A recent flurry of new rules, both proposed and finalized, may interest small business owners or those who advise them.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has proposed two new rules. The first, Revised Size Standards Methodology, will update SBA’s methodology for determining which businesses qualify as “small.” The second, on Small Business Size Standards, would consolidate the number of industry-specific size standards and raise size standard thresholds.
Key highlights of the proposed size standard overhaul, as noted in the announcement, include:
-
Streamlines the existing NAICS structure to a 4-digit classification system that reduces total size standard categories from nearly 1,000 down to 338 broad industry groupings
-
Introduces regional market considerations to ensure size thresholds accurately reflect the realities of local economic competition
-
Expands the pool of employer small businesses (firms with 1 or more employees) by 1.8%, growing the nation's 6.3 million employer firms by over 110,000 and adding to the 36 million small businesses that exist today
The SBA is seeking comments on the proposed rule, due September 21, 2026. Small businesses can check their current industry classification and size eligibility by visiting www.sba.gov/size-standards.
A recently released final rule from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) permanently removes the requirement for U.S. companies and U.S. persons to report beneficial ownership information to FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act. The final rule became effective on August 14, 2026. FinCEN also announced that it will delete previously reported information by U.S. persons—now exempt from the reporting requirements—from the beneficial ownership information database.
According to a press release from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the final rule:
-
Makes the March 2025 rollback of beneficial ownership reporting by U.S. companies permanent
-
Exempts U.S. persons who have obtained FinCEN IDs from any obligation to update or correct their information
-
Eliminates the requirement for foreign companies to report U.S. individuals who helped foreign companies register to do business in the United States
-
Exempts foreign pooled investment vehicles registered in the U.S. from reporting the beneficial ownership information of a U.S person in control of the investment vehicle
-
Confirms that FinCEN will delete information about any individuals that FinCEN reasonably believes is a U.S. person
Under the final rule, foreign entities that are reporting companies will still be required to report beneficial ownership information for foreign individuals.