FinCEN Narrows Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements to Foreign Entities

This post has been updated.

In a win for NAHB and the small business community, the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published an interim final rule on beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements that narrows the BOI reporting requirements to foreign reporting companies only. The rule states that domestic reporting companies “are exempted from the reporting requirements and do not have to report BOI to FinCEN, or update or correct BOI previously reported to FinCEN.”

In addition, foreign entities will not be required to report any U.S. persons as beneficial owners, and U.S. persons will not be required to report BOI with respect to any such entity for which they are a beneficial owner.

NAHB and a coalition of associations applauded the agency for this rule in a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent:

“This rule appropriately narrows the scope of entities required to report BOI by exempting domestic reporting companies and U.S. persons who are beneficial owners of foreign reporting companies. By doing so, the [Treasury] Department has alleviated substantial compliance burdens that would have disproportionately affected law-abiding Main Street businesses, while also shifting to a risk-based enforcement protocol that will ultimately strengthen the effectiveness of the [Corporate Transparency Act].”

NAHB has actively advocated to protect small businesses amid these requirements, including working with lawmakers to provide ample time to understand and comply with these reporting rules and filing an amicus brief to question their constitutionality.

This rule is effective March 26, 2025.