FinCEN’s residential real estate reporting rule is on hold

What the rule required

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, part of the U.S. Treasury, issued a rule in 2024 aimed at money laundering through residential real estate. It required a report on certain non-financed transfers of residential property to a transferee entity, such as an LLC or corporation, or to a transferee trust. A transfer was not reportable if every transferee received credit that was secured by the property and came from a financial institution that itself must keep an anti-money-laundering program and report suspicious transactions. A loan from a lender without those obligations did not count as financing. The reports were to be filed by professionals involved in the closing, not by the buyer directly.

Timeline

On September 30, 2025, FinCEN postponed the reporting requirement to March 1, 2026, so reports applied to covered transfers closing on or after that date. On March 19, 2026, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ruled that FinCEN lacked legal authority to issue the rule and ordered it vacated. FinCEN notes that two other judges have rejected challenges to the rule. FinCEN, through the Department of Justice, has appealed. FinCEN updated its published questions and answers on May 18, 2026.

What it means in practice

The rule mattered mainly to buyers who take title in an LLC, corporation or trust and pay without a bank mortgage, and to the closing attorneys and title professionals who would have filed. While the court order stands, FinCEN says no one is required to file these reports. Buyers using an entity or trust still have the usual closing steps, including any questions their closing attorney or title company asks to complete the transaction.

FinCEN has said that if the order is overturned and the rule takes effect again, it will not require reports for transfers that would have been covered while the order was in force, and it will give further guidance on when reporting will be required.

Status as of October 2026

As of the date above, FinCEN’s notice says reporting persons are not currently required to file real estate reports, and the appeal is pending. If you are planning an entity or trust purchase without financing, ask your closing attorney to confirm the status close to your closing date.