Supreme Court Weighs In
On Jan.23, 2025, the Supreme Court granted the government’s motion to stay a nationwide injunction issued by a federal judge in Texas (Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. v. McHenry—formerly, Texas Top Cop Shop v. Garland). As a separate nationwide order issued by a different federal judge in Texas (Smith v. U.S. Department of the Treasury) remains in place, reporting companies are still not currently required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN despite the Supreme Court’s action in Texas Top Cop Shop.
Reporting companies also are not subject to liability if they fail to file this information while the Smith order remains in force. However, reporting companies may continue to voluntarily submit beneficial ownership information reports.
As indicated in FinCEN’s release, there still is a stay with regards to companies being required to file reports but companies can continue to voluntarily file.
January 2, 2025 Update
On Dec. 26, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an order vacating their previous ruling. Therefore, as of Jan. 2, 2025, the preliminary injunction remains in place. This means reporting companies are not required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN as of the date of this publication.
However, on Dec. 31, 2024, the government asked the Supreme Court for an emergency order to reinstate the reporting requirements.
Stay tuned for further updates on the status of beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).
By: Kevin Dunn, CPA, Director, Tax & Business Advisory Services & Tyler Gabalski, CPA, Manager, Tax & Business Advisory Services
