A multi-year advocacy effort by Community Associations Institute brings welcome relief for volunteer board members.
There’s some good news for community association boards — and it’s the kind of news worth sharing.
On August 11, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a final rule permanently exempting U.S. companies and U.S. persons, including community association board members, from the federal Corporate Transparency Act’s beneficial ownership information reporting requirements.
For volunteer board members who have spent the past several years trying to understand whether they were required to provide personal information to the federal government, this is a significant change.
A Win Years in the Making
This didn’t happen overnight.
Since the Corporate Transparency Act’s reporting requirements began creating questions and compliance concerns for community associations, Community Associations Institute (CAI) has been advocating for an exemption for volunteer association board members.
According to CAI, its efforts included working directly with federal policymakers and FinCEN, submitting regulatory comments, educating community association leaders, mobilizing grassroots advocates and, in 2024, filing a federal lawsuit challenging the application of the CTA to community associations.
CAI’s position was that volunteer homeowners serving on association boards had been unintentionally caught by reporting requirements designed to address financial crimes such as money laundering.
That advocacy has now resulted in a permanent regulatory exemption.
What Changed?
Under the new final rule:
- U.S. companies and U.S. persons, including community association board members, are exempt from beneficial ownership information reporting requirements.
- Individuals who previously obtained a FinCEN identifier do not need to update or correct information they previously provided.
- FinCEN plans to establish a process for deleting previously reported information that it determines was submitted by U.S. persons who are now exempt.
- Certain foreign entities registered to do business in the United States remain subject to reporting requirements.
For the typical community association board made up of volunteer homeowners, the practical takeaway is straightforward: the federal beneficial ownership reporting requirement no longer applies to them.
One Important Distinction
There’s an important legal distinction worth understanding.
The Corporate Transparency Act itself remains part of federal law. The August 11 change came through a Treasury/FinCEN final rule that establishes the exemption for U.S. companies and U.S. persons.
CAI continues to advocate for legislation that would repeal the Corporate Transparency Act entirely. The organization’s federal advocacy priorities include support for H.R. 425, the Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act, which would repeal the CTA.
So while the reporting requirement has been removed for community association board members, the underlying federal statute has not disappeared.
Why This Matters
Community association boards already have plenty on their plates.
Volunteer directors are responsible for helping oversee budgets, maintenance, reserves, insurance, contracts, compliance and the many day-to-day decisions required to operate a community. Eliminating an additional federal reporting requirement removes one more administrative concern from an already demanding volunteer role.
It’s also a good reminder that community association advocacy can produce tangible results.
CAI members have been working on this issue for years, and the August 11 final rule represents a significant development for associations and the volunteers who serve them.
For community association boards, that’s something worth celebrating.
And it’s a good example of why staying informed matters.
Source: Community Associations Institute, “Breaking News: U.S. Treasury and FinCEN Issues Final Rule Ending Corporate Transparency Act’s Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements for Community Association Board Members,” August 12, 2026.
