Is the new BOI report with FinCEN legit?

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An email subscriber asked me a few weeks ago, “Do I need to file this new BOI report with FinCEN, or is this just a scam?” Great question!

This is actually legit and a new required filing for most small business owners. However, to put your mind at ease, just this morning, I did a little research on the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) and filed the form for the two businesses I own in less than an hour, so it’s not too bad!

Rather than go into a ton of details about what this filing is all about, and who needs to file, this article does a good job laying out all the facts in an easy-to-understand way. In case you are thinking, I’m such a small business, there is no way this applies to me, unfortunately, you would be wrong. Unlike many rules and regulations, this one only applies to the small guys, and larger corporations are excluded.

If you started your business in a previous year, you have until the end of this year to file the form. New businesses have 90 days to file. I recommend you just eat that frog and get it over with because it’s not too bad. Tastes like chicken.

Once you read all about it, head over to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network website. The left column contains useful information that can answer any of your remaining questions. Do your own due diligence. When ready, click File.

There is a useless second page where you can click File again. Then on the third page, I selected the option to file online, rather than through a PDF, and it was super simple.

One of the early questions asked if you would like to receive a FinCen ID. I selected yes, as some of the information I read indicated that it might be useful to have one in future, but I’m honestly not sure how important it is.

After that, you will enter some basic information about your business and some basic information about yourself. The form asks for your business's legal name and any fictitious names associated with your business. You will enter your business EIN or your social security number, as well as your business address.

Next, you will enter your own name as the beneficial owner of the business, as well as your address and date of birth. Finally you upload a form of identification, I chose my Driver’s License. If there is more than one beneficial owner of the business, you will enter their information as well.

And that is it! Keep in mind this email is for informational purposes only, and does not constitute tax or legal advice. I’m just explaining what I did for my small business, and how easy it was to do! Better to get it over with than to pay fines for a late filing in my opinion.

Small Business Updates and Tools

Q1 2024 Estimated Taxes

I meant to include this in the last newsletter but forgot! It’s time to pay your estimated taxes for Q1 2024 income. Most likely the April 15th deadline also applies to your state and local taxes. So if you haven’t already, pay those estimated taxes ASAP to avoid interest and penalties.

Color Codes

When I recently had a logo designed, I needed to match the logo colors to another project, but I didn’t have their hex code. So I used this nifty tool to upload my image, and it identified the Hex, RGB, or CMYK color code for each color as I scrolled across the image. Very fun and helpful!

Featured Business

Today’s newsletter is sponsored by my collection of Mother’s Day gift ideas on Etsy. Support a small business, complete your Mother’s day shopping, and use my affiliate link all at the same time! :)

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On a Personal Note

My family has had an exciting spring.

We are going on college visits with my oldest. I am so impressed with the new facilities and amenities that college campuses have these days compared to when I went to school.

My middle child is at Disney World for a band trip. This is the longest she has been away from home!

My youngest is obsessed with geography and memorizing fun geography facts. He was wowing us at a family event with his in-depth knowledge of country locations and flags.

Talk soon!

Sarah