FinCEN adopts final rule under Corporate Transparency Act finalzing exemption benefiting only U.S. domestic entities and U.S. individuals 

The United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) adopted a Final Rule (effective August 14, 2026) exempting U.S. and tribal formed entities and U.S. individuals from reporting beneficial ownership information (BOI) to FinCEN. The Final Rule continues the temporary exemption for U.S. formed entities and U.S. individuals created by FinCEN under the Interim Final Rule of March 26, 2025. 

Accordingly, U.S. companies and U.S. persons are exempt from BOI reporting requirements. However, foreign companies that themselves registered or register to do business in the United States must report their BOI unless they meet one of the other twenty-three statutory exemptions under the federal Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).  

Even foreign entities registered to do business or registering to do business in the U.S. are no longer required to report BOI for U.S. persons who are their beneficial owners or U.S. persons who were or are company applicants for foreign entities.  

U.S. formed corporate subsidiaries owned by foreign companies or individuals will not, in most cases, result in a required BOI filing by the parent entity with FinCEN. There may, however, be instances where the form of the subsidiary or its tax election may require further detailed analysis. 

Under the Final Rule, U.S. persons issued identifiers by FinCEN (FinCEN IDs) are not required to update or correct the information they previously submitted to FinCEN. Similarly, domestic entities that filed BOI reports with FinCEN will not be required to update their filings to claim the new exemption. 

The Final Rule does not change the Customer Identification Program (“know your customer”) duty of banks formed or operating in the U.S., or of other financial institutions subject to U.S. law, including dealers in antiquities, from fulfilling their obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and its Customer Due Diligence (CDD) rules. The BSA and the CDD rules require U.S. financial institutions to implement written policies, identify, and verify customers and beneficial owners, understand the nature and purpose of relationships, maintain records of certain transactions, monitor for suspicious activity and file suspicious activity reports. 

The New York State Limited Liability Company Law (NYLLCL) requires all foreign limited liability companies (or companies having similar characteristics) that are qualified or qualify to do business in New York State to report BOI to the New York Secretary of State unless the entity is exempt under New York Law. Exemptions similar to those adopted by the CTA and FinCEN are contained in the NYLLC Law. Foreign entities must claim an exemption by filing the appropriate form. 

Both FinCEN and New York State have issued guides, releases, forms, and guidance to assist entities and their owners and management teams to navigate the complex definitions of the Corporate Transparency Act and its regulations and New York law.