Have You Submitted Your BOI Report?
If you own a business, have you heard about the new FinCEN / BOI registration requirement?
FinCEN stands for Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and their mission is:
“to safeguard the financial system from illicit use, combat money laundering and its related crimes including terrorism, and promote national security through the strategic use of financial authorities and the collection, analysis, and dissemination of financial intelligence.”
BOI stands for Beneficial Ownership Information.
Basically, this reporting is supposed to be a way to help prevent financial crimes, as well as the use of funds for committing crimes. You can find out more about FinCEN here.
I’m wondering how many criminals will comply and register. Yes, I’m being cynical.
I put off registering until I had a couple of free hours in my day. I figured if the IRS had a hand in any part of this, it would most likely be unnecessarily long and complicated.
I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t long and complicated after all. I could have finished the entire process in 10 minutes or less if I hadn’t taken notes to use for this article.
Here’s where you can find out if you need to file: IRS website and FinCEN website
Here is an overview: https://www.fincen.gov/boi
Here’s their FAQ page: https://www.fincen.gov/boi-faqs
Here’s what you need to do to register:
(Heads up – read the last step first so you’re ready for it, then proceed!)
*Go to: https://boiefiling.fincen.gov
*Select BOI E-Filing (Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting)
You can file via PDF, online or API.
There are drop-down help boxes above each question. They do a decent job of explaining in plain language what is being asked.
*If this is your first filing, you’ll select the option: Request to receive FinCEN ID
The rest is pretty self-explanatory:
Legal name
DBA name
EIN or SS
Address
*There are two “company type” options:
1- Was your company stablished before January 1, 2024?
If so, you’re an “existing company.” You’ll be able to skip a number of questions and move to Part III, where you will enter your owner information.
2 – Was your company established after January 1, 2024?
If so, you’re a “new company.” Answer the questions.
*Don’t have your FinCEN number?
If you’re reading this, you most likely don’t, so answer the additional questions.
*IMPORTANT – When your submission is accepted, be sure to do the following before closing your browser and menu:
*Save the page or screenshot it
*Notate your new FinCEN ID number listed on the screen
*Download the transcript
Once you close your browser, it’s not obvious where to get this information. By digitally saving it onto your device, you have it at your fingertips.
I only found out about this requirement because a client happened to mention it. Please be sure to share this with your fellow business owners!
For time management tips related to paperwork and document management, take a peek at The Inefficiency Assassin: Time Management Tactics for Working Smarter, Not Longer.