Provided by James A. Carolan, CWS®, CTFA | Sr. Estate Planning Attorney for EWM Legal Solutions
The nationwide injunction against FinCEN enforcing the Beneficial Owner Report (BOI) filing under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) remains in effect as of January 9, 2025. For now.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an Emergency Motion for Stay Pending Appeal with the United States Supreme Court (USSC), asking the USSC to stay the injunction while the case continues and to allow enforcement of the BOI reporting requirements by FinCEN.
Justice Alito set a deadline of 4 p.m. EST on Friday, January 10, 2025, for the plaintiff’s response to the motion to reinstate emergency stay originally issued by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on December 23, 2024, that was then vacated by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals of December 26, 2024, placing the injunction back into effect.
The USSC decision on the Emergency Motion for Stay Pending Appeal could be issued shortly after the deadline on Friday, January 10, 2025.
If the USSC grants the motion, then the BOI reporting requirements will be back in place and the deadline for filing with FinCEN will be reinstated. Currently that deadline is Monday, January 13, 2025.
Based upon FinCEN’s reaction when the Fifth Circuit granted the motion to stay the injunction on December 23, 2024, it is likely that they will issue new guidance setting a new date for filing. But that will not likely be a date far in the future, nor is it likely to be extended until after oral argument before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on March 25, 2025, on the matter.
It is also possible that the USSC could deny the motion, and that injunction will remain in effect until the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals makes its decision after oral argument March 2025.
We will continue to monitor the CTA and this fast-moving case to keep clients updated. This weekend could tell us that we need to move quickly next week to file BOI reports. Clients should be prepared to take quick action.
