ONE LAST REMINDER: SMALL BUSINESSES MUST
FILE BOI REPORT BY JANUARY 1, 2025

You may have heard about a new filing requirement for small businesses called a Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report. This is not a scam! It is real, and the deadline to file it is January 1st.

The BOI report is required under a federal law approved by the United States Congress in 2021 with bipartisan support. It is a requirement in all 50 states and applies to small businesses with fewer than 20 employees and less than $5 million in revenue.

If you have already filed your BOI report, you can skip this article. And if your business is located in an area affected by Hurricane Milton, make sure to read the next article in this newsletter about the extended filing deadline in your area.

If you haven’t filed your BOI report yet, here is some basic information. You can also refer to our October and November newsletters for more detailed information.

PLEASE NOTE:  You may be getting emails about the new BOI report from companies like My Florida Corporate Filings or US Filing Services. Please understand that these are private companies offering to file your BOI report for a fee. If you file the form yourself, it is completely free. 

BOI reports must be filed using the US Department of Treasury’s e-filing portal at boiefiling.fincen.gov. *Make sure the website says An official website of the United States government at the top and has the seal of the US Treasury at the top with the words Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.  If you don’t see these two things, you may be on a private website that will charge you money to file the form.

There are two ways to submit a report: (1) fill out a web-based form and submit it online or (2) upload a completed PDF version of the form. We recommend the online filing method rather than the PDF method. 

Before you go to boiefiling.fincen.gov to file your BOI report, you need to do two things:

  • Identify the “beneficial owners” of your company.  Every company will have at least one beneficial owner. A beneficial owner is anyone who either (1) owns at least 25% of the company or (2) has “substantial control” of the company. A person is considered to have substantial control” of a company if they are a senior officer of the company or are an important decision maker at the company.
  • Scan the driver’s license for each beneficial owner of your company. You will need to upload a copy of the driver’s license for each beneficial owner when you file the form. You’ll also need the residential address, date of birth, and driver’s license number for each beneficial owner.

While the report sounds intimidating, it is actually not that hard to fill out. FUBA members with questions about filing their BOI report can call FUBA General Counsel Karen Phillips at 888-262-4483.  Karen is happy to walk FUBA members through the filing process at no charge.

BOI REPORT FILING DEADLINE EXTENDED
FOR BUSINESSES LOCATED IN AREAS
AFFECTED BY HURRICANE MILTON

The deadline to file a beneficial ownership report (BOI) has been delayed for businesses in areas that were affected by Hurricane Milton. The original filing deadline of January 1, 2025 has been pushed back six months for businesses in the area designated by FEMA as a disaster and by the IRS as being eligible for tax relief. 

The new deadline to file a BOI report is July 1, 2025 for businesses in the following Florida counties:  Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Glades, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, and Volusia. 

OVERTIME RULES CHANGE AGAIN

Federal law requires employers to pay overtime (time and a half) to employees who work over 40 hours in a work week. However, some employees are exempt from overtime if they earn over a certain threshold and perform primarily managerial or professional duties. 

There are exemptions from overtime for certain executive, administrative, and professional workers. To qualify for an exemption and be exempt from overtime pay, the employee must satisfy a three-part test:

1.    The employee must be paid on a salary basis (i.e., a fixed and predetermined amount per week
regardless of the quantity or quality of the work performed);

2.    The employee’s primary work must be of an exempt nature, such as managing the business, managing two or more employees, exercising independent judgement on important issues, etc.; and

3.    The employee must earn at least a minimum salary amount.

In July 2024, the minimum salary threshold to be exempt from overtime increased to $43,888.  Employees paid less than $43,888 a year automatically qualified for overtime pay. However, this increased salary threshold has been invalidated by a recent court decision. Effective immediately, the law is reverting to the old salary threshold of $35,568.  Employees who are paid more than $35,568 can be exempt from overtime if their job duties qualify. Employees earning less than this amount must be paid overtime.

INSURANCE POLICIES IN FLORIDA NO LONGER PROTECTED
FROM CANCELLATION AFTER DECEMBER 10TH

After Hurricanes Helene and Milton, insurance policies in 52 Florida counties were protected from cancellation, even if the policyholder was behind on their premium payments. This protection ends on December 10, 2024, and insurance companies may resume issuing cancellations to delinquent policyholders.