ITASCA, Illinois — The U.S. Department of the Treasury has finalized changes to beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements that permanently exempt U.S. companies and U.S. persons from the requirements.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) finalized the rule Aug. 11, with the changes taking effect Aug. 14. The rule also directs FinCEN to delete previously submitted BOI associated with U.S. persons from the federal BOI database.

The changes stem from reporting requirements established under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which Congress enacted in 2021 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. The requirements took effect in 2024 and initially applied to tens of millions of U.S. businesses.

Under the original requirements, covered companies had to report identifying information about their owners and controlling individuals to FinCEN.

After legal challenges and advocacy from the small-business community, Treasury temporarily exempted U.S. companies and U.S. persons from the requirements in March 2025. The finalized rule makes that relief permanent.

FinCEN estimates the revised rule will generate $9 billion in annual compliance savings.

The agency also plans to purge previously collected BOI associated with U.S. owners and entities. According to the announcement, the action will affect an estimated 15 million entities and tens of millions of individuals.

The American Supply Association (ASA) and the S-Corp Association have advocated for changes to the BOI requirements, citing compliance costs and privacy concerns for small and family-owned businesses.

“This is a significant win for Main Street businesses, but our work is not finished,” said ASA Vice President of Advocacy Steve Rossi. He said ASA will continue working with coalition partners toward a permanent solution that protects small and family-owned businesses from unnecessary paperwork, compliance costs and privacy risks.

HARDI also joined the coalition letter urging congressional leaders to protect small businesses from the return of burdensome beneficial ownership information reporting requirements and to build on recent tax and regulatory relief.

"This is a significant development for many HARDI members that operate as closely held, family-owned, or small and mid-sized companies. Treasury estimates the revised rule will reduce reporting costs by roughly $9 billion per year," HARDI said in a statement.

While the final rule is a meaningful victory for small businesses, the issue is not fully resolved, HARDI warns. "Because this relief was accomplished through regulation, a future administration could revisit or reverse it. That is why HARDI and its coalition partners continue to support a permanent legislative solution, whether through full repeal of the Corporate Transparency Act’s BOI reporting provisions or statutory language that locks in the current exemption for U.S. businesses."