FinCEN: Companies not required to file BOI despite Supreme Court ruling

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said reporting companies are not required to file beneficial ownership information despite a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning a lower court injunction.

Court Decision: In Texas Top Cop Shop Inc. v. McHenry, the Supreme Court last week granted a motion to stay a nationwide injunction issued by a federal judge that prevented enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act. That law requires businesses to report beneficial ownership information, or BOI, to FinCEN.

FinCEN Response: However, FinCEN posted an alert on its beneficial ownership information webpage that says a separate nationwide injunction issued by a different federal judge in Smith v. U.S. Department of the Treasury remains in place. As a result, reporting companies are not currently required to file beneficial ownership information, though they may continue to voluntarily submit reports, FinCEN said.

Background: The latest legal action on BOI requirements follows a slew of activity in late 2024:

• The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on Dec. 3 granted a request for a preliminary injunction to block the Treasury Department from enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act’s BOI reporting requirements.
• On Dec. 23, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a stay of the district court’s preliminary injunction and FinCEN extended reporting deadlines.
• On Dec. 26, however, a different panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an order vacating the Dec. 23 order granting a stay of the preliminary injunction.

ICBA View: ICBA has repeatedly called for FinCEN to withdraw the requirement that banks collect BOI.