Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)is a federal law that took effect on January 1, 2024, that applies to many West Virginia businesses. The purpose of the CTA is to prevent and identify financial crimes, such as money laundering, tax fraud, and sanctions evasion.

The CTA requires reporting companies to file specific “Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI)” through an online portal run by the United States Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The information will not be publicly available but will be shared with law enforcement.

Though the CTA is focused on smaller businesses, most businesses will be classified as “reporting companies”. There are 23 exemptions to that classification that will not report, including “large companies”, publicly-traded companies, banks, insurance companies, tax exempt entities and political organizations. View the complete list of exemptions.

Reporting companies in existence in West Virginia before January 1, 2024 must file their initial reports before January 1, 2025. New companies created between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024 will have 90 days after registration to file. Reporting companies created on or after January 1, 2025 will have 30 days after registration to file. Any change to Beneficial Ownership Information must be reported within 30 days of the change (e.g. sale, merger, acquisition, or death of a member).

Below is a five-minute tutorial on how to complete a Beneficial Ownership Information filing online using FinCEN’s e-filing system.

Contact FinCEN Helpline:

• Toll Free - 1-800-767-2825
• OR 703-905-3591​