FinCEN

This is arguably one of the more important tasks in owning a company. While other formalities help establishing a separate corporate identity, failing to register with FinCEN can come with severe penalties.

Business “entities,” such as a company (LLC) or a corporation (Inc.), MUST register with US Treasury. For simplicity, the entities are generically called “companies” here. There are exceptions, but for the most part any company that owns something or generated $1,000 in revenue has to report. So, a dormant company might not.

Large companies, which are typically doing some other reporting to Federal regulators, are exempt from this because it would amount to double reporting.

1. The company must register.
2. The beneficial owners must be identified.
3. The person or company doing the reporting must be identified.

A Beneficial Owner is anyone that owns 25% or more of the company; OR, have substantial control.

There is a penalty that is indexed. As of November, 2024, the penalty is $591 PER DAY. There is also potential of jail time, but most likely only in the case of clear intend to violate the reporting requirements.

• FinCEN.gov has great resources to explain the requirements, as well as completing the registration.
• Talk to your attorney. Some accountants are doing the registration, while some have been given guidance that help in this area might be legal advice.

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