Penalties

There are civil penalties for failure to:

• File a correct Form 8300 by the date it is due, and
• Provide the required statement to those named in the Form 8300.

If you intentionally disregard the requirement to file a correct Form 8300 by the date it is due, the penalty is the larger of:

1. $25,000, or
2. The amount of cash you received and were required to report (up to $100,000).

There are criminal penalties for:

• Willful failure to file Form 8300,
• Willfully filing a false or fraudulent Form 8300,
• Stopping or trying to stop Form 8300 from being filed, and
• Setting up, helping to set up, or trying to set up a transaction in a way that would make it seem unnecessary to file Form 8300.

If you willfully fail to file Form 8300, you can be fined up to $250,000 ($500,000 for corporations) or sentenced to up to 5 years in prison, or both. These dollar amounts are based on Section 3571 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code.

The penalties for failure to file 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. This includes any attempt to structure the transaction in a way that would make it seem unnecessary to file Form 8300. Structuring means breaking up a large cash transaction into small cash transactions.