FinCEN Reporting: What is it and What you need to know
What is FinCEN?
FinCEN stands for Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and is a Division of the U. S. Treasury Department.
What do they do?
They safeguard the financial system from illicit activity, money laundering, financial terrorism and other financial crimes.
What is the Reporting about?
Starting March 1, 2026, Settlement Agents are required to provide a report to the Treasury Department about transfers of Residential property where the buyer is an entity or a trust and they are not using a traditional loan company.
Find some answers to your questions directly from FinCEN here:
How will this affect me?
If you are purchasing property using cash or a non-traditional lender and placing that property into an LLC or a Trust, we will need to collect information from all the members of that LLC or Trustees of the Trust including Legal Name, Date of Birth, Home Address, Taxpayer Number and Identifying documents.
If you are a Seller where the buyer qualifies for reporting, we will also need to collect some information from you, including your taxpayer number.
Will this hold up my closing?
Not likely. While we cannot close without this information, it only takes a few minutes to provide. As long as all parties are compliant, there should be no issues.
How will this information be collected?
We use a third party reporting service that reports directly to the U.S. Treasury and links with our Title Insurance Company called FincenRealEstateReport.com. It is completely secure. They will send you some questions to answer and when the process has been completed, we will receive the clear to close.