UPDATE: Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements Reinstated; New Deadline Jan. 13
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit yesterday stayed a previous order temporarily halting implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and its beneficial ownership reporting obligations for certain corporations and limited liability companies. As a result, reporting companies now must comply with the new requirements.
FinCEN, the enforcement agency for the rules, issued an alert extending the deadline to Jan. 13 from Jan. 1 in light of yesterday’s decision.
As reported in a recent NAHBNow blog post, on Dec. 3, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction temporary halting implementation of the CTA and its beneficial ownership reporting obligations. The district court’s decision effectively relieved reporting companies of their obligation to comply with the CTA’s Jan. 1, 2025, reporting deadline.
In a down-to-the-wire effort to preserve the Jan. 1 deadline, the Department of Justice (DOJ), on behalf of the Treasury Department and other federal defendants, immediately filed a notice of appeal with the Fifth Circuit. A few days later, DOJ followed up with an emergency motion seeking a stay of the district court’s injunction pending appeal.
The fifth circuit yesterday determined that the "government has demonstrated that a stay is warranted" and temporarily blocked enforcement of the lower district court's order and injunction pending appeal. The decision cited Congress's broad Commerce Clause authority to regulate entities engaged in commercial activities, the infliction of irreparable harm to the government, and a balance of equities favoring the public's urgent interest in combating financial crimes and national security versus the minimal reporting burden placed on reporting companies.
Although the Fifth Circuit order did not delay any reporting deadlines, FinCEN has since released an alert on the matter with reporting deadline extensions, including the new Jan. 13 date.
Latest from NAHBNow
Economics | Housing Affordability
Feb 24, 2026
Falling Mortgage Rates Make Homeownership Possible for Millions of HouseholdsThe average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to around 6% last week, the lowest rate borrowers have seen in close to three years. Borrowers will not only enjoy lower monthly payments at that rate, but it also makes homeownership possible for millions more.
Material Costs
Feb 23, 2026
Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump’s Tariffs – But Uncertainty PersistsThe Supreme Court on Feb. 20 ruled that President Trump’s attempts to use emergency powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) was not valid. But Trump still has wide latitude in setting tariff policy and announced a new global tariff of 15%. American consumers and businesses are unsure how any new tariffs will affect them.
Latest Economic News
Economics
Feb 24, 2026
Young Adult Headship Rates in 2024: Cyclical Slip or New Equilibrium?Reversing the post-pandemic rebound, the headship rates among young adults (the share of the population heading their own households) declined in 2024, according to NAHB’s analysis of the American Community Survey (ACS) data.
Economics
Feb 23, 2026
A 25-Basis-Point Decline in the Mortgage Rate Prices-In 1.42 Million HouseholdsHousing affordability remains a critical challenge nationwide, and mortgage rates continue to play a central role in shaping homebuying power. Although rates have declined from the recent peak of about 7.6% in 2023 to around 6.01% as of February 19,2026, they remain elevated relative to typical levels in the 2010s.
Economics
Feb 20, 2026
New Home Sales Close 2025 with Modest GainsNew home sales ended 2025 on a mixed but resilient note, signaling steady underlying demand despite ongoing affordability and supply constraints. The latest data released today (and delayed because of the government shutdown in fall of 2025) indicate that while month-to-month activity shows a small decline, sales remain stronger than a year ago, signaling that buyer interest in newly built homes has improved.