Paying Cash at a Coin Dealer: What Form 8300 Means for You
A business that receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction or in related transactions must file IRS Form 8300 within 15 days. The business files, not the buyer. The IRS says cash includes U.S. and foreign coins and currency, and its own example is a coin dealer paid partly in currency. Related payments can be added together.
Most people who buy gold or silver pay by wire or check. Some pay with physical cash. If you do, a reporting rule may apply to the business that takes your money. This guide explains that rule in plain English, what the IRS says about coins, and what it does not say.
This is general education, not tax or legal advice. A tax professional or attorney can apply the rules to your situation.
What is Form 8300?
Form 8300 is an IRS report that a business files when it receives a large amount of cash. The IRS page on the form says a person in a trade or business must report when they "receive more than $10,000 in cash in a single transaction or in related transactions." A "person" includes an individual, company, corporation, partnership, association, trust or estate, according to the IRS Form 8300 page.
The key point for buyers is who files. The business that receives the cash files the form. Publication 1544 puts the duty on "any person in a trade or business" who receives the cash. The publication we read does not tell customers to file their own copy.
What counts as cash?
The IRS reference guide says: "Cash includes the coins and currency of the United States and a foreign country."
It also says some bank-issued items count as cash in certain cases. These are cashier's checks, bank drafts, traveler's checks and money orders with a face value of $10,000 or less. Publication 1544 says they count if received in a designated reporting transaction, or in any transaction where the business knows the payer is trying to avoid Form 8300 reporting.
A cashier's check, bank draft, traveler's check or money order with a face value of more than $10,000 is not cash for this purpose, according to the same guide.
| Payment type | What the IRS reference guide says |
|---|---|
| U.S. paper money and coins | Counts as cash |
| Foreign currency and coins | Counts as cash |
| Cashier's check, bank draft, traveler's check or money order of $10,000 or less | Counts as cash in a designated reporting transaction, or if the business knows you are trying to avoid reporting |
| Cashier's check, bank draft, traveler's check or money order of more than $10,000 | Not treated as cash |
We did not find a statement on the pages we read about wire transfers, personal checks or credit cards, so we do not say how they are treated.
Does this apply when you buy gold coins?
Yes, the IRS uses a coin dealer as its own example. In Publication 1544, Example 1 reads: "You are a coin dealer. Bob Green buys gold coins from you for $13,200." The buyer pays $6,200 in currency and a $7,000 cashier's check. The publication says the cashier's check counts as cash, so the dealer must file Form 8300.
Two points are worth keeping straight. First, the example is about paying for gold coins with cash. It does not say how the rule treats a bullion coin that is itself handed over as payment. Second, the pages we read do not discuss bars or bullion by name. The reference guide lists a "designated reporting transaction" as a retail sale of consumer durables, collectibles, or travel and entertainment, with collectibles described as "A collectible such as a work of art, rug, antique, metal, gems, stamps, or coins." Whether a specific sale falls under that wording is a question for the dealer and a tax professional.
What are "related transactions"?
The $10,000 line is not only about one payment. Publication 1544 says transactions between a buyer, or the buyer's agent, and a seller that occur within a 24-hour period are related. Transactions can also be related if the business knows or has reason to know they are part of a series of connected transactions. The publication also says cash received within a 12-month period can be added up when it totals more than $10,000.
For payments in installments, Publication 1544 says that if the first payment is $10,000 or less, the business adds it to later payments made within 1 year of the first payment. When the total passes $10,000, it must file within 15 days. The reference guide adds that after it files, the business starts a new count.
Example. A buyer pays a dealer $6,000 in cash on Monday and $5,000 in cash on Tuesday for the same order. The two payments are made within 24 hours. Under the publication's description, they are related, and together they total more than $10,000. This is an illustration of the rule, not a statement about any real sale.
What does the dealer have to do?
According to the IRS Form 8300 page, reference guide and fact sheet, the business must:
- File Form 8300 within 15 days after the cash transaction.
- Give each person named on the form a written statement. It is due by January 31 of the following year. It must include the business's name, address, contact person and phone number, the total reportable cash, and a note that the information was given to the IRS.
- Keep a copy of each Form 8300 for five years.
- Obtain the payer's taxpayer identification number (TIN). The IRS fact sheet says that if the payer will not provide it, the business should tell the payer the IRS may assess a penalty, then file anyway with an explanation.
You may therefore be asked for identification details and your TIN if you pay in cash. That is a tax-reporting request. Why dealers ask for ID in other situations is a separate topic.
Why can splitting cash payments cause trouble?
Publication 1544 says: "Structuring means breaking up a large cash transaction into small cash transactions." It also says penalties "may also apply to any person (including a payer) who attempts to interfere with or prevent the seller (or business) from filing a correct Form 8300."
It also says a business may file a Form 8300 voluntarily for a suspicious transaction even if the amount is $10,000 or less. The business must not tell the customer that it marked the suspicious-transaction box, according to the IRS fact sheet.
We do not suggest breaking up payments, and we are not describing every way the law applies. If you have a question about a specific payment, ask an attorney or tax professional before you pay.
What are the penalties?
The IRS reference guide lists a penalty of $310 per return for late filing, with an annual cap, in its 2024 figures. The IRS Form 8300 page says penalty amounts are adjusted every year for inflation, so the figure for the current year may differ.
The reference guide also says that sanctions for a willful failure to file, or for leaving out complete and correct information, include a fine up to $25,000 ($100,000 for a corporation), imprisonment up to five years, or both. Publication 1544 describes a higher penalty when a business intentionally disregards the filing requirement. We do not summarize every penalty, because the amounts and conditions differ by situation. These penalties are aimed at the business that must file, and at anyone who tries to prevent a filing.
Does Form 8300 mean you owe tax?
No. Form 8300 reports that a cash payment happened. It is not a tax bill, and it is not an accusation. A separate rule decides whether you owe tax when you sell metal. For that, see our guide to Form 1099-B and gold sales and our overview of tax forms for gold IRAs.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Thinking the buyer files. The IRS pages we read put the duty on the business receiving the cash.
- Splitting payments to stay under $10,000. Related payments can be added up, and the IRS describes penalties for interfering with a filing.
- Mixing up Form 8300 and Form 1099-B. They are different forms with different triggers.
- Assuming a dealer is wrong to ask for your TIN. For a reportable cash sale, asking is part of the filing process.
- Paying large cash amounts to anyone who pressures you. Pressure to hurry or to pay in cash is a warning sign in our scam warning signs guide. You can also verify a dealer before you pay.
What we did not check
We opened four IRS pages. We did not read the Form 8300 instructions themselves, the Treasury regulations, or the federal statutes behind these rules. One of the IRS pages is labelled an archival document and Publication 1544 was last revised in 2014, so details from them (such as the gold-coin example, the 24-hour and 1-year rules, and the TIN steps) may have changed. Check the current Form 8300 instructions or ask a professional. The $310 penalty figure is the IRS's 2024 figure, and we did not confirm the exact wording the guide uses to describe which failures it covers.
Related questions
Does a gold IRA purchase involve Form 8300?
An IRA buys metal through a custodian, usually with funds moved by transfer or wire rather than physical cash. We did not find a statement on the pages we read about IRA purchases, so we do not say how this form applies. Our guide to Gold IRA tax forms covers the IRA paperwork we have confirmed.
Do I have to pay tax on gold I bought with cash?
Paying cash does not change how a later sale is taxed. Keep your purchase records, because you need them to work out a gain or loss.
Sources
- Form 8300 and reporting cash payments of over $10,000, Internal Revenue Service. Accessed Invalid Date.
- IRS Form 8300 reference guide, Internal Revenue Service. Accessed Invalid Date.
- Publication 1544, Reporting Cash Payments of Over $10,000, Internal Revenue Service. Accessed Invalid Date.
- Understand how to report large cash transactions (FS-2021-03), Internal Revenue Service. Accessed Invalid Date.
This guide is general education, not personalized financial, tax or legal advice. See our financial disclaimer, editorial policy and advertising disclosure.