Corporate Transparency Act Reporting Requirements Back in Effect with Extended Reporting Deadline; FinCEN Announces Intention to Revise Reporting Rule

Following the February 18, 2025, decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Smith, et al. v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, et al., 6:24-cv-00336, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has announced that beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act are back in effect, with a new deadline of March 21, 2025 for most companies. Newly formed companies after February 20, 2025 will have 30 days from formation to file. Existing companies that modify beneficial owners or addresses or any other information after February 20, 2025 have 30 days to file an amendment as the rules apparently currently read.

FinCEN has also announced that it will assess its options to further modify deadlines, while prioritizing reporting for those entities that pose the most significant national security risks. FinCEN intends to initiate a process this year to revise the BOI reporting rule to reduce burden for lower-risk entities, including many U.S. small businesses.

What this means for you? If you are a registered entity (LLC, Corporation, Partnership, etc) with the state of Arizona (or any other state), you must file the forms reporting your company's beneficial owners. The form must be submitted electronically through the FinCen website. There are no fees associated with the report.

While this requirement is a one-time filing, report updates are required (within 30 days) if there are any business name or address changes, ownership information changes or document changes (Driver's License or Passport numbers). More information can be found on FinCen's website, along with their FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) to help guide you through the process. At this time, our office is not filing these reports on your behalf, but we can refer you to an attorney to assist you with the process (for a fee).

The 2024 tax filing season is well under way. Our estimated completion time is currently 1-2 weeks. Of course this may take longer if we are awaiting additional information. While we do not offer in office appointments during tax season, we are happy to meet to review your taxes after completion or after April 30th for tax planning. Please call the office for details. Current IRS & AZ state refund times are estimated between 10-15 days. If you chose to have your tax liability payment be automatically debited from your bank account, expect those to debit on April 15th 2025.

During tax season our office is open Monday-Friday 8am to 5pm.

While we accept your tax documents in all the usual methods, we now have a drop "slot" for your tax documents! The slot is located to the left of our front door under the "DROPBOX" sticker and is available 24 hours/7 days a week. While the slot is secure and cannot be accessed by anyone other than office personnel, please enclose your documents within an envelope to ensure your documents stay together.

Reminder: Completed Questionnaire's and signed Engagement Letters are Required for 2024 Tax Completion

****AZ Tax credit donations are no longer eligible to be deducted as charitable donations on Schedule A of the 1040 Federal Return.

****NOTE TO TAXPAYER: You must have a tax liability for at least the amount of your donation in order to take a tax credit. In other words, if you only owe $500 to the state of Arizona, you cannot receive $1,000 in tax credits.