NEWSLETTERS

March 2024 - Monthly Newsletter

Please find below this month's newsletter.

In this month's newsletter, we provide a tax alert on the new BOI Report requirement for US companies.

Key Upcoming Federal Filing Due Dates:

March 15, 2024 is the tax return due date for calendar-year foreign trusts with a U.S. owner, unless an extension request is filed.

March 15, 2024 is also the tax return due date for calendar-year S Corporations and U.S. partnerships, unless an extension request is filed.

Filing taxes should be simple, whether you're at home or abroad.

With Expat Tax Professionals, we make filing a snap anywhere in the world.

Tax Alert (New in 2024!) - BOI Reports for US Companies

 

Background. The Corporate Transparency Act (signed into law on January 1, 2021) expanded anti-money laundering laws and created new a federal reporting requirement called a beneficial ownership information (BOI) report for certain companies doing business in the US.

Beginning in 2024, many small businesses are required to report information about their beneficial owners to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in an effort to create a national database for use by national security and law enforcement agencies to prevent the use of shell companies for criminal activity.

While we generally do not assist with these reports (they are not tax forms and they are not required annually), given the newness of this requirement and the steep penalties for non-compliance (up to $10,000 and potentially imprisonment), we have dedicated this newsletter to updating you on this topic, so if relevant, you can arrange to ensure that you are compliant.

If you would like us to assist with this report, please contact us and we will provide a fee quote for this service.

BOI Reports. Beginning in 2024, US reporting companies (and certain foreign reporting companies) are required to file BOI reports. A company is considered a reporting company if a document was filed with the secretary of state (SOS) or similar office under US state law to create or register the entity. US corporations (including S corporations), US LLCs, US limited partnerships, and other entities formed through the SOS are subject to the reporting requirements. But, because sole proprietorships, trusts, and general partnerships do not require the filing of a formal document with an SOS, they generally are not considered a reporting company and will not have a filing requirement. (While not common amongst our clients, we note that foreign companies are also required to file reports if they are registered with an SOS or similar office under US state law.)

Some companies are exempt from reporting, but many of the exempted companies are already required to report ownership information to a governmental authority. Of particular interest to you may be the exemption for large operating companies. A large operating company is any entity with (a) more than 20 full-time US employees, (b) an operating presence at a physical office within the US, and (c) more than $5,000,000 of US-sourced gross receipts reported on its prior year federal income tax return. If you meet these qualifications, you are not subject to the new reporting requirements.

What Information Must be Provided. Beneficial ownership information (BOI) must be reported for the reporting company's beneficial owners and (for entities formed or registered after 2023) company applicants. BOI includes an individual's full legal name, date of birth, street address and a unique ID number. The unique ID number can be from a non-expired US passport, state driver's license, or other government-issued ID card. If the individual does not have any of those documents, then a non-expired foreign passport can be used. An image of the document showing the unique ID number must also be included with the report.

Beneficial Owners. Two groups of individuals are considered beneficial owners of a reporting company: (1) any individual who directly or indirectly owns or controls at least 25% of the ownership interests of the reporting company; or (2) any individual who exercises substantial control over the reporting company.

Individuals with substantial control are those with substantial influence over important decisions about a reporting company's business, finances, and structure. Senior officers (president, CFO, general counsel, CEO, COO, and any other officer who performs a similar function) are automatically deemed to have substantial control, as are individuals with the authority to appoint or remove senior officers and board members. There is no requirement that these individuals have actual ownership in the company to be a considered a beneficial owner for reporting purposes.

Company Applicants. The company applicant is the person who actually files the document that creates or registers the reporting company (e.g., an attorney). Company applicants must provide the same information that is required of beneficial owners, but only if the reporting company is formed or registered after 2023. Because of the difficulty in tracking down information about company applicants for reporting companies that have been in existence for a number of years, reporting companies formed or registered before 2024 do not have to supply BOI for their company applicants.

Important Filing Dates. For existing reporting companies created or registered before 2024, the initial report is due by January 1, 2025. For reporting companies created or registered in 2024, the initial report is due 90 days after the entity's creation or registration. For reporting companies created or registered after 2024, the initial report is due 30 days after the entity's creation or registration.

If there is a change to previously reported information about the reporting company or its beneficial owners, an updated report must be filed within 30 days of the change. So, it is imperative that your company implement a system to identify reportable changes and file an updated report with FinCEN in a timely manner. The penalties for willfully failing to file both initial and updated reports are steep-$500 per day that the report is late, up to $10,000 and imprisonment for up to two years.

How to File. BOI reports must be filed electronically. FinCEN's e-filing portal, available at https://boiefiling.fincen.gov/, provides two methods to submit a report: (1) by filling out a web-based version of the form and submitting it online, or (2) by uploading a completed PDF version of the BOI report. Some third-party service providers may also offer the ability to file the BOI report through their software. The person who submits the BOI report will need to provide their name and email address to FinCEN. There is no fee for filing the report.

FinCEN also has a Small Entity Compliance Guide and frequently asked questions to help guide businesses through the reporting requirements. These are available at https://www.fincen.gov/boi/small-business-resources.

*March 2024 Update - We note that during this month, a federal district judge in Alabama ruled that the BOI reporting required under the Corporate Transparency Act is an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s enumerated powers. The case is being appealed to the 11th Circuit, so it remains to be seen if the decision will be affirmed. For now, companies are being encouraged to comply with the reporting rules until the Appeals Court, and then possibly the Supreme Court, makes a final ruling.
 

This month's expat tax blogs.