FinCEN Real Estate Reporting: What 31 CFR 1031.320 Asks
FinCEN's residential real estate reporting rule asks a reporting person to report each reportable transfer. What property it covers, who files, and what the rule leaves out.
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What the rule covers
FinCEN real estate reporting comes from 31 CFR 1031.320. It sits in the bank secrecy act regulations. § 1031.320 puts the filing duty on a reporting person.
The rule is about homes. § 1031.320 says residential real property includes real property in the United States containing a structure designed for occupancy by one to four families. A single rental house counts. So does a four-unit building.
What counts as a reportable transfer
§ 1031.320 says a reportable transfer must be reported to FinCEN by the reporting person. The rule then carves out transfers that do not need a report at all.
Some of the carve-outs surprise people. § 1031.320 says a transfer resulting from the death of an individual is not a reportable transfer. A house that passes to heirs because the owner died needs no report under this section.
§ 1031.320 says a transfer incident to divorce or dissolution of a marriage or civil union is not a reportable transfer. A transfer made as part of a divorce is outside the rule.
§ 1031.320 says a transfer supervised by a court in the United States is not a reportable transfer. A sale a US court supervises does not get reported under this section.
Who the reporting person is
§ 1031.320 gives the duty to report to the reporting person.
The duty can move. § 1031.320 says the reporting person may enter an agreement to designate another person as the reporting person for a transfer. The person who holds the duty can pass it to another person. They do this by agreement.
One group is out entirely. § 1031.320 says a financial institution that must maintain an anti-money laundering program is not a reporting person. So banks with such a program do not file it.
The rule also gives some breathing room on facts. § 1031.320 says the reporting person may reasonably rely on information collected from others. The person filing can use information others collected, so long as the reliance is reasonable.
How the report is filed
There is one form. § 1031.320 says a reportable transfer shall be reported by completing a Real Estate Report filed electronically with FinCEN. No paper copy, no mailing. The report goes through FinCEN's electronic system.
Records, and what is not confidential
The reporting person keeps a file. § 1031.320 requires a reporting person to maintain a copy of any certification described in paragraph (j)(2) of the section.
Here the rule breaks from what filing staff expect. § 1031.320 says reports under this section and information revealing that a reportable transfer was reported are not confidential.
Where this fits
This report is one piece of a wider set. The other FinCEN reporting requirements cover other transactions. Each one sits under its own section. This one covers transfers of residential real property.
The Real Estate Report covers the property transfer itself.