FinCEN Filing Deadline Looms: Do YOU Need to Act?

I’ve had three clients call me this month panicking about FinCEN. Two of them didn’t even need to file. The third was already past the deadline, which cost him time and stress he didn’t need.

Here’s what the Corporate Transparency Act actually requires, stripped of the confusion.

If you formed an LLC, corporation, or partnership in Texas, you probably need to report your beneficial owners to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. That’s just the IRS’s fancy way of saying they want to know who actually owns and controls your company.

The Deadline Situation

Here’s where I see most of my Houston clients get tripped up.

If you formed or registered your company in 2024, you had to file by year-end or within 90 days of getting your official formation paperwork from the Texas Secretary of State. If your company was already operating before 2024, your deadline was January 1, 2025. That ship has sailed if you’re just now thinking about it.

I watched a bunch of Montrose and Midtown business owners assume their CPA would take care of this automatically. Your CPA might help coordinate it, but FinCEN filing is on you. Nobody files it unless you specifically ask them to.

Are You Actually Exempt?

Some businesses don’t have to file. The common exemptions include:

• Large operating companies with more than 20 full-time employees and over $5 million in annual gross revenue
• Banks, credit unions, insurance companies, and regulated financial institutions
• Government agencies and nonprofits that qualify

Sounds simple until you dig into what “full-time” actually means. I had a Katy restaurant owner come to me thinking his 22 employees got him off the hook. Problem was, several worked part-time, and his annual revenue came in at $4.8 million. He didn’t qualify, and he knew he was at risk.

Don’t guess on this. Pull the FinCEN exemption list and verify yourself.

What You Have to Report

The Beneficial Ownership Information report requires details on anyone who owns 25 percent or more of your company or who has real control over how it operates. For each owner, FinCEN needs:

• Full legal name
• Date of birth
• Your home address, not your business address
• A government-issued ID number from your driver’s license or passport

This surprises a lot of people. FinCEN wants your home address in the Heights or wherever you live, not your office address on Westheimer or the Galleria.

The Penalties Are Steep

This isn’t a filing you can kick down the road and handle later. Non-compliance means real money and real consequences:

• Civil fines of $500 per day your report is late
• Criminal penalties up to $10,000
• Up to 2 years in federal prison for intentional violations

A client of mine in the Heights asked me, “What are the chances they actually come after you for this?” I told him the same thing I tell everyone. I don’t gamble with federal agencies, and I wouldn’t recommend you do it either.

How We Help

At EZQ Group, I walk Houston business owners through this step by step.

• FinCEN Filing Assistance. We determine whether you actually need to file, gather your ownership information, and submit it correctly to avoid penalties.
• Bookkeeping and Tax Services. Clean, organized books make compliance filings faster and keep costs down.
• Business Consulting. If you’re uncertain about any regulatory requirement, we figure it out for you before it becomes a problem.

Don’t Sit on This

If you’re supposed to have filed and haven’t done it yet, you’re bleeding $500 a day in penalties. That’s the law, not fear mongering.

Call or email me for a free consultation. I can tell you in 15 minutes whether you need to file and what the next step looks like. Get in touch.