Temporary hold: FinCEN’s Residential Real Estate Reporting Rule

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A few weeks ago, I wrote about FinCEN's new Residential Real Estate Reporting Rule a while back. Well, here's the update: a federal court just threw the whole thing out. At least temporarily. Flowers Title Co., LLC v. Bessent was decided on March 19, 2026, in the Eastern District of Texas. 

You'll recall that the rule was supposed to take effect on March 1, 2026, and it would have required closing attorneys, title companies, and other "reporting persons" to file reports on all-cash residential transfers involving LLCs, corporations, or trusts. The court found the rule was overly broad and that the administrative record didn't support it. FinCEN also couldn't show a clear statutory basis for the rule in the first place.

So now we wait. Will a higher court reverse? Will Congress get involved? Will FinCEN come back with something narrower? My guess is they'll appeal, and at some point FinCEN will try again with a revised version that addresses the court's concerns.

If you've been scrambling to set up compliance procedures for this, you can take a breath. For now. But I wouldn't throw out those compliance plans just yet.

Bottom line: the federal reporting requirements are not in effect right now, but this isn't over. The Feds clearly want more visibility into all-cash entity and trust transactions, and I'm sure they'll find a way to get there eventually. I'll keep an eye on this and post updates as things develop.

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