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Tell HN: US companies must file a BOI report by Jan 1 to avoid fines and prison

by agwa on 11/11/24, 8:47 PM with 1 comments

A new US law requires all corporations and LLCs to file a "BOI report" containing information about the company's "beneficial owners" by January 1. It's a one-time filing, but a new filing must be made within 30 days of any change (e.g. an owner moves).

The penalties for non-compliance are steep: $500/day fines, and up to 2 years in prison. I'm not sure how small businesses are expected to learn about this; I had not heard about it until my accountant emailed me.

Here's the link to file the report: https://boiefiling.fincen.gov/

More information about the law: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2015

  • by JohnFen on 11/11/24, 8:51 PM

    > I'm not sure how small businesses are expected to learn about this; I had not heard about it until my accountant emailed me.

    That's how I'd expect small businesses to learn about this. Keeping up with regulatory changes is one of the reasons why having an accountant (and attorney) are not really optional. If you don't have them, then it's on you to keep up with regulatory changes yourself. That's pretty onerous, particularly if you don't subscribe to the data services that accountants and attorneys subscribe to. Which you probably don't because they're so expensive that it's far cheaper to hire an accountant or attorney who subscribes to them instead.

    It's also good to keep in mind that when regulatory changes like this happen, agencies tend not to be extremely hardnosed about compliance immediately. If you fail to comply in time, you're not likely to get hit with a fine and certainly not prison (unless you're already on their shit list for something, anyway). You're going to get a letter telling you to comply.