Form 8300
A trade or business receiving more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction or related transactions must file Form 8300 within 15 days. The obligation falls on jewelers, watch dealers, coin and bullion dealers, art dealers, auction houses, motor-vehicle dealers, and boat and aircraft dealers as much as on traditional cash-economy businesses.
What is reported
The receipt of more than $10,000 in cash by a person in a trade or business in one transaction or in related transactions. "Cash" includes U.S. and foreign coin and currency, and (in designated reporting transactions such as retail sales of consumer durables and collectibles, or where the recipient knows the instrument is being used to avoid reporting) cashier's checks, money orders, bank drafts and traveler's checks with a face amount of $10,000 or less. Cash does not include personal checks or bank wire transfers.
Who must report
Any person engaged in a trade or business who receives cash in a covered transaction. The obligation is at the trade-or-business level — a dealer, auction house, retailer, or service provider. Not on the customer (though the customer's identifying information is reported).
Thresholds
$10,000 per transaction or per series of related transactions. The "related transactions" rule aggregates transactions between the same buyer and seller within a 24-hour period, and transactions more than 24 hours apart if the recipient knows or has reason to know they are part of a connected series.
The form
Form 8300 (joint IRS/FinCEN form). Filed within 15 days of the transaction. Filed electronically through FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing System — mandatory from 1 January 2024 for businesses required to e-file at least 10 other information returns — or otherwise on paper to the IRS. The customer must be furnished a written statement by January 31 of the following year.
Penalties
- Civil penalty under §6721 for returns required to be filed in 2026: $340 per return, with a calendar-year maximum of $4,098,500 for businesses with average annual gross receipts above $5 million ($1,366,000 for smaller businesses) (Rev. Proc. 2024-40). For returns required to be filed in 2027: $340 per return, maximum $4,191,500 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32).
- Intentional disregard: greater of $34,150 or the amount of cash received up to $136,500, per return, with no calendar-year limit (returns due in 2026); $34,930 / $139,500 for returns due in 2027.
- Criminal: §7203 willful failure, §7206 false statement.
Relief procedures
Reasonable-cause defense to civil penalty available. Self-correction through delinquent Form 8300 filing is the standard approach.
Recent guidance
The IRS announced the electronic-filing requirement for Form 8300 in IR-2023-157 (30 August 2023). The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act extended §6050I to digital assets; under Announcement 2024-4, digital assets need not be counted toward the $10,000 threshold until implementing regulations are issued, and none had been issued as of this review.
Interaction with luxury-asset transactions
Recurring trade-or-business categories:
- Jewelers and watch dealers.
- Coin and bullion dealers.
- Art dealers and auction houses.
- Motor vehicle dealers — including high-end luxury and exotic dealers.
- Boat and aircraft dealers.
- Real-estate brokers, title and escrow businesses that themselves receive more than $10,000 in cash.
Primary Sources
- 26 U.S.C. §6050I — law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6050I.
- 26 U.S.C. §6721, §6722 (information-return penalties).
- Treas. Reg. §1.6050I-1 (regulations).
- IRS Form 8300 and instructions — irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8300.
- Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, §80603 (digital-asset extension); Announcement 2024-4.
- Rev. Proc. 2024-40 and Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (inflation-adjusted §6721 penalties) — irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf.
Reviewed October 2026