How to File Your BOIR (2024 Requirement for Business Owners)

12/04/24

*Note: Please read the edit at the bottom of this article.”

If you own a business, chances are that starting in 2024 you need to file a BOIR (Beneficial Ownership Information Report). This is a new requirement from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a branch of the United States Department of Treasury. Beginning in 2024 they require every business to fill out a BOIR as a way to disclose its owners.

The reason is that in the past it has been easy for a company to list another company as its owner. That second company can list yet another company as its owner, and that can continue on, leaving confusion on what individuals are actually behind a company. This can create fraud that is hard to track. The BOIR filing creates a requirement that individual people need to identify themselves as the owner(s), which creates transparency in ownership.

If your company was already in existence before 01/01/24, you need to make sure you file the BOIR by 12/31/2024. If you established your company throughout 2024 or establish it in the future, you need to file the BOIR within 90 days of the company’s formation.

The BOIR is free to fill out and file, but there can be a civil penalty in the form of a $500 per day maximum fine if you forget to do so. Willful failure to report the BOIR or providing false information can result in criminal charges.

More information including a list of exempt entities and instructions on how to file the BOIR can be found here: BOI E-FILING

Please let me know if you would like help filling out your BOIR, and I will help you do this for free.

EDIT: Ironically, news just came out that this has been overturned and companies do not have to file as of now, but it sounds like more appeals are coming to attempt to reverse the reversal. I’d rather play it safe and file now rather than later, but that is up to each business owner.

*Please talk with me about your specific situation. Do not use this article alone to determine if you need to file a BOIR. I never charge for meetings or advice; I only get paid directly from accounts I manage.