On Feb. 18, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted the government’s motion to stay a nationwide injunction of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) the court previously issued in the case of Smith, et al. v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, et al., (Case No. 6:24-cv-00336). As a result, the CTA is in effect again.

Given the issuance of the stay, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a notice – available here.

Per this notice, FinCEN has extended the reporting deadline for all reporting companies to March 21, 2025. During this period, FinCEN has indicated that it will assess its options to modify further deadlines and/or reporting requirements for lower-risk entities, including many U.S. small businesses, while prioritizing reporting for those entities that pose the most significant national security risks.

FinCEN’s deadline for filings will remain in place unless another court injunction is issued as there are other cases pending across the country challenging the validity of the CTA, FinCEN grants a further extension for compliance, or Congress passes a bill that is signed into law by President Trump that delays — or otherwise modifies — the CTA.

To this end, on Feb. 10, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 736, the Protect Small Businesses From Excessive Paperwork Act of 2025, which extends the deadline for entities formed before Jan. 1, 2024, to report their beneficial ownership information (BOI) under the CTA to Jan. 1, 2026. This bill, as well as a companion bill (S. 505), is currently under consideration in the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. Neither of these bills provide BOI filing relief for entities formed on or after Jan. 1, 2024.

There can be no assurance that additional relief from the CTA — legislative or otherwise — will be granted. Given this uncertainty, clients with affected entities should prepare to make their CTA filings on or before the current March 21 deadline.

Taft will continue to monitor developments and implications of the CTA and provide additional alerts as information becomes available.