What is the IRS definition of beneficial owner?

Asked by: Wilton Nitzsche  |  Last update: February 6, 2026
Score: 4.7/5 (42 votes)

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) defines a beneficial owner as the person who is required under U.S. tax law to report the income or asset on a tax return. For example, if an individual is the beneficiary of a trust that holds income-generating assets, the IRS would consider them the beneficial owner of that income.

What is beneficial ownership in the IRS?

Certain types of corporations, limited liability companies, and other similar entities created in or registered to do business in the United States must report information about their beneficial owners—the persons who ultimately own or control the company—to FinCEN beginning on Jan. 1, 2024.

What are the criteria for a beneficial owner?

Under the ownership prong, a beneficial owner is each individual, if any, who, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship or otherwise, owns 25 percent or more of the equity interests of a legal entity customer.

What is classed as a beneficial owner?

For partnerships (other than a limited liability partnership), a beneficial owner is an individual who ultimately is entitled to, or controls more than 25% share of the capital/ profits or voting rights of the partnership, or otherwise exercises ultimate control over the management of the partnership.

How does the SEC define beneficial ownership?

Securities Act Rule 13d-3 defines “beneficial owner” as “any person who, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship, or otherwise has or shares: (1) Voting power which includes the power to vote, or to direct the voting of, such security; and/or, (2) Investment power which ...

Beneficial Ownership Information IRS. 🚚 For Each Individual Who Is A Beneficial Owner

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What is a beneficial ownership in simple terms?

A beneficial owner is always the living, breathing human being who ultimately profits from the company's activities, or controls the company's activities. It is never a company, other legal entity, or a nominee/proxy.

How to identify a beneficial owner?

A beneficial owner is an individual who ultimately owns or controls an entity such as a company, trust or partnership. 'Owns' in this case means owning 25% or more of the entity. This can be directly (such as through shareholdings) or indirectly (such as through another company's ownership or through a bank or broker).

Who is exempt from beneficial ownership?

Are some companies exempt from the reporting requirement? Yes, 23 types of entities are exempt from the beneficial ownership information reporting requirements. These entities include publicly traded companies meeting specified requirements, many nonprofits, and certain large operating companies.

What is a legal owner but not a beneficial owner?

The owner at law may not be the same person as the beneficial owner. A beneficial owner is a person entitled to the benefit of the land and on their death the equitable interest may not pass in the same way as the legal ownership does.

Who will be the beneficial owner?

(c) any person who exercises control over the management of the company or LLP. (b) holds the position of officer of the partnership.

What is required for beneficial ownership?

Important to remember the 5% threshold for beneficial ownership declaration, with an aggregate of 100%. Currently the Companies Act provides for 5% of beneficial interest in securities, thus the norm was upheld in terms of beneficial ownership. Any beneficial ownership / control below 5%, need not be declared.

What is the difference between a registered owner and a beneficial owner?

A registered owner or record holder holds shares directly with the company. A beneficial owner holds shares indirectly, through a bank or broker-dealer.

What is the beneficial owner rule in 2024?

Its purpose is to create business ownership transparency by identifying individuals who have either direct or indirect ownership (“beneficial ownership”) in a company. The overall goal is to alleviate fraudulent and illegal activities. FinCEN began accepting BOI reports through their website in January 2024.

Who counts as a beneficial owner?

In banking, the beneficial owners of a legal entity are those individuals who have a large equity interest or control over the entity's financials. Banks are required to collect this information in order to prevent money laundering.

How does the IRS define ownership?

An interest owned, directly or indirectly, by or for a corporation shall be considered as owned by any person who owns (directly and, in the case of a parent-subsidiary group of trades or businesses under common control, with the application of paragraph (b)(1) of this section, or in the case of a brother-sister group ...

What is the federal beneficial ownership rule?

A “beneficial owner” includes any individual who, directly or indirectly, exercises substantial control over a reporting company. An individual exercises “substantial control” over a reporting company if the individual meets any of four general criteria: The individual is a senior officer.

What is the new definition of beneficial owner?

According to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a beneficial owner is someone who owns 25% or more of a company's equity or exercises substantial control over the company's operations.

Who is not a beneficial owner?

In addition, “beneficial owner” does not include a minor child (although the information of their parent or guardian has to be reported); an individual acting as a nominee, intermediary, custodian, or agent of another individual; an employee acting solely as an employee; an individual whose only interest in the company ...

What are the two types of beneficial ownership?

For purposes of this rule, there are two categories to the definition of a beneficial owner: Ownership and Control. Ownership – Each natural person who directly or indirectly owns at least 25% of the equity interests of a legal entity.

How do I determine if I'm a beneficial owner?

A beneficial owner is someone who owns at least part of a property or other asset, even if its legal title is owned by someone else. That person can also vote on or otherwise influence decisions regarding transactions involving that asset or property. An example is a corporate shareholder.

Does a beneficial owner need to be a natural person?

PRINCIPLE 1: BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP DEFINITION

Guidance: The beneficial owner should always be a natural (physical) person and never another legal entity. The beneficial owner(s) is the person who ultimately exercises control through legal ownership or through other means.

What is the difference between beneficial owner and non beneficial owner?

A shareholder's beneficial status denotes whether a shareholder receives a direct benefit from the shares. If they do, then the shares are beneficially held and if not, then the shares are non-beneficially held. You can change the beneficial status of these shares online through ASIC.

What are the two prongs for identifying a beneficial owner?

What constitutes beneficial ownership? The U.S. government regulation defines “beneficial ownership' as being made up of two prongs (1) Ownership Prong and (2) Control Prong. A beneficial owner is an individual, if any, who, directly or indirectly, owns 25% or more of the equity interest of a legal entity customer.

How do you confirm beneficial ownership?

Successfully establishing who the ultimate beneficial owner(s) of an entity is takes place through a series of checks - often via a process known as KYB or as part of an onboarding or ongoing Know Your Customer (KYC), Customer Due Diligence (CDD) or third-party due diligence program.

Who is a deemed beneficial owner?

In the case of a single director company, with a different sole shareholder, the director will be considered a Beneficial Owner as they have direct control of the company, and the sole shareholder, if they meet the criteria of 25%+1 share is also deemed to be a beneficial owner.