- It is that time of year again when corporations must file annual reports. Never fear because it is a straightforward process you can do yourself through the Secretary of State’s website, or I’m always happy to do this for you. Failure to file your corporation’s annual report can lead to the State dissolving it, leaving you with no legal protection.
- Another corporate requirement is an annual meeting. Under the statute (G.L. c. 156D), all corporations must have an annual meeting with their shareholders, including sole shareholder corporations (luckily, those are the easiest to schedule!). The report need not be overly complicated; it just sets out who was there, what was discussed, and any votes. Again, I am always happy to help with a sample meeting form.
- Finally, anyone with a corporation or LLC (and a few other entities) must file a Beneficial Owner Report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Here is the direct link: Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting | FinCEN.gov
The filing requirement is that anyone who owns over 25% of the entity must file. You must file by the end of the year, or the owner will face fines. Fortunately, it costs nothing to file, should only take 7-10 mins, and is uncomplicated. The MA Sec. of State has a good breakdown of the filing requirement: The Corporate Transparency Act (state.ma.us)
If you own over 25% of a corporation or LLC, I recommend you go to the filing site and file the BOI report. Again, it takes less than 10 mins, and only basic information is required– the only ‘difficult’ part is uploading a copy of your identification to the system (passport, license, etc…).
If you have questions about filing requirements for either the state or federal level, reach out – it never hurts to have me quickly review what has been filed and what is needed. Remember, state annual reports are yearly, and failure to file can result in your entity being dissolved.