On December 11 2020, with a bipartisan veto-proof majority, the US Senate joined the House of Representatives in passing the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, a ~1500 page bill which included ~20 pages describing the Corporate Transparency Act.

The CTA requires a report be filed with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) that identifies every beneficial owner of any company formed in the US, or any foreign company that registers to do business in the US. FinCEN defines “beneficial owner” as "any individual who, directly or indirectly, either exercises substantial control over such reporting company or owns or controls at least 25 percent of the ownership interests of such reporting company."

The CTA eventually took effect on January 1, 2024. More than 30 million existing entities are expected to be subject to the CTA, and approximately 5 million new entities are expected to join that number each year. According to FinCEN ~500,000 reports were filed in the first 2 months of 2024.