Transfer and cash limits
Depositing more than $10,000 in cash
The calculator opens on $12,000 in cash handed to a teller. Change the amount and the channel to see when the money must be available.
All of it available by
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Counted as deposited on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. Funds open from 9:00 a.m. local time that day at the latest.
| $12,000 | Wed, Oct 28 | Cash handed to a teller: next business day (§ 229.10(a)(1)) |
These are the latest dates the regulation allows. Many banks release funds sooner; your deposit receipt or the bank’s availability policy shows its own schedule.
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Depositing more than $10,000 in cash is legal and common; it only triggers paperwork. The bank must file a currency transaction report with the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network for each deposit, withdrawal or exchange of currency of more than $10,000 by or for one person in one business day (31 CFR 1010.311). Several cash transactions the same day are added together when the bank knows they are by or for the same person (§ 1010.313), so two deposits of $6,000 at two branches count as $12,000. The teller asks for your ID and records your name, address, date of birth and taxpayer number; you do not fill in or sign the report. What the law punishes is structuring: breaking a deposit into amounts of $10,000 or less to avoid the report (§ 1010.314), even when the cash comes from a lawful source. As for timing, cash handed to a teller must be available the next business day under Regulation CC, and cash deposited without a bank employee, at the bank’s own ATM for example, by the second business day (12 CFR 229.10(a)). The large deposit exception that lets banks hold big checks does not apply to cash.
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What the bank records
| Amount of cash, same business day | What happens |
|---|---|
| up to $10,000 | nothing beyond the usual deposit record |
| more than $10,000 | the bank files a currency transaction report, with your ID details |
| $3,000 to $10,000 used to buy money orders or a cashier’s check | the bank or seller records your ID, even below the report threshold |
| any amount split to avoid a report | structuring, a federal offense |
The calculator below applies the threshold to any amount and shows the extra record kept when cash buys money orders or a cashier’s check.
Will this cash transaction be reported?
Currency transaction report
Yes, filed by the bank
| Threshold | more than $10,000 a business day, added up |
| ID and record for instruments | No |
Splitting cash to stay under the threshold is itself illegal (31 CFR 1010.314). A report is routine paperwork, not an accusation.
When the cash is available
Cash is the fastest money you can deposit. Regulation CC requires cash handed to an employee of the bank to be available on the next business day, and cash deposited otherwise, for example at one of the bank’s own ATMs, by the second business day (§ 229.10(a)). Cash deposited at an ATM that the bank does not own falls under the longer schedule for such deposits, the fifth business day (§ 229.12(f)). The large deposit exception, which lets a bank hold checks above $6,725 longer, applies only to checks. Many banks credit cash to a teller the same day.
Why splitting is the real risk
The law on structuring does not require the cash to come from crime. Someone who sells a car for $19,000 in cash and deposits $9,500 on Monday and $9,500 on Tuesday to avoid paperwork has committed the offense, and the government can seize the money. Banks also file suspicious activity reports on patterns of deposits just under the threshold. The simple, lawful choice is to deposit the whole amount at once and let the bank file its report.
Practical steps for a large cash deposit
Go to a teller rather than an ATM: machines often cap the number of notes per deposit, and a teller can count, verify and credit the cash the same day. Bring a photo ID. Have an explanation ready if asked where the cash comes from, such as the bill of sale for a car, an inheritance or business receipts. Do not carry the cash longer than needed. If the money will be paid out again soon, a cashier’s check or a wire avoids withdrawing it as cash and the report that would follow.
Cash from a business
A business depositing its own takings follows the same rule: the bank files a report for more than $10,000 a day, and some established businesses are exempted by their bank under conditions set by FinCEN. Separately, a business that receives more than $10,000 in cash from one customer files its own Form 8300. Neither report is a penalty; both exist so that large cash movements leave a trace.