Trusts and the Corporate Transparency Act: Harder Than it LooksTrusts and the Corporate Transparency Act: Harder Than it Looks

Under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), as of Jan. 1, 2024 every “reporting company” must disclose to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) information about the reporting company itself, the beneficial owners of that reporting company and, for entities formed or registered after Dec. 31, 2023, up to two company applicants.¹ In the vast majority of cases, it will be clear who’s a beneficial owner, but there will also be many instances in which identifying all the beneficial owners of a reporting company will be challenging. Let’s discuss who needs to be disclosed as a beneficial owner when a common law trust owns 25% or more of a reporting company.  

A Simple Example

To help us explore how the CTA and trusts interact, assu...