BOI reporting in 2026: do US LLCs still file with FinCEN?

What is the BOI reporting rule in 2026?

As of September 17, 2026, the rule in force is FinCEN's final rule called Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirement Revision. FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, part of the US Treasury) issued it on August 11, 2026, and it took effect when it was published in the Federal Register on August 14, 2026. It adopts the interim final rule of March 26, 2025, with a few limited changes.

• US companies are exempt. No corporation, LLC or similar entity created in the US has to report, and neither do its owners.
• Only foreign companies report. A “reporting company” now means an entity formed under the law of a foreign country that has registered to do business in a US state or tribal jurisdiction by filing with a secretary of state or similar office.
• US persons are left out of those reports. Foreign reporting companies don't report beneficial owners who are US persons, and since the final rule, they don't report US-person company applicants either.
• US persons with a FinCEN ID don't need to update it. Holders who aren't US persons still must.

Do US LLCs owned by non-US founders have to file?

No. The test is where the company was formed, not where its owners live. A Wyoming or Delaware LLC owned by a founder in India, Nigeria or the UK is a company created in the US, so it's exempt, and so are its owners.

If you filed a BOI report for a US LLC in 2024 or early 2025, you don't need to update or correct it. FinCEN has said it will delete information it believes was reported by US persons in a single sweep of its database. It won't send confirmations, and it isn't asking companies to request deletion.

What still applies to a foreign-owned US LLC

The BOI exemption doesn't make a US LLC anonymous. Your ownership still reaches the government and your bank in other ways:

• Form 5472 with the IRS. A single-member LLC owned by a non-US person reports its owner and their transactions each year it has reportable transactions. See Form 5472 for foreign-owned US LLCs.
• The responsible party on your EIN. Tell the IRS within 60 days if it changes, using Form 8822-B. See how to get an EIN without an SSN.
• Bank checks. Banks and other covered financial institutions still collect beneficial ownership information from business customers under FinCEN's Customer Due Diligence Rule. See opening a US bank account as a non-resident.
• State filings. Annual reports, state taxes and a registered agent still apply. See the yearly compliance checklist.

Who still has to file a BOI report, and by when?

A company formed outside the US that registers to do business in a US state is a reporting company, unless one of the rule's exemptions applies. For example, a private limited company from India that registers with a Secretary of State to open a US office would generally have to report. A new US LLC set up by that same company would not.

The report describes the company: its legal and trade names, its US address, the country it was formed in, the first US state it registered in, and its IRS taxpayer identification number, such as an EIN, or a foreign tax ID if it has none. It also lists each beneficial owner who isn't a US person, meaning anyone who owns or controls at least 25% of the company or has substantial control over it. For companies registered since 2024, it lists company applicants who aren't US persons too.

Filing directly with FinCEN is free. Penalties apply to willful violations: civil penalties that the law sets at up to $500 a day, adjusted each year for inflation, and criminal penalties of up to 2 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. In the final rule, FinCEN said enforcement wouldn't be based on inadvertent mistakes or not knowing about the rules.

How the BOI rules changed since 2021

If you've read older articles that say every LLC must report, this timeline explains why they disagree with this page.

1. 1

   January 1, 2021: the Corporate Transparency Act becomes law

   Congress passed it as part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, requiring many companies to report their owners to FinCEN.

2. 2

   September 30, 2022: FinCEN publishes the reporting rule

   Almost every small US corporation and LLC would have to report, starting January 1, 2024.

3. 3

   2024: the first deadlines

   Companies created before 2024 had until January 1, 2025. Companies created during 2024 had 90 calendar days after notice of their formation.

4. 4

   December 2024 to February 2025: courts pause the rule

   Two Texas federal courts blocked the rule nationwide. After the Supreme Court put one order on hold on January 23, 2025, and the other court paused its own order on February 17, FinCEN extended most deadlines to March 21, 2025.

5. 5

   March 2, 2025: Treasury stops enforcement against US companies

   Treasury said it wouldn't enforce the law against US citizens or US companies and would narrow the rule to foreign companies.

6. 6

   March 26, 2025: the interim final rule exempts US companies

   Announced on March 21 and effective on publication, it limited reporting to foreign companies registered in a US state, with a new deadline of April 25, 2025.

7. 7

   August 14, 2026: the final rule makes it permanent

   Issued on August 11, it keeps the exemption for US companies, exempts US-person company applicants, and ends FinCEN ID updates for US persons.

How to spot outdated BOI advice

These claims were common in 2024 and are wrong for US-formed companies today:

• “Every LLC must file a BOI report within 30 or 90 days of formation.” Not for companies formed in the US since March 26, 2025.
• “The deadline is January 1, 2025.” That was the original deadline for companies created before 2024. It was paused, extended and then removed for US companies.
• “US LLCs face fines of $500 or $591 a day.” Penalties apply to willful violations by companies that must report, and US companies no longer must.
• “Update your BOI report whenever your address changes.” Only foreign reporting companies must keep reports up to date.
• “Your formation service has to report itself as your company applicant.” Company applicant details are reported only by foreign reporting companies, and never for US persons.

Does New York require ownership reports for LLCs?

New York has its own law, which often comes up in searches. Its LLC Transparency Act took effect on January 1, 2026, but the New York Department of State says it applies only to LLCs formed under the law of a foreign country that are authorized to do business in New York. LLCs formed in New York or in another US state or territory are exempt.

Non-US LLCs authorized in New York before 2026 must file a disclosure statement, or an attestation that they're exempt, by December 31, 2026. Those authorized later have 30 days from applying for authority, and all of them file every year, with a $25 statutory fee. If you're considering New York for other reasons, see the New York state guide.

What this means for your LLC

A US LLC has no BOI report to file, so there's nothing to buy for it. Put that time into the filings that still apply, which are easy to miss when you run the company from abroad.

• Starter ($349 a year plus the state fee): formation, your EIN, a registered agent, the annual report filed for you, and a compliance calendar with reminders.
• Pro ($999 a year plus the state fee): everything in Starter, plus Form 5472 and the pro forma 1120 prepared by our US tax partner.

Frequently asked questions