HOAs must file the FINCEN BOI form and here’s how

The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) requires certain companies to file annual reports with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FINCEN”) by December 31st Community Associations against YellenEDPa. Case No. 24-CV0-1597 Doc. 40 (Oct. 24, 2024), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia held that this requirement also applies to a homeowners association (“HOA”). This means that most HOAs must now file their FINCEN report by December 31st or face very large fines – $500 per day.

This article attempts to provide HOA boards with some helpful guidance on how to comply with FINCEN requirements. It’s actually not that difficult, and most HOA boards can easily meet the registration requirements without having to pay a third-party provider.

The CTA requires most companies, including most HOAs, to file a form called a “BOI” for beneficial ownership information. Of course, there are exceptions to everything, and the FINCEN frequently asked questions page explains:

“C.10. Do homeowners associations report companies? It depends on. Homeowners’ associations (HOAs) can take different forms. As with any business, if an HOA is not created by filing a document with a Secretary of State or similar agency, it is not a domestic reporting business. A registered HOA or another HOA created through such a filing may also qualify for an exemption from the reporting requirements. For example, HOAs that are recognized by the IRS as Section 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations (or that claim such status and meet the requirements) may be eligible for the exempt entity exemption. However, a registered HOA that is not a Section 501(c)(4) organization may fall within the definition of a reporting entity and therefore be required to report BOI to FinCEN.”

Unless the HOA is very small, i.e. only four homeowners, if such HOAs even exist, the individual homeowners do not have to be disclosed as beneficial owners because they generally do not own 25% of the HOA, which is the minimum ownership threshold.

However, the individual directors of the HOA must be disclosed in the filing because they exercise significant control over the company. The HOA’s individual officers must also be disclosed in the filing, although the board members and officers of an HOA typically overlap. Therefore, board members and officers must be disclosed in the filing.

FINCEN’s main information page can be found at

and the main submission page is at

Basically, there is an easy and a slightly more complicated way for HOAs to make this filing.

The easy way is for each HOA board member or HOA officer to receive their own FINCEN ID, which is basically just an identification number issued by FINCEN. This ID is available here and requires the applicant to provide some very basic information such as: E.g. email address and address, and then also uploads a picture (the easiest way is PDF) of your driver’s license or passport, etc. This can all be done in the privacy of their own home or office, and whoever does the filing for the HOA will not see any of this information, only the ID number itself.

Once each HOA board member or HOA official has received their number and given it to whoever is doing the filing, the actual filing for the HOA becomes very easy. Whoever does the filing simply needs to enter some basic information about the HOA, such as: B. State of incorporation and address, and then provide the ID numbers of each HOA director or officer. This takes a maximum of 5 minutes. Click the “Submit” button and you’re done. It’s Miller time!

The more cumbersome way is for the person submitting the paperwork to collect the addresses of all HOA directors and officers, as well as pictures of their identification documents (again, driver’s license or passport) and enter them manually. Ultimately, this type of filing is just as good, but it takes much longer to enter all the data and upload all the images. Of course, this whole process will be much easier if everyone gets their own FINCEN ID.

There are no fees for submitting the BOI report. It’s free if you do it through FINCEN. Note that there are many third-party providers who are happy to charge a fee for this, but in the end you will spend just as much time giving them all the data that they will then enter for you. I believe this is a waste of money.

Furthermore, many of these third parties have appeared overnight and there are serious doubts about their validity. You pay them the money and they may or may not file for you. They may sell your information (remember you’ll need to give them pictures of your driver’s license or passport) to who knows who, or maybe even misuse it for their own nefarious purposes. I think it’s okay to hire your accountant or lawyer to do this paperwork for you, even if there are fees involved, as it won’t misuse your information. But I would avoid these third parties if you can avoid them at all. In fact, FINCEN itself is now issuing the following warning:

“These fraudulent scams can include:

• Correspondence that references a “Form 4022” or “Form 5102” is fraudulent. FinCEN does not have a Form 4022 or Form 5102. Do not send BOI to third parties by filling out these forms.
• Correspondence or other documents referring to a “US Business Regulations Dept.” This correspondence is fraudulent; There is no government agency with that name.

“Please be aware of anything that may indicate that the correspondence you have received is fraudulent. For example, be careful about the following:

• Correspondence requesting payment. There are NO fees for submitting the BOI directly to FinCEN. FinCEN does NOT send correspondence requesting payment to the BOI file. Do not send money in response to an email regarding the filing of your beneficial ownership report that purports to be from FinCEN or any other government agency.
• Correspondence asking the recipient to click on a suspicious URL or scan a suspicious QR code. These emails or letters could be fraudulent. Do not click on suspicious links or attachments or scan suspicious QR codes.
• Correspondence regarding penalties. FinCEN does NOT send initial correspondence regarding CTA penalties via email or telephone. Do not send payments via phone, email or websites as requests/instructions to do so are fraudulent.

“Be careful when receiving correspondence from an unknown party. Check the sender. Never share personal information, including beneficial ownership information, with anyone unless you trust the other party.”

Really good advice. This BOI reporting will probably seem a little intimidating at first, but once you go through the process, you’ll realize that there’s actually very little to it, or what some call “reporting.” Big nothing burger.

However, please note that If the HOA’s board or officers change, an updated BOI must be filed within 30 days of that change. Additionally, please note that if you have any questions, you can find most answers on FINCEN’s BOI FAQ page or by contacting FINCEN via the contact page.

Oh, and please don’t wait until the last second to submit. Just deal with the filing as quickly as possible and get it out of sight and out of your head.