U.S. Treasury ends beneficial ownership reporting for domestic companies

The U.S. Treasury Department has finalized a rule that permanently exempts domestic companies and U.S. persons from the beneficial ownership reporting requirements established by the 2021 Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) will no longer require U.S. businesses to disclose owners' names, addresses, or identifying documents to federal investigators.

As part of this rollback, FinCEN announced it will delete previously collected beneficial ownership information belonging to U.S. business owners from its database. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the move as a victory for small businesses and a way to eliminate burdensome red tape without compromising national security.

The exemption does not apply to all entities. Foreign companies registered to do business in the United States must still disclose beneficial ownership information for foreign individuals. However, these foreign entities are now exempt from reporting information regarding U.S. citizens who assist with their registration. Additionally, foreign pooled investment vehicles registered in the U.S. are exempt from disclosing the ownership details of U.S. persons who control them.