This subsection provides information on the statutory history of Form 8300 and describes its major provisions.

Congress enacted IRC 6050I, Returns relating to cash received in trade or business, etc., to require that information returns relating to cash payments over $10,000 received in trade or business (Form 8300) are filed by all trades or businesses that are not required to file similar reports on currency transactions under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) (Title 31).

Subsequently, nearly the entire language of IRC 6050I was enacted as 31 USC 5331, Reports relating to coins and currency received in nonfinancial trade or business. Form 8300 fulfills the requirements under two different titles of the U.S. Code, requiring reporting to FinCEN.

IRC 6721, Failure to file correct information returns, provides a penalty for failure to file correct or timely information returns.

IRC 6722, Failure to furnish correct payee statements, provides a penalty for failure to furnish correct or timely payee statements.

IRC 6724, Waiver; definitions and special rules, provides reasonable cause waiver, definitions of information returns, and special rules.

The term information return means any statement, form, or return as described in IRC 6724(d), Waiver; definitions and special rules, or 26 CFR 301.6721-1(g), Definitions, and 26 CFR 301.6722-1(d), Definitions.

IRS’s authority to conduct the Form 8300 (Title 26) examination is found in IRC 7601, Canvass of districts for taxable persons and objects, which authorizes the Secretary to inquire into taxpayers’ tax liability, and IRC 7602, Examination of books and witnesses, which authorizes the Secretary to examine books and witnesses for specific purposes including determining and collecting federal tax liabilities.

Authority to conduct the Form 8300 examination under Title 31 is found in 31 USC 310(2)(b)(2)(I).

Director, Examination – Specialty Policy is the executive responsible for BSA Examination policy and procedures.

Director, Examination – Specialty Examination is the executive responsible for BSA examination operational compliance.

Chief, BSA Policy is responsible for ensuring general information about basic BSA examiner responsibilities and IRM sections is communicated to and carried out by BSA examiners.

The following table contains acronyms, and their definitions, used throughout this IRM.

The following table contains terms, and their definitions, used throughout this IRM.

The following is a list of resources related to the information found in this IRM.

The term "person" is not defined the same way under Titles 26 and 31, but the regulations explicitly bring them into conformity using the definition of person at IRC 7701(a)(1), Person. See 26 CFR 1.6050I-1(a)(1)(i), In General, and 26 CFR 1010.330(a)(1)(i) , In General.

IRC 7701(a)(1), Person, defines "person" to mean and include an individual, trust, estate, partnership, association, company, or corporation.

"Person" , as defined in 31 USC 5312(a)(5), Person, includes an individual, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, joint stock company, trustee, a representative of an estate, and, when the Secretary prescribes, a governmental entity.

31 CFR 1010.330(a)(1) , Reportable transactions, states that solely for purposes of section 5331 of title 31, United States Code and this section, "person" shall have the same meaning as under 26 USC 7701(a)(1).

The end result is that "person" is defined exactly the same for purposes of the Form 8300 under IRC 6050I, Returns relating to cash received in trade or business, etc., and 31 USC 5331, Reports relating to coins and currency received in nonfinancial trade or business.

The prohibition against structuring and similar actions to evade reporting requirements, which appears in IRC 6050I (f), Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements Prohibited, was included in 31 USC 5324(b), Domestic Coin and Currency Transactions Involving Nonfinancial Trades or Business, not 31 USC 5331. Therefore, the definition of "person" for purposes of applying the prohibition against these actions is not determined by IRC 7701 . In Title 31 examinations involving this situation, the definition of person in 31 USC 5312(a)(5), Person, applies.

The requirements of both IRC 6050I , Returns relating to cash received in trade or business, etc., and 31 USC 5331, Reports relating to coins and currency received in nonfinancial trade or business, apply to cash received by any person in a trade or business, with trade or business having the same meaning as under IRC 162 , Trade or business expenses. Note that criminal court clerks are specifically included by IRC 6050I (g), Cash Received by Criminal Court Clerks, if the examination is conducted under Title 26, and by 31 USC 5331(a)(2) if the examination is conducted under Title 31.

Trade or business transactions include:

To avoid duplicate reporting, 26 CFR 1.6050I-1(d)(1), Receipt of cash by certain financial institutions, provides an exception to the reporting requirements of IRC 6050I for cash received by most financial institutions having a requirement under the BSA (Title 31) to file Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs). In addition, IRC 6050I(d)(2), Receipt of cash by certain casinos having gross annual gaming revenue in excess of $1,000,000, clarifies casinos with gross annual gaming revenue over $1 million must file CTRs under the BSA and, therefore, need not file Form 8300 . Those casinos exempted from the CTR filing requirement because their gross annual gaming revenue is below the threshold must file Form 8300. In any case, cash greater than $10,000 received in a non-gaming business of a casino is reportable on Form 8300.

IRC 6050I, Returns relating to cash received in trade or business, etc., requires reporting cash receipts while 31 USC 5331, Reports relating to coins and currency received in nonfinancial trade or business, requires reporting receipts of coins or currency.

IRC 6050I(d) , Cash includes foreign currency and certain monetary instruments, defines "cash" to include foreign currency and, to the extent provided in regulations, any monetary instrument with a face amount of not more than $10,000 except a check drawn on the account of the writer in a financial institution.

"Cash" is defined in the regulation, 26 CFR 1.6050I-1(c)(1) , Cash, to include:

Under Title 31 "currency" is defined to include foreign currency and to the extent provided in regulations prescribed by the Secretary, any monetary instrument (whether or not in bearer form) with a face amount of not more than $10,000, except a check drawn on the account of the writer in most financial institutions.

The regulatory definition of currency at 31 CFR 1010.330(c)(1), Currency, parallels the definition of cash under 26 CFR 1.6050I-1(c)(1), Currency. It includes the cash equivalent rules discussed below.

Regulations under both titles are the same regarding the cash equivalent rules. See 26 CFR 1.6050I-1(c)(1)(ii), Amounts received on or after February 3, 1992, and 31 CFR 1010.330(c)(1) , Cash. Both Title 31 and Title 26 regulations contain the same references to Title 26. Both contain examples of the application of the following rules.

A monetary instrument, including a cashier’s check, bank draft, traveler’s check, or money order having a face amount of $10,000 or less may be considered cash if received in a "Designated Reporting Transaction" , which is a retail sale of a consumer durable, collectible, or a travel or entertainment activity, or if received in any transaction in which the recipient knows that such instrument is being used in an attempt to avoid reporting the transaction.

There are exceptions to these rules. A cashier’s check, bank draft, traveler’s check, or money order received in a designated reporting transaction is not treated as cash if the instrument:

Transaction - A transaction subject to reporting is the underlying event precipitating the payer’s transfer of cash to the recipient. A transaction may be, but is not limited to:

Related transactions are:

Any person who, while carrying on a trade or business, receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction, or two or more related transactions, must file Form 8300 by mailing it to the address shown on the form by the 15th day after the reportable cash payment was received. The form may also be filed electronically by using FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System found at https://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/main.html.

Filing is considered to occur on the date that the Form 8300 is postmarked under IRC 7502 , Timely mailing treated as timely filing and paying, if the postmark date is on or before the 15th day after the reportable cash payment and the Form 8300 was properly deposited in the U.S. mail. If the postmark date is after the 15th day, then filing occurs when the Form 8300 is received. If Form 8300 is filed electronically, the date and time in the filer’s time zone when the Form 8300 is transmitted controls whether the form is filed timely. The filer will receive an electronic acknowledgement that the IRS has accepted the electronically filed form. That acknowledgment will serve as evidence of when the form was filed.

Form 8300 must contain the name, address, and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) of the person from whom the cash was received; the amount of cash received; and the date and nature of the transaction. Failure to complete the form in its eternity is considered an incomplete form and is subject to a penalty. If the business filing Form 8300 was unable to complete it due to reasons out of their control such as the customer refused to provide their identification number to the business, the business can notate in the corresponding field that the customer refused to provide identification. If not indicated on Form 8300, examiner should inquire if an attempt was made to get the identification number or determine the business failed to provide the required information. Refer to IRM 4.26.10.10.3.1 for additional details.

In addition, if the recipient knows or has reason to know that the person from whom the cash was received conducted the transaction as an agent for another person, Form 8300 must contain the name, address, and TIN of the person on whose behalf the transaction was conducted. A Form 8300 is considered incomplete if a recipient knows or has reason to know that an agent is conducting the transaction for a principal, and the return does not identify both the principal and the agent.

Before completing any transaction requiring the filing of a Form 8300, a recipient must verify the identity of the person from whom the cash was received.

A Form 8300 may be filed voluntarily if the filer believes the transaction is suspicious even if the transaction is $10,000 or less. The "Suspicious Transaction" box serves the same purpose for voluntarily filed forms not required to be filled as well as forms required to be filed. Marking the Form 8300 suspicious is voluntary. Form 8300s marked as suspicious are to be treated as confidential information and examiners should place Form 8300 marked suspicious in the confidential envelope with Form Other Gov TDF 15-05.11, Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) Cover Sheet, on the outside cover of the case file and attached to the confidential envelope. Examiners should follow the procedures found in IRM 4.26.11.7.3.5, Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs).

A person required to file a Form 8300 must keep a copy of each return filed for five years from the date of filing.

See https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/form-8300-and-reporting-cash-payments-of-over-10000 for additional information regarding Form 8300 filing requirements.

Any person required to make an information return under IRC 6050I(a), Cash Receipts of More than $10,000, must furnish a single, annual written statement to each person whose name is identified on Form 8300. The statement must include the following:

The customer is not to be notified when a Form 8300 is voluntarily filed.

Except as noted in (2) above, the statement must be furnished to the identified person by January 31 of the year following the transaction. The statement is considered furnished to the identified person if it is mailed to that person’s last known address.

The statement is not required to be in any form or format.

IRC 6724, Waiver; definitions and special rules, defines information returns for purposes of the information return penalty provisions found in IRC 6721 , Failure to file correct information returns.

IRC 6721 provides for a penalty when an information return is not timely and/or correctly filed by the due date of the return.

IRC 6721 penalty rates and maximum amounts are subject to annual inflationary adjustments enacted by the Tax Increase Prevention Act (TIPA) of 2014, section 208, effective for returns required to be filed in a calendar year beginning after 2014.

The Trade Preferences Extension Act (TPEA) of 2015, section 806, increased the tiered penalty amounts for IRC 6721. The following penalty amounts are effective for returns and statements required to be filed on or after January 1, 2016.

An inconsequential error or omission is not considered a failure to include correct information, IRC 6721(c) , Exceptions for certain de minimis failures. A failure is inconsequential if it does not prevent the IRS from putting the return to its intended use. Errors or omissions never considered inconsequential include:

Other reductions for certain information returns do not apply to Form 8300 :

The penalty for intentional disregard of the requirement to timely file or to correctly include all required information, is the greater of:

Under IRC 6724(a) , Reasonable cause waiver, no penalty is imposed for any failure that is due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect. See the discussion of reasonable cause below.

IRC 6724, Waiver; definitions and special rules, defines payee statements for purposes of the information return penalty provisions of IRC 6722 , Failure to Furnish Correct Payee Statements.

IRC 6722 provides for a penalty when a payee statement is not timely and/or correctly furnished.

IRC 6722 penalty rates and maximum amounts are subject to annual inflationary adjustments enacted by the Tax Increase Prevention Act (TIPA) of 2014, section 208, effective for returns required to be filed in a calendar year beginning after 2014.

The Trade Preferences Extension Act (TPEA) of 2015, section 806, increased the tiered penalty amounts for IRC 6722. The following penalty amounts are effective for returns and statements required to be filed on or after January 1, 2016. See IRM 4.26.10.10.2.

Inconsequential errors and omissions in the payee statement are not considered failures. See 26 CFR 301.6722-1(b) , Exception for inconsequential errors or omissions.

The penalty for intentional disregard of the requirement to timely furnish a correct payee statement is the greater of:

The penalty for a failure relating to an information reporting requirement can be waived if the failure is due to reasonable cause and is not due to willful neglect, IRC 6724 , Waiver; definitions and special rules, and 26 CFR 301.6724-1 , Reasonable cause. The regulation spells out the requirements in general and defines each element that must be proven by the person required to file to avoid the penalty.

The burden of proof is on the filer to establish:

Special rules apply to TIN issues. See 26 CFR 301.6724-1(e) , Acting in a responsible manner - special rules for missing TINs, and 26 CFR 301.6724-1(f) , Acting in a responsible manner - special rules for incorrect TINS.

IRS does not have the authority to assess civil penalties under Title 31 for violations of the Form 8300 reporting and recordkeeping requirements. If it is determined that a penalty under Title 31 is appropriate, the case must be forwarded to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) through the BSA Policy Liaison to FinCEN. However, information obtained during a Form 8300 examination conducted under Title 26 may be disclosed to FinCEN only as authorized by IRC 6103 , Confidentiality and disclosure of returns and return information.

Title 31 Form 8300 requirements do not include two important areas included under Title 26, so there is no penalty parallel to the Title 26 penalty in these situations:

Title 31 penalties are higher than the Title 26 penalties, even after the Title 26 penalty increase effective January 1, 2011. There are no limitations or reductions. There is no waiver for reasonable cause.

There are two types of negligence penalties under Title 31.

The Title 31 willfulness penalty found in 31 USC 5321(a)(1) is generally the same as the penalty for intentionally disregarding the rules in Title 26. This section provides that a domestic nonfinancial trade or business, and a partner, director, officer, or employee of a domestic financial institution or nonfinancial trade or business, willfully violating this subchapter or a regulation prescribed, or order issued under this subchapter is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of not more than the greater of the amount (not to exceed $100,000) involved in the transaction (if any) or $25,000.

Structuring and related activities are prohibited and penalized under both Title 26 and Title 31 of the U.S. Code.

The Title 31 structuring definition is limited to persons structuring to affect a "nonfinancial trade or business" , whereas the Title 26 definition refers to a "trade or business" .

As applied, the two structuring prohibitions reach the same result. They only apply if the trade or business is not required to file a CTR.

Although the application of the structuring provisions is the same, the penalties are different under the two titles.

Criminal penalties are available for failures to file Form 8300 under both titles, but there is no criminal failure to furnish under Title 31 because there is no requirement to furnish a statement under Title 31. Criminal structuring is discussed under structuring.

Failure to file a timely correct and complete Form 8300 can result in civil and criminal penalties.

Under IRC 6724(b) , Payment of penalty, civil penalties relating to information returns "shall be paid on notice and demand by the Secretary and in the same manner as tax" . Thus, the usual civil statute of limitations found in IRC 6501, Limitations on assessment and collection, applies to assessment of Form 8300 penalties, as follows:

Under IRC 6050I(f)(2) , Penalties, which prohibits structuring, a violator is subject to the same civil and criminal sanctions applicable to a person that fails to file or completes a false or incorrect return under this section.

Similarly, criminal court clerk penalties under IRC 650I(g) , Cash received by criminal court clerks, depend on whether the required Form 8300 was filed. The regulations specifically refer to IRC 6721 , Failure to file correct information returns, through IRC 6724 , Waiver; definitions and special rules, for penalties. The statute under IRC 6501(a) , General Rule, is three years for a violation when the Form 8300 has been filed. There is no statute when a court clerk files no Form 8300 .

Title 26 criminal prosecution is governed by IRC 7203 , Willful failure to file return, supply information, or pay tax, and IRC 6531 , Periods of limitation on criminal prosecutions. IRC 7203 provides that in the case of a criminally willful violation of any provision of IRC 6050I , the penalty shall be a felony with up to five years of imprisonment.

Because IRC 7203 applies to any provision of IRC 6050I , IRC 6531 applies to:

IRC 6722, Failure to Furnish Correct Payee Statements, civil penalties for failure to furnish or include all required information in the statement required under IRC 6050I(e), Statements to be furnished to persons with respect to whom information is required, and IRC 6050I(g), Cash received by criminal court clerks, have no statute of limitations. They can be assessed at any time.

The criminal penalty of IRC 7203 applies to any violation of IRC 6050I and the general statute of IRC 6531 applies so that the criminal prosecution is limited to within three years after the commission of the offense of failure to furnish.

See IRM 4.26.11.12.10, Statute of Limitation for penalties under IRC 6721 and IRC 6722, for additional information.

The civil statute of limitations for assessing civil penalties for violation of Title 31 requirements is six years from the date of the transaction for which the penalty is assessed. 31 USC 5321(b)(1), Assessments. There is no exception to the running of the statute for unfiled returns under Title 31. Even if the Form 8300 was not filed, the statute still runs in a case examined under Title 31.

Criminal penalties are imposed under 31 USC 5322, Criminal Penalties, (filing) and 31 USC 5324, Structuring transactions to evade reporting requirement prohibited. There is no failure to furnish penalty under Title 31. Title 31 criminal penalties look to Title 18 for procedure. For non-capital offenses, 18 USC 3282, Offenses not capital, provides a general statute of limitations for finding an indictment or instituting an investigation within five years after the offense was committed.