On February 17, 2025, the Eastern District of Texas in Smith v. United States Department of the Treasury lifted the last remaining nationwide preliminary injunction on enforcement of the filing deadline under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) in light of the Supreme Court’s stay of the injunction in Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc., et al. v. Merrick Garland, et al., earlier this year. Following the ruling, the Treasury Department stated that it would extend the filing deadline to March 21, 2025.
With the deadline back in effect, newly formed entities will also need to file within 30 days of formation. In addition, any changes to filings already made will need to be updated within 30 days of the change (if, for example, ownership or control of the entity changes, or if a beneficial owner moves to a new residential address).
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), tasked with enforcing the CTA, advised that it is undertaking a review of the CTA to determine if lower-risk categories of entities should be excluded from the reach of the filing requirements. FinCEN will make an initial statement on that review prior to the March 21, 2025 deadline. However, unless and until FinCEN makes changes in the applicability of the requirement, all companies subject to the CTA should treat the deadline as enforceable.
FinCEN also announced that it will initiate a longer process this year to revise the reporting rule to reduce the filing burden for lower-risk entities, but it’s currently unclear as to what those modifications might entail.
Passed in the first Trump Administration but implemented during the Biden presidency, the CTA — an anti-money laundering law designed to combat terrorist financing, seize proceeds of drug trafficking, and root out illicit assets of sanctioned parties and foreign criminals in the U.S. — has faced legal challenges around the country, many of which are ongoing despite the lifting of the preliminary injunctions. In addition to district court proceedings, appeals are currently pending before the Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits.
Please note that if you file or have already filed and the law is ultimately found unconstitutional or otherwise overturned or rescinded, you will not be under any continuing obligation regarding that filing.