BE WARY OF EMAILS TELLING YOU TO FILE A BOI REPORT — BOI IS NO LONGER REQUIRED

The Beneficial Ownership Information report (BOI) was a short-lived mandatory report required for small businesses nationwide in late 2024 and early 2025. It was officially abolished in March 2025 by the United States Treasury Department and is now only required for foreign businesses registered in the United States.

Small businesses formed in the United States are not required to file a BOI report.

Even though the BOI has been dead for almost a year, private companies are still sending “reminder” emails to small businesses about filing the BOI. These emails imply that your business needs to file a BOI report.

Be aware: These emails are not from the government. They are solicitations from private companies that want to charge you for filing a BOI report on your behalf.

Because the BOI status has been on-again-off-again so many times in the last year, small businesses may be confused by these BOI emails.

Here’s the bottom line: Small businesses do not have to file a BOI report. Unless your business is registered outside the United States of America, you can safely ignore solicitation or “reminder” emails regarding the BOI report.

REMINDER: FILE YOUR COMPANY’S 2026 FLORIDA ANNUAL REPORT BY MAY 1ST

The state of Florida requires a yearly filing by May 1st from all corporations and LLCs registered in Florida to keep the company in official active status.

The Annual Report simply verifies your company’s information with the state like your address and names of officers. The filing is a good time to make any necessary updates to your company’s information on file, like a new mailing address or adding/deleting an officer.

Florida law requires companies to file an Annual Report every year even if none of their information on file has changed.

The state charges a filing fee of $150 for corporations and $138.75 for LLCs, even if no changes are needed.

To file your company’s 2026 Annual Report, go to the state’s official corporate registry at Sunbiz.org. Make sure the page says “an official State of Florida website” at the top. This is how you know you are on the official government web page.

Under the blue Filing Services section on the left-hand side, click on the button highlighted in yellow that says Annual Report. You will need the document number that was assigned to your business by the Division of Corporations when you first registered with the state. This number will be in the reminder email from the Division of Corporations, or you can look it up by going to Sunbiz.org and clicking on “Search Records” and searching your company’s name.

If you file after the May 1st deadline, the state will add a mandatory penalty of $400 in addition to the normal fee. And if you do not file your Annual Report, the state will place your company in inactive status and eventually dissolve your company, which allows someone else to take over your company’s name and also jeopardizes any workers’ comp exemptions held by the company’s officers.

US POSTAL SERVICE POSTMARK DATES MAY AFFECT TIMELY TAX FILINGS AND PAYMENTS

In light of the recent announcement from the US Postal Service (USPS) regarding postmark dates, the Florida Department of Revenue has released guidance for small businesses that file their state tax returns and pay taxes owed through the US mail.

Information a Postmark Conveys
Traditionally, a USPS postmark has shown the date when mail was deposited in a mailbox or submitted at the post office counter. However, the USPS recently updated its guidance on what the postmark date means.

USPS has updated its Domestic Mail Manual to explain that a postmark date on most mail reflects the date the mail is first processed at a postal facility, which is not necessarily the date the mail was put in the mailbox or collected by a mail carrier.

While USPS states that its postmarking procedures have not changed, this clarification confirms that a postmark date may be later than the date an item was mailed. As a result, the postmark date may affect whether a tax return or tax payment is considered timely.
 
How Postmark Dates Affect Tax Return and Payment Due Dates
For tax returns and payments that are allowed to be submitted by mail, Florida law considers them timely filed if they are postmarked on or before the due date.

Because postmark dates may occur after the date the mail was put in the mail, businesses who mail close to a deadline may be subject to penalties and interest if the tax return or payment is postmarked after the due date.

What Businesses Should Do
To avoid issues related to USPS postmark timing and penalties for late filing, the Florida Department of Revenue recommends that businesses file and pay their taxes and fees online instead of mailing in tax returns and payments. Electronic submissions are recorded immediately and are not affected by mail delays or postmark timing.

For more information on electronic filing, visit the Department of Revenue’s website. 

Other options include:

  • Mail early. Send tax returns and payments several days before the deadline so that the mail will receive a postmark by the due date.
  • Go inside. Take mail inside the post office and choose one of these in-person options:

– Request a manual postmark to ensure the date reflects when the USPS accepted your item.
– Get a certificate of mailing. This works like a receipt, providing official proof of when you sent the item. Keep your copy; the USPS does not retain one.
– Send your mail by registered or certified mail to get a receipt and tracking information.