What I’ve Learned About Filing the Beneficial Ownership Information
This is a new Federal requirement this year, and it’s a requirement of all businesses to file with US Treasury Department – Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. “The mission of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 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.”
We had been hearing about this new rule most of last year and were planning to act early on it once the year turned over to 2024. There’s some documents and artifacts you’ll need when you’re ready to file and I’ve listed them below. There’s also a Step-by-Step Guide that has been made available for you to download and follow along. The main Help page is here for other useful resources around this topic.
Information you’ll need to file:
- Your credentials with Login.gov
- A FinCen ID
- FEIN or Social Security Number
- Beneficial Owners contact information
- Documentation proof (State ID or Drivers License or Passport)
Link to the FinCen BOI main page
Overall, it doesn’t take long to file your information. Having all of our information in an easily accessible location or on your person will make the process quicker. Be sure to click on the button to add a beneficiary if your business has more than one. It was easy for me to miss the blue button on the right to do that and had to go back and edit the form. Once you’ve submitted your information you’ll be presented with a screen that shows your BOIR ID and the Status of your form along with your contact information. Download and save that for your records. If you’re someone who prints documents, do that and store this some where you’ll be able to recall it if you need it.
