FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki told a House Financial Services subcommittee on July 21, 2026 that the agency is “very close to the finish line” on finalizing a revised beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting rule — the latest signal that the on-again, off-again Corporate Transparency Act saga isn’t over.
What happened
Testifying at an oversight hearing, Gacki said finalization of the revised rule would happen “very soon,” though she gave no specific date. The statement comes over a year after FinCEN issued an interim final rule in March 2025 that removed BOI reporting requirements for U.S.-formed companies and U.S. persons entirely, narrowing the rule so that only foreign entities registered to do business in a U.S. state or tribal jurisdiction remain “reporting companies” under the Corporate Transparency Act.
That interim rule is still what’s currently in effect: domestic small businesses are not required to file BOI reports with FinCEN right now. Gacki’s comments signal that a formal, finalized version of that rule — closing out the rulemaking process rather than leaving it on interim footing — is coming, though her testimony didn’t detail what substantive changes, if any, the final version might include beyond formalizing the current exemption.
Why it matters
This is a different chapter of the BOI story than the two already in play this year: NFIB has been pushing Congress for a permanent statutory repeal of the underlying mandate, and a GAO report found federal agencies’ actual access to what’s left of the ownership database has been sharply curtailed. Gacki’s testimony is about the regulatory track — finalizing the rule that already exempts domestic companies, rather than repealing or reviving the law itself.
For small business owners, the practical reporting obligation hasn’t changed: domestic companies still don’t have to file. What’s uncertain is whether a final rule could reopen that exemption to changes, or whether it simply locks in the current relief.
What this means for small businesses
- Nothing to file today. If you’re a U.S.-formed small business, you remain exempt from BOI reporting under the current interim rule.
- Don’t discard your ownership documentation. Given how many times this rule has changed direction — mandate, injunction, mandate again, broad exemption — keeping your beneficial-ownership records current and organized costs little and protects you if the finalized rule narrows the exemption.
- Foreign entities registered to do business in a U.S. state remain reporting companies and should stay current on their filing obligations regardless of what happens with the domestic exemption.
- Watch for the actual final rule text once published — that’s when to reassess, not based on a hearing soundbite alone.
“We are very close to the finish line.” — Andrea Gacki, FinCEN Director, House Financial Services subcommittee, July 21, 2026
The bottom line
The exemption that’s protected domestic small businesses from BOI reporting since March 2025 is still in place, and FinCEN’s director is signaling it’s about to become official rather than just an interim stopgap. That’s good news for now — but with this rule’s history of reversals, keep half an eye on the final text when it lands.
Sources: ABA Banking Journal, FinCEN.gov
