Form 8300 is the IRS report a business must file when it receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction or in related transactions. You file it within 15 days of receiving the cash, and by January 31 of the next year you must give the customer a written statement saying you reported it.
The $10,000 sounds like a high bar for a small business, but the IRS counts more than you'd think: related payments add together, some cashier's checks count as cash, and installment payments are tracked for a year. Here's how it works in practice.
What counts as cash
Cash includes US and foreign coins and currency. It can also include cashier's checks, bank drafts and traveler's checks with a face value of $10,000 or less, in certain sales such as consumer durables, collectibles and travel or entertainment.
The IRS gives a neat example. A customer buys a $12,000 car with one $12,000 cashier's check: that isn't cash, because its face value is over $10,000, so no Form 8300. The same customer pays with a $6,000 cashier's check and $6,000 in currency: now you must file, because the check counts as cash and the total passes $10,000.
Related transactions: the 24-hour rule
Payments from the same person within a 24-hour period are related transactions and count together. The IRS examples:
| What happened | File Form 8300? |
|---|---|
| A dealer sells a $9,000 motorcycle for cash in the morning, and the same buyer pays $9,000 cash for a second one that afternoon | Yes, both fall within 24 hours |
| A travel agent takes $8,000 cash, then $3,000 more two days later to add a person to the same trip | Yes, they're related transactions |
| One $12,000 cashier's check for a car | No, a check over $10,000 isn't treated as cash |
The IRS is precise about the clock: a 24-hour period means 24 hours, not a calendar day or a banking day. Trying to split a payment to stay under the limit doesn't work: the IRS says penalties can apply to anyone who tries to structure a transaction to make the filing seem unnecessary.
Installment payments
If a customer pays in cash installments and the first payment is over $10,000, you file within 15 days. If it isn't, you add the first payment to any later payments made within one year. Once the total passes $10,000, you file within 15 days of the payment that tipped it over. After filing, you start a new count.
How to file Form 8300, step by step
- Get the customer's correct taxpayer identification number (TIN), and the TIN of anyone they're paying on behalf of. Missing or wrong information counts as a failure.
- Complete Form 8300 within 15 days of receiving the cash. If day 15 is a weekend or holiday, file the next business day.
- File electronically through the Bank Secrecy Act E-Filing System. It's free. Since January 1, 2024, you must e-file Form 8300 if you're required to e-file at least 10 other information returns, such as Forms 1099 and W-2, in the year.
- Keep a copy for 5 years. The IRS says the e-file confirmation email isn't a substitute for the form itself.
- Send each person named on the form a written statement by January 31 of the following year.
The written statement to your customer
This is the easy step to forget. When you're required to file Form 8300, you must tell each person named on it that you've done so. The statement has to include your business name and address, the name and phone number of a contact person, the total reportable cash you received from them in the 12-month period, and wording that says the information is being furnished to the IRS. The IRS says there's no set format, so you can use your invoice as the statement if it carries all of that. You don't need to send a statement for a Form 8300 you filed voluntarily, for example for a suspicious payment of $10,000 or less.
Penalties
As of October 2026, the reference guide's most recent table covers returns due in 2024. It puts the negligence penalty at $310 per return, falling to $60 if you correct it within 30 days. Intentional disregard is far worse: the greater of $31,520 or the cash received, up to $126,000 per failure, with no yearly cap. Criminal penalties can also apply.
If you take large cash payments, keep your records in the same place as your other year-end filings. Information return software can help track who you need to report, and Schedule C is where the income itself goes if you're a sole proprietor.
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The verdict
Form 8300 isn't a tax on cash; it's a report, and filing one is free and fast through the BSA e-file system. The traps are counting and timing. Add up everything one customer pays you in 24 hours, treat some cashier's checks as cash, and keep a running total on cash installments for a year. If a payment tips you over $10,000, you've got 15 days. Then diary January 31 for the customer statement, because it's the easy one to miss.
Frequently asked questions
What is Form 8300?
It's the IRS form a business files to report receiving more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction or in related transactions.
When is Form 8300 due?
Within 15 days after you receive the cash. If the 15th day is a weekend or holiday, file by the next business day.
Does a cashier's check count as cash for Form 8300?
Sometimes. A cashier's check with a face value of $10,000 or less can count as cash in certain sales, while one over $10,000 isn't treated as cash.
Must I tell the customer I filed Form 8300?
Yes. You must give each person named on the form a written statement by January 31 of the following year.
Can I file Form 8300 online?
Yes, through the Bank Secrecy Act E-Filing System, which is free. You must e-file if you're required to e-file at least 10 other information returns that year.
What if a customer splits a payment into smaller amounts?
Payments from the same person within 24 hours count together, and penalties can apply to anyone who structures a transaction to avoid the filing.
How long should I keep a copy of Form 8300?
For 5 years, and the IRS says the e-file confirmation email isn't a substitute for the form.
