FinCEN Final Rule Ends US Beneficial Ownership Filings

According to Family Wealth Report, the US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has released a final rule that permanently eliminates the requirement for US companies and US persons to file beneficial ownership information under the Corporate Transparency Act. FinCEN will also scrub earlier records about individuals it sees as US persons, such as beneficial owners, company applicants, or FinCEN ID holders, the publication reports.

Treasury officials said foreign entities that qualify as reporting companies still must file BOI for foreign individuals, per Family Wealth Report. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the action a victory for common sense and small businesses, saying it strips away a costly filing burden for millions of compliant owners without damaging national security.

The final rule codifies the temporary suspension of CTA duties that was put in place in March, Family Wealth Report notes. The CTA itself became law in early 2025 during the Biden administration, the publication adds.

For family offices, this removes a recurring compliance headache for US-based holding structures and keeps ownership data out of a federal database. The move tilts toward privacy for US persons, consistent with the OECD's recent 'Largely Compliant' assessment of US beneficial ownership transparency, as Family Wealth Report mentioned.

But the transparency debate is far from settled. Any family office with foreign entity layers or non-US owners may still face BOI duties, and the EU's own openness initiative was curtailed in November 2022 by the Court of Justice of the European Union on privacy grounds, according to the same outlet.

This is a decisive privacy-first step. Deleting already-collected data goes beyond halting new filings, a signal that the administration wants to wipe the slate clean for US persons, not just stop future collection. The OECD's 'Largely Compliant' rating leaves room for criticism, but it shows global watchdogs are taking note.

Family offices shouldn't view this as the end of ownership transparency. Foreign entities and cross-border deals remain in scope, and the reporting-company definition still applies to foreign firms. Policy can reverse with the next administration, so structures built around CTA relief deserve a fresh compliance check.

Family offices with any foreign reporting-company entities should verify their remaining BOI obligations and monitor for future rule changes.