Any issues with very large cash deposits?

[RetiredHappy]

Holding on to the cash since Y2K?

 

[fisemper]

I sold a car in the spring of 2023..$9000 in cash all in hundreds. Took them to our bank to deposit expecting to fill out paperwork and was surprised when the teller wasn't (surprised). No forms. no questions. YMMV.

I have yet to be questioned. I have used the same bank, as most of us probably have, for close to 20 years.

So you no longer expect an emergency? Wondering what changed in your calculation on how much cash you should hold.

Only part of it. I want to try a couple of other investing strategies.

Actually putting in smaller amounts of cash over time is illegal and will bring far more scrutiny as it will be assumed that you are trying to avoid reporting. https://www.usnews.com/banking/articles/if-you-deposit-a-lot-of-cash-does-your-bank-report-it-to-the-government#:~:text=This is known as structuring,across more than one bank.

I have done that before and nobody has come calling. I had no need to go large at the time, but paying off other debts with cash as I was able.

 

[fisemper]

Holding on to the cash since Y2K?

I wish, I was barely getting my military service going...Monthly pay for E2 was 1110.

 

[Koolau]

Hope that you do not have any "old" 100s (or 50s). Those all are usually carefully examined as they are the most likely to be counterfeit. Good luck.

 

[luckydude]

I have cash on hand that I put away in case of emergency. It has been a few years and I am planning on putting most back in to invest. Should I be worried about making a large deposit five digit deposit? I don't have ATM receipts but I am sure my bank goes back 5-6 years with electronic statements.

I don't see why it would be an issue. As long as your money is legit and you have nothing to hide, it's perfectly legal to deposit whatever amount of cash you have on hand. It is true that the bank is required to file a routine report with the government for such large deposits, but that's the bank's responsibility and it's automatically generated by the bank's IT system so you won't have to do a thing. That report simply gets filed away with the government as a record and that's pretty much it. It won't trigger any investigation by the IRS. There are probably hundreds of thousands of such reports that get generated annually and they just get filed away.

I think the only time the IRS would pull up such reports (if any) on an individual is if an individual is under investigation for tax evasion, fraud or some other criminal activity. In that case, the government will use any such report on an individual as evidence to build up their criminal case against that person. But if you're just an ordinary law-abiding taxpayer with nothing to hide, then this won't be an issue.

 

[Koolau]

How about spending the money instead of depositing? When I look at my CC statements, I could get rid of a lot of cash in a month by just not using my CC for a while.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

How about spending the money instead of depositing? When I look at my CC statements, I could get rid of a lot of cash in a month by just not using my CC for a while.

This is the way. Had a friend who had somewhere between 10k-15k in cash accumulated over the years (just by taking out a hundred or so a week). Decided to put it back. I suggested to just spend it instead of using credit cards on normal things: restaurants, food, trips to Home Depot, etc. It was gone pretty quickly.

ETA: The difference between a single somewhat large slug of cash and organized crime is that they have cash coming in constantly.

 

[street]

Some of the articles make it sound like you are going to get into big trouble depositing a large amount of cash. No, you are just being monitored for a pattern, and you can get in trouble if you structure it to try to stay below the radar.

Yes, that is how I understand it also. I talked to the bank president whom I knew very well.

 

[street]

I don't see why it would be an issue. As long as your money is legit and you have nothing to hide, it's perfectly legal to deposit whatever amount of cash you have on hand. It is true that the bank is required to file a routine report with the government for such large deposits, but that's the bank's responsibility and it's automatically generated by the bank's IT system so you won't have to do a thing. That report simply gets filed away with the government as a record and that's pretty much it. It won't trigger any investigation by the IRS. There are probably hundreds of thousands of such reports that get generated annually and they just get filed away.

I think the only time the IRS would pull up such reports (if any) on an individual is if an individual is under investigation for tax evasion, fraud or some other criminal activity. In that case, the government will use any such report on an individual as evidence to build up their criminal case against that person. But if you're just an ordinary law-abiding taxpayer with nothing to hide, then this won't be an issue.

Exactly!!1

 

[disneysteve]

Back when I was poor and broke, I used to dream about finding a briefcase full of $100 bills. These days, I am not sure how I would get them in my accounts clear of scrutiny.

No need. Just use it as your spending money. Years ago I had a job where in addition to my paycheck I sometimes got cash for extra work. Often a few hundred at a time, so I used it as our spending money rather than swiping a credit card.

 

[audreyh1]

Yes, that is how I understand it also. I talked to the bank president whom I knew very well.

Some people, small cash business owners, have gotten into big trouble because it looked like they were structuring (making repeated slightly smaller deposits to avoid reporting) when they weren’t, it was just their cash flow. This part of the law has some problems as enforcement is extremely aggressive to shut down money laundering.

 

[sengsational]

The reports make the case for tax evasion easier to prosecute. If you never expect you'll be standing in front of a judge for tax evasion, you're probably fine just backing up a truck to tha bank and dumping it all in at once.

I wouldn't spend the cash. First of all, most of my spending is no longer at a brick and mortar location. And if it is, it's a small amount and more trouble than using the card. Finally, I'm giving up the CC bonus of 3%.

 

[sdtech]

Banks probably do this once an hour... they fill out a form. So what if the gov't asks you - just tell them you accumulated it over time.

 

[disneysteve]

The reports make the case for tax evasion easier to prosecute. If you never expect you'll be standing in front of a judge for tax evasion, you're probably fine just backing up a truck to tha bank and dumping it all in at once.

I wouldn't spend the cash. First of all, most of my spending is no longer at a brick and mortar location. And if it is, it's a small amount and more trouble than using the card. Finally, I'm giving up the CC bonus of 3%.

I find myself spending cash more than I have in years since so many places now charge an extra 3% for credit.

 

[Gumby]

.....

As for putting it back, I understand that cash may cause some scrutiny but it’s legal tender and you can show it was obtained legally so I would just go for it. I think an alternative of putting in smaller amounts over time would bring on more questions/scrutiny so I wouldn’t bother with that.

Yes, the bank does have to fill out Cash Transaction Report if you deposit $10k or more, and they may file a Suspicious Activity Report for even smaller amounts, but you don't have the burden of proof to show that you obtained the cash legally. If the government wants to prosecute you for something, they have the burden of proving that you obtained the cash from illegal activities, since merely having cash is not a crime. And in "structuring," the crime is not having the money or even depositing the money, it is trying intentionally to deposit cash in a manner designed to avoid the reporting requirements. Specifically, the government must prove that your cash deposits were

• For the purpose of evading the reporting requirements of 31 CFR 1010.311, Filing obligations for reports of transactions in currency, 31 CFR 1010.313, Aggregation, 31 CFR 1020.315, Transactions of exempt persons, 31 CFR 1021.311, Filing obligations, or 31 CFR 1021.313, Aggregation.

See 4.26.13 Structuring | Internal Revenue Service

To put it more simply, when the government wants to prosecute you for a crime, they must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you did it. You don't have to prove that you didn't.

 

[Car-Guy]

I've been doing lot's of 10k+ cash deposits/withdrawals for years. (Banks and Casinos) I know they are filling out CTR's on me (as required) and maybe occasionally SAR's (optional). It's not an issue

 

[audreyh1]

How about spending the money instead of depositing? When I look at my CC statements, I could get rid of a lot of cash in a month by just not using my CC for a while.

For a many years there I wasn’t withdrawing cash from a US ATM at all because between the annual Costco Executive rebate and Costco Citi Visa cash rewards I was awash in cash. Then they stopped cashing the executive rebate - you had to use it at a register but they would give any change in cash. Then Citi Bank allowed you to direct deposit credit card rewards over $500. So no more annual cash influx. But we still haven’t used the ATM since. I guess we’re still using up the cash hoard (just a few hundred) at home although I even remember depositing some. The thing is we use almost no cash whatsoever.

 

[WhenIsItTime]

Need a poll for cash on hand. Curious what folks have hidden in the mattress.

I know a guy who had >$20k in a gun safe. House burnt down. Was so hot most of the bills were burnt. His insurance covered something like 1st $1k. He had to take burnt bills and ashes to Treasury. They replaced all they could identify.

 

[audreyh1]

I think there was one way back…..

 

[street]

Yes, the bank does have to fill out Cash Transaction Report if you deposit $10k or more, and they may file a Suspicious Activity Report for even smaller amounts, but you don't have the burden of proof to show that you obtained the cash legally. If the government wants to prosecute you for something, they have the burden of proving that you obtained the cash from illegal activities, since merely having cash is not a crime. And in "structuring," the crime is not having the money or even depositing the money, it is trying intentionally to deposit cash in a manner designed to avoid the reporting requirements. Specifically, the government must prove that your cash deposits were

• For the purpose of evading the reporting requirements of 31 CFR 1010.311, Filing obligations for reports of transactions in currency, 31 CFR 1010.313, Aggregation, 31 CFR 1020.315, Transactions of exempt persons, 31 CFR 1021.311, Filing obligations, or 31 CFR 1021.313, Aggregation.

See 4.26.13 Structuring | Internal Revenue Service

To put it more simply, when the government wants to prosecute you for a crime, they must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you did it. You don't have to prove that you didn't.

If you have nothing to hide you are fine. I would go dump the wheelbarrow full of Bemjamins at the bank and not worry about it.

 

[street]

Need a poll for cash on hand. Curious what folks have hidden in the mattress.

I know a guy who had >$20k in a gun safe. House burnt down. Was so hot most of the bills were burnt. His insurance covered something like 1st $1k. He had to take burnt bills and ashes to Treasury. They replaced all they could identify.

Not all that many years ago I had >30K of 100's in a tin in the deep freezer in the house. That is where I stored some cash, and I called it my Cold Cash Stash.

 

[Car-Guy]

Need a poll for cash on hand. Curious what folks have hidden in the mattress.

I don't keep a lot of cash "on hand" in my safe/etc. And because of that I have a lot of cash flow. Often taking money out of a "financial institution" one day, only to turn around and deposit it back in another financial institution in a few days. That generates a lot of CTR's. No big deal.

 

[imjustawarrior]

He had to take burnt bills and ashes to Treasury.

When we toured the Bureau of Engraving and Printing north of Fort Worth, there was a worker picking through a pile of ashes. He explained the process of identifying burnt bills. It was quite interesting.

If one is ever in the area, I highly recommend touring the facility. It was quite fascinating.

 

[RetiredHappy]

Not all that many years ago I had >30K of 100's in a tin in the deep freezer in the house. That is where I stored some cash, and I called it my Cold Cash Stash.

A spate of burglaries happened recently (24) in the Las Vegas area starting in Dec 2024. A restaurant which we frequent had the refrigerators and freezers torn apart with the burglar looking for "cold cash" stash. I have never heard of hiding money in freezers up until this point.

 

[Gumby]

Here's a good example

https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/william-jefferson