New rates will take effect at the beginning of the next fiscal year, Oct. 1, 2017, for public companies and other issuers to register their securities with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC announced on Aug. 24, 2017, that the fiscal year 2018 fees to register securities will be set at $124.50 per million dollars. This is up from the $115.90 per million dollars fee for fiscal year 2017. The 7.4 percent increase is significantly less than the increase from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2017 ($100.70 to $115.90, or 15.1 percent). However, issuers saw the rates lowered for fiscal year 2015 to 2016.
The change is made in accordance with the requirements mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act to make annual adjustments to the rates for fees under Section 6(b) of the Securities Act of 1933 (the Act), and Sections 13(e) and 14(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act). The annual rate changes for fees paid under Section 6(b) of the Act are set at a level the SEC projects will generate collections equal to annual statutory target amounts. The adjustment to Section 6(b) of the Act also sets the annual adjustment to the fee rates under Sections 13(e) and 14(g) of the Exchange Act.
Public companies and other issuers should take note of the increase the past two years, as this may be a trend back to the recent high point of fees in fiscal year 2013 ($136.40 per million dollars).
