Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a final rule (RIN 1506-AB67) on August 11, 2026 permanently removing the requirement for U.S. companies to report information on their beneficial ownership under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). The final rule preserves reporting obligations for certain foreign reporting companies registered to do business in the U.S.
FinCEN had already suspended beneficial ownership reporting under an interim final rule released March 26, 2025. Beneficial ownership reporting remains required only for applicable foreign entities.
What Has Changed
The CTA created beneficial ownership reporting requirements in 2021, with implementation originally scheduled for 2024. After a series of court challenges disrupted enforcement, FinCEN temporarily suspended the requirements and then issued an interim final rule on March 26, 2025 that effectively eliminated the requirements for U.S. companies. The August 2026 final rule adopts the interim rule without substantive changes, making that relief permanent.
Although U.S. companies and U.S. persons are now permanently exempt from the CTA’s beneficial ownership requirements, the rules continue to apply to “foreign reporting companies.” A foreign reporting company generally is an entity formed under the law of a foreign country that is registered to do business in a U.S. state. These companies must file beneficial ownership reports within 30 calendar days after receiving notice that their U.S. registration is effective. Transition rules were available for foreign entities registered before publication of the interim final rule.
Foreign companies generally do not need to report beneficial owners that are U.S. persons. There are also exceptions for entities already subject to other reporting requirements, such as some public companies, banks, securities brokers and dealers, insurance companies, registered investment companies and advisors, and pooled investment companies.
What Companies Should Know
The practical effect of the final rule is that domestic entities generally no longer face CTA beneficial ownership reporting obligations, while foreign entities registered to do business in the U.S. should continue to analyze whether they have filing responsibilities.
U.S. companies should confirm their exemption status and retain documentation supporting that conclusion. Foreign companies registered to do business in the U.S. should evaluate whether they qualify as foreign reporting companies, determine whether an exemption applies, and work with counsel to assess filing obligations and deadlines under the beneficial ownership reporting rules.
