All-Cash Home Purchases – US Treasury

Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)

Excerpt from Realtor.com article.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) will implement a new federal rule March 1, 2026, requiring mandatory reporting of all-cash (non-financed) residential real estate purchases made by legal entities, trusts, or shell companies.

The rule is targeted toward high-risk all-cash transactions; not focusing on the broader residential market.

The federal regulation, formally known as the “Anti-Money Laundering Regulations for Residential Real Estate Transfers,” requires mandatory reporting of all-cash residential real estate transactions involving trusts, estates, limited liability companies (LLCs), corporations, and partnerships to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

….FinCEN is seeking to make it harder for criminals using legal entities to launder misbegotten funds through all-cash home purchases while keeping their identities shielded….

….The regulation directly affects settlement agents, title insurance companies and agents, escrow agents, and attorneys, who will be responsible for reporting to FinCEN “high-risk” all-cash transfers of residential real estate….

What constitutes a reportable transaction?

• The property is a residential real estate property in the U.S. This includes single-family houses, townhouses, condominiums, and co-ops in large buildings with many such units, as well as entire apartment buildings designed for occupancy by one to four families. The rule also requires reporting on transfers of land on which the buyer plans to build a house designed for occupancy by one to four families.
• The purchase transfer is non-financed, meaning that it does not involve a home loan from a financial institution subject to an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program and Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) obligations.
• The property is transferred to a legal entity or trust. These categories include limited liability companies, corporations, partnerships, and trusts. Both domestic and foreign entities and trusts are covered by the reporting requirement.
• An exemption does not apply. The rule lists 10 types of non-reportable property transfers, including those resulting from death, divorce, and bankruptcy.