✓FilingChecker

BOI guide · checked 10 October 2026

Does a foreign-owned US LLC need a BOI report?

No. If your company was formed in a US state, such as a Wyoming, Delaware or New Mexico LLC, it doesn't file a beneficial ownership (BOI) report with FinCEN, even if every owner lives outside the US.

What happened to BOI reporting

  • 2024: the Corporate Transparency Act required almost every small US company to report its owners to FinCEN.
  • March 2025: FinCEN's interim rule exempted every company formed in the US and kept the duty only for companies formed abroad that register to do business in a US state.
  • 11 August 2026: FinCEN made that permanent in a final rule, effective on publication on 14 August 2026. No US-formed company has to file, whatever its size or who owns it.

Who still files

Only a foreign reporting company: a company formed under another country's law (a UK Ltd, an Indian Pvt Ltd, a German GmbH) that has registered with a US state's Secretary of State to do business there. It must file within 30 days of registering, and it reports only its non-US owners.

Owning a US LLC through your home-country company doesn't make the US LLC a foreign reporting company. The LLC was still formed in the US, so it's exempt. Only the parent would need to file, and only if the parent itself registered in a US state.

Watch out for BOI scams

Letters and emails that look official still demand BOI filings and "late fees" from US LLC owners. FinCEN never charges to file. If a message asks you to pay to file a BOI report for a US-formed LLC, ignore it.

What your LLC does still owe

Dropping BOI doesn't remove the filings that cost real money if missed:

  • Form 5472 with a pro forma 1120 to the IRS each year you put money in or took money out. The fine is $25,000. For 2025 under an extension, it's due 15 October 2026.
  • Your state's annual report or tax, such as Delaware's $300 by 1 June or Wyoming's $60 in your formation month.
  • A registered agent in your formation state, all year.
  • FBAR if the LLC has bank accounts outside the US worth over $10,000 combined at any point.

Check everything my company owes

Sources: FinCEN BOI page, Mayer Brown summary of the August 2026 final rule.