Corporate Transparency Act Update: Most Real Estate LLCs No Longer File

If you formed an LLC for your rental properties, you probably remember the scramble over Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) filings. The rules have changed completely since then. Here is where things stand in 2026.

The Short Version

Most U.S. real estate investors no longer have a federal CTA filing requirement. In March 2025, FinCEN issued an interim final rule that removed the beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirement for all companies formed in the United States and for all U.S. persons. That includes the single-member LLCs, family LLCs, and partnerships that most real estate investors use.

How We Got Here

Congress passed the CTA in 2021 to fight money laundering through anonymous shell companies. The original rules took effect in 2024 and required most LLCs and corporations to report their beneficial owners to FinCEN, with deadlines in early 2025 and penalties for missing them.

Court challenges followed. After a series of injunctions and reversals, the Treasury Department announced in March 2025 that it would not enforce the CTA against U.S. citizens or domestic companies. FinCEN then formally narrowed the rule: only entities formed under foreign law that register to do business in a U.S. state still report, and even those entities do not report their U.S. beneficial owners.

In December 2025, the Eleventh Circuit upheld the CTA’s constitutionality. That ruling addressed the statute itself, not the exemption. As of mid-2026, FinCEN has not finalized the interim rule, so the requirements could still shift.

What Real Estate Investors Should Do Now

If your entities are U.S.-formed: you have no federal BOI filing obligation right now. If you filed before the exemption, no action is needed; the filing simply sits with FinCEN.

If you have a foreign-formed entity registered in a U.S. state: the reporting requirement still applies. Talk to your attorney about deadlines.

Watch your state. Some states are building their own transparency registries. New York’s LLC Transparency Act is the leading example, with its own disclosure requirements for LLCs formed or registered in New York phasing in starting in 2026. If you hold property through entities in New York or California, ask your attorney whether a state filing applies to you.

Stay alert. FinCEN is expected to issue a final rule, and a future administration or Congress could broaden the requirements again. The pattern from 2024 and 2025 shows how quickly this area moves.

The Bottom Line

The federal CTA burden on real estate investors has mostly disappeared, at least for now. The smart move is to keep your entity records clean so you can respond quickly if the rules change again.

Entity reporting requirements depend on your specific structure and state. Consult your attorney before acting on any of this.

Questions about how entity structures interact with a 1031 exchange? Call WealthBuilder 1031 at 888-508-1901.

Chris Peterson — Texas Licensed Attorney & Founder, WealthBuilder 1031

Chris is the Owner and President of WealthBuilder 1031 and a licensed Texas attorney. He graduated from Wheaton College and the University of Texas School of Law and speaks regularly to realtors, accountants, and title companies about 1031 exchanges. Learn more →