Author Ownership Information Details: An Overview of What You Should Be Aware Of
The U.S. Treasury Department has announced a new deadline for Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting for foreign entities registered to do business in the U.S. The deadline for these entities is April 25, 2025.
This update comes after FinCEN's March 2025 announcement, which suspended the BOI reporting requirements for most domestic U.S. companies, effectively exempting them from filing. The deadline for most reporting companies was previously set for March 21, 2025, but was extended specifically for foreign entities to April 25, 2025.
Foreign entities registered before March 26, 2025, must file by the extended deadline of April 25, 2025. Newly registered foreign entities are required to file their initial BOI report within 30 calendar days of registration.
The BOI report is a 4-page document with 51 questions, and the last question asks for an image of an identifying document, such as a driver's license. The purpose of beneficial ownership information reporting is to identify who is really in charge of a company.
Foreign entities can simplify the reporting process by creating a FinCEN ID, although it is not a requirement. A 5-minute video is also available to guide foreign entities through the entire BOI reporting process.
It is important to note that the BOI E-Filing website is where foreign entities can file their BOI reports. There is no filing fee for the BOI report.
However, if you "willfully" ignore the BOI reporting rules, you could be fined $500 a day (currently $591). If you continue to violate BOI reporting requirements, you could face up to two years in federal prison and a $10,000 fine.
Sole proprietor authors in the United States are not impacted by BOI. For more information to confirm specific situations regarding BOI reporting, FinCEN's FAQ section provides valuable resources.
These deadlines reflect recent regulatory shifts prioritizing foreign company reporting while reducing the burden on small and domestic U.S. businesses. The suspension of BOI reporting for U.S. citizens and domestic companies was announced by the U.S. Treasury Department on March 2, 2025.
[1] FinCEN. (2025). Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirements. Retrieved from https://www.fincen.gov/boi
[2] FinCEN. (2025). Frequently Asked Questions about Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting. Retrieved from https://www.fincen.gov/boi-faqs
[3] U.S. Treasury Department. (2025). Suspension of Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting for U.S. Citizens and Domestic Companies. Retrieved from https://www.treasury.gov/boi-suspension
[4] U.S. Congress. (2021). The Corporate Transparency Act. Retrieved from https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/5111
[5] Small Business Administration. (2025). Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting: What You Need to Know. Retrieved from https://www.sba.gov/beneficial-ownership-information-reporting
- The new deadline for foreign entities registered to do business in the U.S. is April 25, 2025, for filing the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report, a 4-page document with 51 questions that aims to identify who is really in charge of a company.
- Foreign entities must comply with the BOI reporting requirements, just like they can simplify the process by creating a FinCEN ID, or refer to FinCEN's FAQ section for valuable resources, as non-compliance could lead to fines of $500 per day and possible imprisonment.
