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 some circumstances) cashier's checks, money orders, and bank drafts 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 multiple transactions between the same parties over any 24-hour period or over a longer period if part of a single integrated transaction.
The form
Form 8300 (joint IRS/FinCEN form). Filed within 15 days of the transaction. Filed electronically through BSA E-Filing System (FinCEN) or paper to IRS. Customer must be furnished a written statement by January 31 of the following year.
Penalties
- Civil penalty per failure to file timely: $310 (indexed), up to $3.78 million per year (indexed) of failures.
- Intentional disregard: greater of $32,000 or amount of cash received, up to $129,000.
- 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
FinCEN and IRS have intensified enforcement on luxury-goods dealers. Notice IR-2023-237 reminded dealers of the obligation. Notably, the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act extended §6050I to digital-asset transactions; implementing regulations have been proposed but not finalized. The expansion has produced significant controversy.
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 transactions where cash exchanges occur (typically routed through escrow, where the escrow handles BSA reporting).
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).
Reviewed May 2026