On Sunday, March 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of Treasury announced, with respect to the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), that it will not enforce penalties or fines for beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting failures by U.S. citizens or domestic reporting companies.
- FinCEN had previously announced that it would not enforce penalties or fines for BOI reporting failures under existing regulatory deadlines.
- Now, Treasury will not enforce penalties or fines for BOI reporting failures even after forthcoming rule changes take effect.
Essentially, these changes mean that any U.S. citizen or domestic reporting company that fails to properly report under the CTA will not be subject to any penalties or fines. Treasury cannot eliminate the legal obligation to file BOI reports because it is a law enacted by Congress. What Treasury can do, and has done, is eliminate any penalties of fines for not complying with BOI reporting requirements, but only for U.S. citizens and domestic reporting companies. The announcement does not apply to resident aliens, non-resident aliens, and foreign reporting companies. While this relief from penalties and fines does not apply to these foreign persons and companies, Treasury will be issuing further proposed rules that will narrow the scope of the CTA for foreign reporting companies.
In making the announcement, Treasury Secretary Bessent said:
“This is a victory for common sense… Today’s action is part of President Trump’s bold agenda to unleash American prosperity by reining in burdensome regulations, in particular for small businesses that are the backbone of the American economy.”
