URGENT BREAKING NEWS: COURTS REINSTATE CTA; FINCEN SETS COMPLIANCE DEADLINE
The great legal ping-pong battle continues! On Monday, February 17, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas stayed the nationwide injunction on the Corporate Transparency Act previously issued in the Smith v. United States Department of Treasury case. This means that, once again, community associations are required to submit Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reports. Judge Kernodle cited the Supreme Court of the United States’ order in the Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. case as the basis for staying the preliminary injunction pending appeal.
In response, FinCEN issued a Notice acknowledging that reporting companies may need additional time to comply with their BOI reporting obligations and that they are generally extending the deadline by 30 calendar days to March 21, 2025. FinCEN also indicated that there will be a further update before this deadline addressing any additional modifications and indicated that it intends to initiate a process this year to revise the BOI reporting rule to prioritize those entities that pose the most significant national security risks and reduce the burden for lower-risk entities. The complete FinCEN Notice may be read here: FinCEN Notice, FIN-2025-CTA1, 2/18/2025.
There is also pending legislation that could further impact the existing reporting deadlines. H.R. 736 was introduced to delay the CTA’s implementation for pre-existing entities to January 1, 2026, and unanimously passed in the House last week, sending it to the Senate’s Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee for consideration. A similar bill, S. 505 was introduced in the Senate that would have the same effect.?