A law taking effect in 2024 has killed any hope of anonymity if you use a Wyoming LLC, or an LLC in any state for that matter. 

In 2021, Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act. This law creates a new beneficial ownership information reporting requirement as part of the U.S. government’s efforts to make it harder for bad guys to hide or benefit from their ill-gotten gains through shell companies or other opaque ownership structures.

The new program is called the Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting system under FinCEN (Federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) a department within the Treasury Department – the same folks who bring you the IRS.

Under the new laws, “beneficial ownership information refers to identifying information about the individuals who directly or indirectly own or control a company.”

As of January 1, 2024, you will have to register the “beneficial ownership” of each LLC, corporation, limited partnership, or any other type of business entity. 

You’ll have all of 2024 to register existing entities.  If you create a new entity, you will have to register within 30 days after you file a new LLC, corporation, or other entity.  You will register because the penalty is $500 per day after the deadline.

You will notice the program is run by the Federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.  These guys have guns.

The name of the registered agent in Wyoming, whose name is on your LLC filing, isn’t going to cut it as the beneficial owner.  Your name will be the one reported. 

I have always told people to put their LLC in the state where the LLC does business, or where the LLC owns property.  Forget about privacy in exotic Wyoming, Nevada, Utah (ick), or any other state.

I have never thought there was much of any reason to use an exotic LLC.  If someone already had a Wyoming LLC, I have told them to go ahead and use their Wyoming LLC, because it might give you a tiny bit of anonymity.

In my opinion, this new law just killed any possible reason to use an “exotic state” to file your LLC in.

Over the years, tons of people have told me they were anonymous because they filed their LLC in Wyoming.  Not now, for sure.

We do not have the actual reporting forms that will have to be filled out, but FinCEN has promised the forms before the end of the year, so stay tuned.  I will do a walk-through of the form when we get it.