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The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”), which became effective January 1, 2024, imposes strict reporting guidelines on small business owners throughout the country. The deadline for non-exempt businesses to submit reporting is December 31, 2024.

The civil penalty for failing to file reporting required under the CTA if $591 per day, up to a total of $10,000. Also note that criminal penalties are authorized for any person who willfully (i) provides or attempts to provide false/fraudulent information or (ii) fails to report and/or update a report previously made.

If you are the beneficial owner of an entity formed pursuant to a filing with a state secretary of state’s office (i.e., an LLC or a corporation), your entity must report. There are a few exemptions to this reporting requirement. If an entity meets an exemption, it does not need to presently report.  However, if an exemption ever becomes inapplicable to the entity, the entity then has 30 days to report. 

Completed reports are not public record; reporting is maintained by the financial crimes wing of the Department of the Treasury in a database that’s only accessible by state and federal law enforcement.

To avoid facing a potential steep fine to kick of your 2025 fiscal year, or to better understand whether your entity needs to report, please do not hesitate to contact BMD Attorney Jacob R. Davis (jrdavis@bmdllc.com).

For a more detailed overview on the CTA, click here.