The passage about homeowners associations

Commenters asked FinCEN to write a specific carve-out for associations. FinCEN's answer was that one is unnecessary, and it said so in terms:

“Other commenters suggested other narrower exemptions, such as for one- or two-person businesses or for homeowners' associations… Under the evaluation framework imposed by the CTA, Treasury is not persuaded that any of the targeted approaches that commenters have proposed are as effective at obtaining useful BOI on a benefit-to-burden ratio basis. The final rule therefore adopts the blanket exemption approach of the IFR. This approach obviates any need to create additional exemptions applicable to subcategories of U.S. entities, such as homeowners' associations.”

Associations are covered because everything domestic is covered. That is a stronger position than a bespoke exemption, which a later rulemaking could revisit on its own terms.

Data already filed is being deleted, and nobody has to ask

Many Wisconsin associations filed in 2024 before the interim rule landed. The final rule addresses what happens to that information:

“FinCEN agrees that the values of privacy, information security, and the trust of the public all argue for the removal from the BO IT System, as much as practicable, of information that would not have been reported if the reporting requirements of this final rule had been in place starting on January 1, 2024.”

The mechanics: FinCEN “expects to rely upon information provided in previously filed BOIRs to identify all domestic reporting companies, company applicants, and beneficial owners associated with domestic reporting companies,” and anticipates working with the National Archives and Records Administration to delete information about individuals who reported a U.S. identifying document such as a U.S. passport or driver's licence.

Three practical points follow from the rule's own words. “At this time, FinCEN does not anticipate requiring or requesting that U.S. companies or U.S. persons contact FinCEN requesting that their BOI be removed.” “FinCEN does not intend to provide any acknowledgement or confirmation of the deletion.” And “FinCEN will provide notice to the public on its website when it has completed the deletion process,” undertaken “in one sweep of the database, not as a regular, periodic sweep.”

The limit worth stating

This is a regulatory exemption, not a repeal. The Corporate Transparency Act remains on the statute book. What changed is Treasury's exercise of exemption authority under 31 U.S.C. 5318(a)(7) and its definition of “reporting company” in 31 C.F.R. 1010.380. A future administration could propose a rule reaching domestic entities again without any new legislation.

The Wisconsin filings that did not go away

This is where the error lives, and it is an easy one to make. Wisconsin associations have two state filings with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, and neither is affected by anything FinCEN did.

The nonstock corporation annual report under ch. 181 costs $25 a year for a domestic entity and is due in the calendar quarter containing the anniversary of incorporation. The Department's own form states that “[f]ailure to file this report may result in administrative dissolution for domestic entities under ss. 181.1420 & 183.0708, Wis. Stats.”

The homeowners association public notice under Wis. Stat. § 710.18(3) is separate. An association that has not filed it “may not… [c]harge a late fee or other fine for any unpaid assessments owed by any residential lot owner” or “[c]harge a fee in connection with any transfer of ownership of a residential lot,” and “[a]ny prohibited action taken by an association during a period of noncompliance under this paragraph is void and unenforceable.”

Two filings, two statutes, two unrelated consequences — and a third, federal one that no longer exists. Our Wisconsin director qualifications page covers the corporate side and governing statute the association side.

What to watch next

The deletion sweep is the near-term item, and FinCEN has said it will post notice on its website when the sweep is complete rather than confirming individual removals. Beyond that, the statute is unrepealed, so the exemption's durability rests on a rule rather than on Congress. Any Wisconsin management agreement still carrying a beneficial-ownership compliance fee, or any 2027 association budget still carrying that line, is funded against a requirement that does not exist.