Do you have an LLC? Did you file your BOIR yet?

There’s a new federal filing requirement in town…

In the February 3rd issue of her excellent email newsletter Electric Speed, Jane Friedman alerted us to the implications of the 2021 Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) for small businesses.

Yes, this is a boring but important PSA

If you don’t work in the USA, and you aren’t a part owner or sole owner of an LLC (or other small corporation), ignore this. Click along to something more interesting.

As a business owner who has been badly bitten by regulations I didn’t see coming, I am taking this seriously, despite the fact that it didnt’ seem to be aimed at small outfits like my vacation property management LLC (Wordsmith Writing Coaches isn’t an LLC). If there is an enforcement push, small LLCs that are obviously out of compliance get swept up in the wave of fines and penalties just as much as the Bad Guys the law is meant to catch.

This is critically important for authorpreneurs and freelancers in the publishing world who are operating as an LLC or legal partnership instead of a simple sole proprietorship or dba (“doing business as…”).

I’ll let Jane Friedman* explain:

This was not on my radar at all until a reader asked me about it. In January 2021, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) was enacted by Congress, which requires business entities to file a beneficial ownership information (BOI) report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network within the US Department of the Treasury.

The CTA went into effect on Jan. 1, 2024. If you have an LLC, you have one year to file your BOI. There is no fee to file, but you may be fined if you don’t file on time.

If you’re thinking, “Surely this does not apply to my little LLC,” it likely does. Here is an article from The National Law Review that explains the details. Consult with your CPA or business attorney, if appropriate; your Secretary of State may also offer guidance.

*lightly edited

So, whatever sort of LLC you have, the safest thing to do is just click the link and fill out the damn form now. Or soon, while it’s still on your mind and not buried under a pile of to-do items. (I’ll do it tomorrow and let you know how it goes, if it goes weird.)

Of course, if there’s some good reason for you to balk at this, and there might well be, you need to talk to an expert or do your own due diligence on the topic. As of today, you have a bit less than eleven months to do so…

Okay, boring PSA ends here.

Carry on with your day!