. persons in a one-time sweep. 

Essentially, under FinCEN’s Final Rule, U.S. companies no longer need to file or update BOI reports. While BOI reporting obligations for certain non-U.S. companies and non-U.S. persons remain, those non-U.S. companies no longer need to report BOI on beneficial owners and company applicants who are U.S. persons.  

Key BOI Reporting Terms

Beneficial Owner: A “beneficial owner” is an individual who either directly or indirectly: (1) exercises “substantial control” over the reporting company, or (2) “owns or controls” at least 25% of the reporting company’s “ownership interests”.  (FinCEN FAQ #D.1.) (The meaning of “substantial control”, “owns or controls” and “ownership interests” is discussed in FinCEN’s FAQs found in FinCEN.gov)   

Company Applicant: A “company applicant” is: (1) the individual who directly files the document that creates or registers the company; and, (2) If more than one person is involved in the filing, the individual who is primarily responsible for directing or controlling the filing. (FinCEN FAQ #E.1.)

FinCEN Identifier: A “FinCEN identifier” is a unique identifying number that FinCEN will issue to an individual or reporting company upon request after the individual or reporting company provides certain information to FinCEN. (FinCEN FAQ #M.1.) 

How the CTA Reporting Rules Have Evolved 

The CTA and its implementing regulations, effective January 1, 2024, required all non-exempt “reporting companies” to provide FinCEN with certain information about the reporting company, its “beneficial owners”, and, for those reporting companies formed or registered on or after the CTA’s effective date, information about the reporting company’s “company applicants.”  The CTA’s implementing regulations define the terms “reporting company”, “beneficial owner” and “company applicant”.  Originally, the definition of “reporting company” included both U.S. companies and certain non-U.S. companies. However, in March 2025, FinCEN issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) narrowing the definition of “reporting company” to apply only to non-U.S. companies and excluding U.S. companies from the CTA’s BOI reporting requirements.  The IFR also exempted non-U.S. reporting companies from having to report information about any “beneficial owners” who are U.S. persons.   

Effective August 14, 2026, FinCEN adopted the IFR as a Final Rule, exempting U.S. companies from the BOI reporting requirements and exempting non-US companies from having to report BOI on U.S. persons.  In addition, the Final Rule also exempts non-U.S. companies from having to submit information about “company applicants” who are US persons; and, the Final Rule states that all U.S. persons who have obtained “FinCEN Identifiers” will no longer be required to update or correct their information with FinCEN.  FinCEN has also stated its intent to delete from its BOI database all previously reported information about U.S. persons, both beneficial owners and company applicants alike, in a one-time sweep.  

What the Final Rule Means for BOI Reporting 

Under FinCEN’s Final Rule, U.S. companies are exempt from the CTA’s BOI reporting requirements and are no longer required to file BOI reports.  “Reporting Companies” (now only certain non-U.S. companies) do not need to report BOI for those “beneficial owners” or “company applicants” who are U.S. persons.  

Unless they are subject to one or more of the CTA’s 23 exemptions, these non-U.S. reporting companies are still required to submit BOI reports to FinCEN and include information about any beneficial owners or company applicants that are non-U.S. persons. 

U.S. persons are not required to provide their information to “reporting companies”, and FinCEN is no longer requiring U.S. persons who have obtained FinCEN IDs to update or correct the information they submitted to FinCEN previously.  FinCEN has stated its intent to delete all information regarding U.S. persons from the BOI database. FinCEN has not indicated when it will sweep the database, only that it will be a one-time event.  Therefore, any information about U.S. persons contained in BOI reports submitted after the one-time sweep will remain in the BOI database.   

Notably, while FinCEN has stated that the Final Rule permanently exempts U.S. entities and U.S. persons from the CTA’s BOI reporting requirements, the CTA as it was written and passed by Congress has not been repealed.  Federal legislation to repeal the CTA is pending, as are some of the several lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the CTA.  If Congress passes pending federal bill H.R. 425 and its companion bill S.100, both titled “Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act”, the CTA would be repealed in its entirety. If the CTA is not repealed, it still faces court challenges. If the CTA survives in these hurdles, it is unclear whether its full scope will someday be revived and enforced.    

Cogency Global is monitoring H.R. 425/S.100 and court cases for further developments.    

_{This content is provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered, or relied upon, as legal advice.}