Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI)
Time Sensitive 12/31 Mandatory BOI reporting (beneficial ownership information reporting) to the federal government (Department of the Treasury) is now required. This is a reporting separate and apart from your tax returns.
This is required for corporations, sole member LLCs (Schedule C filers formed as an LLC), multi-member LLCs, and nearly all business entities. If unsure, please ask. Generally the professional consensus is to file this report if you are unsure in any case. Sole proprietorships not formed as an LLC do not have this requirement.
Important
Complete this (30 min or less per our education provider).
Print to PDF the completion, provide via Dropbox, and let us know this has been done.
Continue to be aware that any ownership changes, name changes, and address changes can give rise to a filing within 30 days of the changes! (You may self-file changes as well).
A quick yet important point is below that we also would like to share.
Many of our married California clients with the BOI (https://fincen.gov/boi) requirement include their spouse as a beneficial owner.
There could be some exceptions that an attorney could advise on. Here is an article that might help: https://fincenboifiling.com/filing-a-boir-for-spouses-in-a-community-property-state-navigating-complexities/
There is a way to submit a new BOI if required. Unfortunately, we have determined that this process is out of our area of expertise, as well as likely not covered by our insurance, and is best performed by a qualified attorney. If you would like a referral for that, please let us know.
This Must be Done When
- Existing entities formed prior to 2024 must file this form this year for the first time, prior to 12/31/2024.
- There is a new entity in which you are a 25% or more owner, within 30 days of formation.
- Any change in ownership that adjusts ownership so that a new person owns 25% or more within 30 days of the change.
- Any change of address within 30 days of formation.
- Any name change of beneficial owners, within 30 days of formation.
Information regarding shareholders may be found on tax returns and we can direct you to this info at your request.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you give me more info regarding this?
Here is one resource that may be helpful in addition to standard internet research: https://www.caltax.com/files/2024/may-boifaqs.pdf
Can you do this for us?
*Gillingham CPA is not doing this at the present time, but can provide a referral to an attorney upon request.
*Our clients must have a general awareness of this very serious requirement as Gillingham CPA often does not know about reportable changes. We think it is therefore best for our clients to understand how to perform such updates / get in the habit of using the online reporting system. This is consistent with our view of foreign account reporting (FinCin / FBAR reporting). It is more of a hassle to sign a new engagement letter, prepare info to communicate to an attorney, pay a fee, and then likely sign something again when you can finish this in 30 minutes or less. If working with an attorney that has an entity maintenance package, then, you could consider adding this service with them.
- Foreign account ownership
- Foreign ownership of entities or activity in most cases
- Business entity ownership
- Receipt of funds in general
- Crypto activity
- New business formation / entity maintenance requirements
- Sales tax registration
- Local tax considerations
- Healthcare matters
- Collecting unemployment / other state / fed benefits
- Moving to another state
- Marriage plans, kids, and big life changes
Please communicate on these types of matters so that we may advise an appropriate solution.
Why are we learning about this now?
We were hopeful about a law change (did not happen) and generally we allow time to pass so that processes, procedures, and requirements are more well defined.
Please let us know of any questions, we are here to help!