When and how to file cash payments for tax-exempt organizations

Do you ever receive cash in a trade or business and wonder what you need to report — if anything?

The IRS requires an organization to file IRS Form 8300, Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business, if a person receives $10,000 in a single transaction or $10,000 over a 12-month period from one buyer in a single transaction or in a series of related transactions.

Here’s an overview of Form 8300 filing requirements, definitions, and deadlines not-for-profit organizations should know.

Key definitions

Transaction

The IRS defines a transaction as occurring when one of the following criteria is met:

• Goods, services, or property is sold
• Property is rented
• Cash is exchanged for other cash
• A contribution is made to a trust or escrow account
• A loan is made or repaid
• Cash is converted to a negotiable instrument, such as a check or a bond

Person

The IRS defines a person as any of the following:

• Individual
• Company
• Corporation or partnership
• Association
• Trust or estate
• Exempt organization or employee plan

Cash

The IRS defines cash as U.S. and international coins and currency or a cashier's check, treasurer’s check, bank check or draft, traveler's check, or money order worth $10,000 or less that’s received in one of the following ways:

• A designated reporting transaction
• A transaction in which the recipient knows the payer is trying to avoid the reporting of the transaction on Form 8300

This definition doesn’t include a check drawn on an individual's personal account. It also doesn’t include a cashier's check, bank draft, traveler's check, or money order with a face amount of more than $10,000 because the financial institution issuing the check is already required to report it on a form called FinCEN Report 112.