Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Deadline

A new Federal reporting requirement is requiring businesses – farms included – to report information to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as part of the 2021 Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) to crack down on illicit finance activity by finding out who the “Beneficial Owners” are of a business or who ultimately owns or controls businesses in the United States. Aimed at looking for foreign-owned entities, the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting is required for all C-Corporations, S-Corporations, Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), and any other company created in the U.S. that has filing requirements with the secretary of state or a comparable office under state law.

“Beneficial Owners” are any individuals who directly or indirectly exercise substantial control or own/control at least 25 percent of the ownership interests of the company. Accordingly, even single-member LLCs that do not have to file their own tax return, must file the BOI. However, these filing requirements do not affect farmers that do not have their farms set up in one of the three entity types (C-Corp, S-Corp, LLC).

The information that FinCEN is collecting is as follows:

• For each Beneficial Owner:
  • Name
  • Date of Birth
  • Address
  • Image of a non-expired unique identifying document such as a U.S. passport or state driver’s license
• For the Entity (Business)
  • Name
  • If applicable, trade name or doing business as (DBA) name
  • Address
  • If applicable, foreign entities must list jurisdiction of formation and registration
  • Tax identification number
• Other Information or Certifications
  • Information about the company applicant(s)
  • Certification by the individual filing the report with FinCEN that the report is true, correct, and complete

Information is to be reported electronically through the FinCEN website: www.fincen.gov/boi. The deadline to report BOI is January 1, 2025 if the company was created prior to 2024. For companies created in 2024, the company has 90 days to file after creation or receiving notice that registration is effective, whichever comes first. Companies created or registered in 2025 will have 30 days to file. Businesses that do not comply to the reporting requirements could face a fine of $500 a day up to $10,000, or two years imprisonment. More information can be found at the website above or by contacting your attorney or accountant.

Kitty Charlton, Extension Associate, Department of Agricultural Economics, Email: khe28@msstate.edu

Brian E. Mills, Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Email: b.mills@msstate.edu

Kevin Kim, Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Email: knk222@msstate.edu