The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced an increase in the filing fees to be paid by public companies and other issuers during the SEC’s 2020 fiscal year. Effective October 1, 2019, the filing fee rate will increase approximately 7.1 percent from the current rate of $121.20 per million dollars to $129.80 per million dollars for:
- The registration of securities under the Securities Act of 1933;
- The repurchase of securities in going private transactions pursuant to Section 13(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act);
- Certain proxy solicitations and statements in corporate control transactions pursuant to Section 14(g) of the Exchange Act; and
- The payment of fees in connection with the Annual Notice of Securities Sold Pursuant to Rule 24f-2 under the Investment Company Act of 1940
The fiscal year 2020 filing fee rate increase is the third in the past four years, with fiscal year 2019 the only year having a decrease. Companies that are planning on submitting filings later in 2019 for which a filing fee will be paid at the time of filing may want to consider whether they have the flexibility – and, if so, whether they consider it worthwhile – to file before October 1, 2019, to avoid the filing fee rate increase.
New filing fee rates for the SEC’s 2021 fiscal year will be announced by August 31, 2020.