The rule
26 U.S.C. 6050I(a) requires a return from any person “who is engaged in a trade or business, and… who, in the course of such trade or business, receives more than $10,000 in cash in 1 transaction (or 2 or more related transactions)”.
| Who files | The business that receives the cash. On a vehicle purchase that is the buyer, not the seller. |
| When | Within 15 days after the date the cash transaction occurred. |
| And a statement to you | Every filer must furnish a written statement to each person named on the return, showing the filer’s contact information and the aggregate amount reported, “on or before January 31 of the year following the calendar year” the return was required for. |
26 U.S.C. 6050I(a) and (e); IRS guidance on Form 8300.
What counts as cash, and what does not
26 CFR 1.6050I-1(c)(1) gives cash two limbs. The first is straightforward; the second is the one people get wrong.
- Coin and currency“The coin and currency of the United States or of any other country, which circulate in and are customarily used and accepted as money in the country in which issued”.
- And certain instruments, but only up to a face amount“A cashier’s check (by whatever name called, including ‘treasurer’s check’ and ‘bank check’), bank draft, traveler’s check, or money order having a face amount of not more than $10,000”, received in a designated reporting transaction or certain other transactions.
- Above that face amount it is not cash for this purposeSuch an instrument “received in a designated reporting transaction is not treated as cash” when its face amount exceeds $10,000 — because the issuing bank has its own reporting obligation on it.
26 CFR 1.6050I-1(c)(1).
The worked example, and it names a truck
The second limb only bites in a “designated reporting transaction”, which is a retail sale of a consumer durable, a collectible, or travel and entertainment. A consumer durable is defined as:
The regulation then works the example itself, in its own words, and it names a truck:
So on a commercial truck the instrument limb generally does not apply, while actual coin and currency above the threshold always does. That is the regulation’s own worked example applied to its own words — it is not tax advice, and the filer’s own accountant decides what the filer files.
26 CFR 1.6050I-1(c)(2) (consumer durable, and the worked example); 1.6050I-1(c) (designated reporting transaction).
Related transactions
Splitting a payment does not avoid the threshold. Transactions between the same payer and recipient within a 24-hour period are related, and so are transactions further apart where the recipient “knows or has reason to know” they are part of a connected series. Where payments on one transaction accumulate, the return is due “within 15 days after receiving the payment that causes the aggregate amount received in the 12-month period to exceed $10,000”.
26 CFR 1.6050I-1.
Current as of 14 September 2026. This page describes rules, not your situation, and it is information rather than legal advice. Rules change; the linked official source is always the current one.