Form 8300 Filing Requirements: Who Must File and How

Form 8300 is the federal Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business. It is how businesses report large cash payments to the IRS and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). This guide walks through who must file, what counts as cash, when the report is due, and what filing actually involves.

What Form 8300 Is

When a business receives more than $10,000 in cash from one buyer or payer, federal law requires it to report the payment on Form 8300. The report identifies the business that received the cash, the person who paid it, anyone the payment was made on behalf of, and the transaction itself. Filed reports are not public; the information goes to the IRS and FinCEN. Filing the form does not accuse anyone of wrongdoing, and a complete, timely filing normally gets no further response from the government.

Who Must File

Each person engaged in a trade or business, including an individual, company, corporation, partnership, association, trust, or estate, must file Form 8300 when it receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction or in two or more related transactions. Typical filers include auto, boat, and RV dealers, jewelers, contractors, and any other business that accepts large cash payments. Exceptions exist for financial institutions that file Currency Transaction Reports, for casinos on their gaming activity, for transactions occurring entirely outside the United States, and for cash received outside the course of a trade or business.

What Counts as Cash

• U.S. and foreign coin and currency.
• Cashier's checks, money orders, bank drafts, and traveler's checks with a face value of $10,000 or less, when received in a designated reporting transaction (the retail sale of a consumer durable, a collectible, or travel and entertainment) or when the business knows the instrument is being used to avoid the report.
• Not cash: personal checks, wire transfers, ACH payments, and instruments with a face value over $10,000 (the issuing bank reports those itself).

Related Transactions Aggregate

The $10,000 threshold cannot be avoided by splitting a payment. Payments between the same payer and business within a rolling 12-month period aggregate when they are related or are installments toward one obligation. Once the related payments pass $10,000, the report is due within 15 days, and a new report is due each time later payments push past $10,000 again within the window. Deliberately structuring cash payments to stay under the threshold is itself a federal crime.

The Information the Form Requires

• Part I: the individual who handed over the cash: name, address, date of birth, taxpayer identification number, occupation, and the identity document verified (type, issuer, and number).
• Part II: the person or business the transaction was conducted for, when the payer acted for someone else.
• Part III: the transaction: date the cash was received, total amount, breakdown by form of cash with issuer and serial numbers for instruments, the type of transaction, and a specific description.
• Part IV: the business that received the cash: legal name, EIN, address, nature of business, and an authorized signature.

When It Is Due

Form 8300 is due by the 15th day after the date the cash is received. If that day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. There is no extension; the practical rule is to file as soon as the cash comes in. A business that missed the window should still file as soon as possible, because the obligation does not lapse and prompt correction limits penalties.

How to File

Form 8300 is e-filed through the federal BSA E-Filing System operated by FinCEN. A practical workflow is:

• Verify the payer's identity against an official document and record its details.
• Gather the four parts of the form: business, payer, on-behalf-of party, and transaction details.
• Submit the form through the BSA E-Filing System.
• Save the acknowledgment, which includes a BSA ID: your proof of filing.
• Keep a copy of the form and the acknowledgment for 5 years.
• Furnish a written statement to each person named on the form by January 31 of the year after the calendar year in which the cash was received.

Since January 1, 2024, businesses required to e-file 10 or more information returns of other types (such as W-2s or 1099s) in a calendar year must e-file Forms 8300 as well. Others may still file on paper by mail to the IRS in Detroit, but e-filing is available to every business and returns an immediate acknowledgment.