Form 8300

Form 8300, Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business

Form 8300 is the IRS report of cash payments over $10,000 received in a trade or business. The IRS says each person in a trade or business who receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction or related transactions must file it. To reuse your business details, upload a Form 8300 you completed and a blank, then review.

Tested with the irs.gov edition dated Rev. December 2023

Start with your PDFs

What Form 8300 is for

irs.gov says "Each person engaged in a trade or business who, in the course of that trade or business, receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction or in two or more related transactions, must file this form." The form is the Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business. RepeatForm does not decide whether a payment must be reported.

What counts as cash

The IRS instructions say: the term "cash" means "U.S. and foreign coin and currency received in any transaction; or A cashier's check, money order, bank draft, or traveler's check having a face amount of $10,000 or less that is received in a designated reporting transaction (defined below), or that is received in any transaction in which the recipient knows that the instrument is being used in an attempt to avoid the reporting of the transaction under either section 6050I or 31 U.S.C. 5331." The instructions define a designated reporting transaction; read them for your case.

When it is filed

The instructions say "File Form 8300 by the 15th day after the date the cash was received. If that date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, file the form on the next business day." For several payments, they say you must report "any time you receive a total amount of cash that exceeds $10,000 within any 12-month period" and submit the report "within 15 days of the date you receive the payment that causes the total amount of cash to exceed $10,000".

E-filing and paper filing

The instructions say to "Electronically file Form 8300 using the FinCEN Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) E-Filing System." They say you must file electronically if you are required to file certain other information returns electronically, and that if you file fewer than 10 information returns of other types during the calendar year, "you may file Form 8300 in paper form without requesting a waiver. You still have the option to file electronically even if the minimum 10-return threshold is not met and you are encouraged to do so." The paper address is in the instructions. RepeatForm does not file anything: it prepares the PDF. The IRS also says "When filing electronically, ensure you save a copy of the completed form prior to submission."

Using the same details on a new copy

Upload a Form 8300 you completed and the current blank; RepeatForm carries the matching answers across; you review them, then preview the PDF before you export. Your business block in Part IV and the contact person are the same every time. Customer details are only reusable if the same customer pays again.

What carries over

✓The business's own details in Part IV (name, employer identification number, address, nature of your business), where they match in both copies
✓The contact person's name and telephone number, where they match in both copies
✓For a repeat customer, the individual's or the organization's details in Part I or Part II, where they match in both copies. Check them against your records
✓Anything else that matches in both copies. Check it yourself; every transaction is different

What to check before you rely on it

✓Line 43 (date of signature). Check it in Review: this one part of the form is built differently, and it may need entering by hand.
✓Part I and Part II for a repeat customer. Check every identifying detail against your records for this transaction, including the taxpayer identification number, date of birth and identifying document, which the IRS says to enter for the person named.
✓The IRS notes the form holds sensitive information: "providing a copy of Form 8300 to the named person, although not prohibited, is not advisable due to the sensitive information contained on the form, for example, the Employer Identification Number (EIN) or social security number (SSN) of the filer." Keep prior copies somewhere only the right people can reach.

What never carries over

✓Everything about this transaction: the date the cash was received, the total cash received, the payment types and amounts, the type of transaction and its description (Part III), and the boxes for amended, suspicious transaction, multiple parties and more than one payment. Enter those again from this transaction's records.
✓Anything in Comments. It explains this report only.
✓Anything the IRS prints and locks on the form, and anything in your completed copy that does not appear in the blank form.
✓A signature. The IRS says the form "must be signed by an individual who has been authorized to do so for the business that received the cash". The PDF has no signature field, so sign by hand.
✓A filing. A completed form is not a filing: the IRS describes how to file.

If the IRS has a new edition

The IRS publishes new editions of Form 8300 from time to time; the current one is "Rev. December 2023", and the form says "Use this form for transactions occurring after December 31, 2023. Do not use prior versions after this date." Carrying an older copy into the new one works for many answers, but some fields are renamed or moved and match only partly, so check every line on the new form in Review before you export.

Get the current form from irs.gov

How it works

Move matching answers into the new form, then check the PDF.

Upload the two versions, check what matched, then inspect the finished PDF before paying.

Upload two PDFs

Start with a Form 8300 you completed before and the current blank.

Check matching answers

Review what RepeatForm found before creating Preview.

Preview the result

Inspect the exact completed PDF before paying.

Free to upload, review and preview. Pay $6.99 USD once to download the PDF you checked. No subscription.

Start with your PDFs

Good to know

✓You review every carried-over answer. RepeatForm does not guarantee the form is correct and cannot promise the IRS will accept it.
✓RepeatForm does not give tax, legal or compliance advice. It cannot tell you whether a payment is reportable or whether you must file, and it does not work out any amount. Use the IRS instructions or a qualified adviser.
✓RepeatForm does not file anything with the IRS or FinCEN.
✓It works with digital, text-selectable PDFs only. Scans, photos and handwriting are not supported.
✓Same or recent editions work best. If the form changed you may get fewer matches, so check the preview carefully and get the current form from irs.gov.

Not sure whether your form is supported? See the list on supported PDFs.

Want to know how reuse works with any PDF form? Read how to copy PDF form fields.

FAQ

Who has to file Form 8300?+

According to the IRS, "Each person engaged in a trade or business who, in the course of that trade or business, receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction or in two or more related transactions, must file this form." The IRS instructions explain related transactions and special cases, such as clerks of courts and casinos. RepeatForm does not tell you whether you must file.

What counts as cash for Form 8300?+

The IRS instructions say "cash" means "U.S. and foreign coin and currency received in any transaction", and also a cashier's check, money order, bank draft or traveler's check of $10,000 or less when received in a designated reporting transaction, or when the recipient knows it is being used to avoid reporting. The instructions define a designated reporting transaction, so read them for your case.

When is Form 8300 due?+

The instructions say "File Form 8300 by the 15th day after the date the cash was received." If that date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, file the next business day. The instructions also cover several payments for related transactions. Check them for your situation.

How do I e-file Form 8300?+

The instructions say to file electronically using the FinCEN Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) E-Filing System, at bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov. They say who must file electronically (tied to filing at least 10 other information returns in a calendar year) and that others may file on paper or choose to file electronically. RepeatForm does not file for you.

Are several cash payments counted together?+

The instructions say that for several cash payments for a single transaction or related transactions, "you must report the multiple payments any time you receive a total amount of cash that exceeds $10,000 within any 12-month period." They also say transactions between a payer and the recipient in a 24-hour period are related. Read the full instructions for your case.

Do I give the customer a copy?+

The instructions say you must give a written or electronic statement to each person named on a required Form 8300 on or before January 31 of the year after the cash was received, and describe what it shows. They also say that giving the named person a copy of the form "is not advisable due to the sensitive information contained on the form". Read the instructions for your case.

Can I reuse a Form 8300 I filled out before?+

You can reuse the details that stay the same: your business's own details in Part IV, the contact person and, for a repeat customer, their details. The date, amounts, payment types and transaction description are different each time, so enter them again and check every line in Review, including line 43. Sign it by hand.