OMAHA (DTN) -- The U.S. Treasury Department has set a new deadline for companies, including farms, to file their beneficial ownership information (BOI) with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The notice also suggests a rule change to reduce the regulation is in the works.
On Wednesday, Feb. 19, Treasury updated its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) website, stating most companies now have a March 21, 2025, deadline to file their beneficial ownership information (BOI). Under a Feb. 18 decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the department posted that the BOI requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act are back in effect. FinCEN then extended the filing deadline to March 21.
The notice included, "FinCEN will assess its options for further modifying deadlines." The Treasury statement added, "Notably, in keeping with Treasury's commitment to reducing regulatory burden on businesses, during this 30-day period FinCEN will assess its options to further modify deadlines, while prioritizing reporting for those entities that post the most significant national security risks."
Treasury added that FinCEN will look at ways to revise the BOI rule "to reduce burden for lower-risk entities, including many U.S. small businesses."
The BOI requirement has been frozen and reinstated multiple times since December under different court orders.
The BOI rule affects more than 32 million businesses nationally, including an estimated 230,000 farm operations. The rule stems from the 2021 Corporate Transparency Act, which requires businesses to provide their business information from state incorporation reports to FinCEN. The law was passed as a way to curb financial crimes such as money laundering and fraud.
BOI details are free to file on the FinCEN website. However, companies that fail to file could face penalties of $591 a day. People who willfully violate the requirements could face up to a $10,000 fine and up to two years in prison.
Beneficial owners include anyone with a significant stake in the company, whether or not they have direct legal ties to the business. This may include holding at least 25% of a company's shares, having a similar level of control over the company's equity or holding significant influence over the company's decisions and operations (i.e., the authority to exercise substantial managerial control over the reporting company). Should a business become involved in illegal activities, each stakeholder would be held accountable for the crimes of the business.
Filings must include all personal information, such as addresses, dates of birth and identification numbers for each owner. While this report does not have to be renewed after the initial filing, any changes, such as a new address, new driver's licenses or name change, all require updated filings. Since having control over a business' operations qualifies as beneficial ownership, a restructuring of job duties, even if the person does not have a legal ownership stake in the company, could also trigger requirements to file updates.
Beyond Treasury reducing the filing burdens, there are multiple bills in Congress seeking to repeal the BOI requirements. Republican lawmakers have filed bills such as the "Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act," which was introduced in both the House and Senate on Jan. 25.
For farmers and others who opt to file, they should also be cautious against fake websites for registering businesses. BOI filings on the FinCEN website are free of charge. Also, using a third-party website to file the information means providing personal data to that website.
For more information, see the FinCEN website: https://fincen.gov/…
Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com
Follow him on social platform X @ChrisClaytonDTN
(c) Copyright 2025 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.