Corporate Transparency Act Back in Effect; FinCEN Sets 1/13/25 Deadline for Most Companies

On December 23, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Government's emergency motion for a stay of the injunction against enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act ("CTA") pending appeal. With the injunction lifted, non-exempt reporting companies must once again comply with CTA filing requirements. However, FinCEN has extended the reporting deadline in the following manner:

Reporting companies that were created or registered prior to January 1, 2024 have until January 13, 2025 to file their initial Beneficial Ownership Information Reports with FinCEN.
Reporting companies created or registered in the United States on or after September 4, 2024 that had a filing deadline between December 3, 2024 and December 23, 2024 have until January 13, 2025 to file their initial beneficial ownership information reports with FinCEN.
Reporting companies created or registered in the United States on or after December 3, 2024 and on or before December 23, 2024 have an additional 21 days from their original filing deadline to file their initial beneficial ownership information reports with FinCEN.
Reporting companies that qualify for disaster relief may have extended deadlines that fall beyond January 13, 2025. These companies should abide by whichever deadline falls later.
Reporting companies that are created or registered in the United States on or after January 1, 2025 have 30 days to file their initial beneficial ownership information reports with FinCEN after receiving actual or public notice that their creation or registration is effective.

Please note that FinCEN's deadline extension notification does not address reporting companies created or registered between January 1, 2024 and September 3, 2024. The filing deadline for these companies has not been extended.

What's Next?

While the Government's emergency motion was granted, litigation continues. The Fifth Circuit has also ordered that the appeal be expedited to the next available oral argument panel. As of now, however, non-exempt reporting companies must file their beneficial ownership information reports prior to the applicable deadline.