FinCEN Finalizes End to Beneficial Ownership Reporting for U.S. Companies and U.S. Persons

On August 14, 2026, FinCEN published a final rule that permanently removes the requirement for U.S. companies and U.S. persons to report beneficial ownership information to FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act.  The final rule became effective upon publication.

The final rule adopts and expands upon the exemptions introduced in FinCEN’s March 2025 interim final rule. In summary, the following are the key changes:

• Domestic Companies Fully Exempt – U.S. companies are exempt from any beneficial ownership information reporting. 

• No Reporting of U.S. Persons by Foreign Companies – Eliminates requirement for foreign companies to report any U.S. person who is the beneficial owner or company applicant. 

• Foreign Pooled Investment Companies Exempt – Certain foreign pooled investment vehicles are exempt from reporting the beneficial ownership information of a U.S. person in control of the vehicle.

• FinCEN Identifiers No Longer Require Updates – U.S. persons who previously obtained a FinCEN identifier no longer have the obligation to update or correct submitted information.

• Deletion of Previously Reported Data – FinCEN will automatically delete previously filed beneficial ownership information about U.S. persons from its database.  FinCEN will confirm via its website once it has completed the deletion process.

This permanent relief is significant in light of the original final rule from September 2022.  The original final rule required most domestic corporations and limited liability companies (along with certain foreign entities registered in the United States) to report beneficial ownership information, subject only to limited statutory exemptions for certain entities (such as large operating companies, publicly traded companies, banks, etc.).  The brunt of the compliance burden was set to fall heavily on non-exempt smaller businesses.

In a recent press release, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent stated that the recent final rule is “a victory for common sense and American small businesses” and “[eliminates] a burdensome reporting requirement for millions of law-abiding business owners without compromising national security.”