The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently announced plans to provide relief to victims of recent hurricanes and natural disasters, including Hurricane Helene. FinCEN is providing an additional six months to submit beneficial ownership information (BOI) reports for reporting companies that meet both qualifications below:

1. The deadline for the reporting company to file an initial or updated BOI report must fall on or between the dates designated below corresponding to each hurricane or tropical storm; and
2. The reporting company’s principal place of business is located in an area designated (i) by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as qualifying for individual or public assistance, and (ii) by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as eligible for tax filing relief due to one of the hurricanes or tropical storms, as listed below. 

The applicable hurricanes and tropical storms and related date ranges are:

• Hurricane Beryl: July 4, 2024 to Oct. 2, 2024
• Hurricane Debby (including Tropical Storm Debby): July 31, 2024 to Oct. 29, 2024
• Hurricane Francine: Sept. 8, 2024 to Dec. 7, 2024
• Hurricane Helene (including Tropical Storm Helene): Sept. 22, 2024 to Dec. 21, 2024
• Hurricane Milton: Oct. 4, 2024 to Jan. 2, 2025

In the event that the IRS designates other areas affected by a hurricane or tropical storm as eligible for tax filing relief after the date of FinCEN’s announcement (Oct. 29), the reporting companies whose places of business are located in those newly designated areas will receive the same FinCEN reporting relief automatically, providing the same additional six-month extension to submit BOI reports. 

For example, a reporting company created on July 25, 2024, would normally have a BOI report deadline of Oct. 23, 2024. If the reporting business meets both above qualifications, the new filing deadline would be April 23, 2025.

In addition, FinCEN indicates that it will work with any reporting company whose principal place of business is outside a disaster area but must consult records located in the affected areas to meet the deadline. Reporting companies with a principal place of business outside the affected areas and that are seeking assistance in meeting their filing obligations should contact FinCEN.

While these extensions will be useful for some impacted filers, the application of these date ranges and specific storms seem to be problematic for many. For instance, it appears that an entity located in Asheville, N.C. and created prior to Jan. 1, would still be required to file its initial BOI report by Dec. 31 since it does not have a deadline to file its initial or updated BOI report between Sept. 22 and Dec. 21. Conversely though, an entity that was formed on Aug. 22 would qualify for a six-month extension to file its initial BOI report since its initial 90-day reporting deadline does fall within the applicable date range.

This seemingly arbitrary nature of the application of FinCEN’s extensions for entities impacted by recent tragic weather events is just another (unsurprising) chapter in the ongoing saga relating to BOI reporting.