US puts a stop to the requirement to report beneficial ownership

End of the obligations to report information on beneficial owners for US companies and citizens, under the Corporate Transparency Act. This was established on 11 August 2026 by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in a decision that will officially come into force upon its publication in the Federal Register. Following an interim measure in March 2025, certain exemptions are now final: first and foremost, companies are not required to report information on beneficial owners. US citizens who have obtained a FinCEN ID – a unique 12-digit code – will not be required to update or correct the information provided to obtain the ID. Furthermore, foreign companies will not be required to report who assisted them in registering to operate in the US. Foreign investment vehicles registered in the United States will not be required to report the beneficial ownership of the US citizen who controls the investment vehicle.

Furthermore, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network will remove previously reported information on individuals it believes to be US citizens because, for example, they are linked to a US passport or a US driving licence. Only entities that are incorporated under the law of a foreign country and have registered to operate in one of the fifty US states or in a US tribal jurisdiction by filing a document with the Secretary of State or equivalent will remain subject to the reporting requirement. Even in this case, however, there are several exemptions: one of the FAQs published by FinCEN therefore advises to ‘carefully review the requirements for exemption’. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has described the measure as ‘a victory for common sense and for small American businesses’. According to Bessent, the Treasury is “removing a burdensome reporting requirement for millions of law-abiding business owners, without compromising national security”.