Corporate Transparency Act: Fifth Circuit Lifts Nationwide Injunction, FinCEN Extends Filing Deadlines

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A divided motions panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted the US government’s request for an emergency stay of a nationwide preliminary injunction against the government’s enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) that was issued by the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on December 3, 2024. The stay reintroduced the January 1, 2025 deadline for filings under the CTA for reporting companies formed prior to January 1, 2024. Shortly after the ruling, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued guidance extending the filing deadline to January 13, 2025 for most reporting companies.

Two members of the panel found that the government was likely to succeed in defending the CTA’s constitutionality, holding that the reporting requirements fall within US Congress’s Commerce Clause power. The majority also found that enjoining the statute would cause irreparable harm to the government’s anti-money laundering efforts and that this harm outweighed the burden on businesses.

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