Picture a laundromat owner who takes in cash all week. He has heard that banks report deposits over $10,000 to the government, and he does not like the idea. So he deposits $9,500 on Monday, $9,000 on Wednesday and $8,800 on Friday. He reports every dollar on his tax return. He thinks he is being careful.
He may be committing a federal crime. Not tax evasion. Structuring.
What the law prohibits
Banks must file currency transaction reports on large cash transactions under the Bank Secrecy Act. 31 U.S.C. 5324(a) says no person shall, for the purpose of evading those reporting requirements, cause or attempt to cause a domestic financial institution to fail to file a required report, or structure or assist in structuring, or attempt to structure or assist in structuring, any transaction with one or more domestic financial institutions.
The IRS's manual on structuring, IRM 4.26.13 (revised August 21, 2025), explains that the definition of structuring in the regulations, 31 CFR 1010.100(xx), covers a person who conducts or attempts to conduct one or more transactions in currency, in any amount, at one or more financial institutions, on one or more days, in any manner, for the purpose of evading the currency reporting requirements. The IRM says "in any manner" includes breaking down a single sum of currency exceeding $10,000 into smaller sums, including sums at or below $10,000, or conducting a series of transactions at or below $10,000. The transactions do not need to exceed $10,000 at any single institution or on any single day.
The sentence in the IRM that matters most to an honest business owner is this one: structuring is illegal regardless of whether the funds are derived from legal or illegal activity.
The purpose element
Structuring is not about the size of the deposits. It is about why they are that size. A business that deposits $8,000 every day because that is what it takes in every day is not structuring. A business that takes in $25,000 and splits it into three deposits to avoid a report is.
The IRM explains that under the 1994 Money Laundering Suppression Act, the government needs to show only that the person knew there was a reporting requirement. It does not need to show that the person knew structuring itself was illegal. So "I didn't know it was a crime" is not a defense. "I knew the bank would file a report and I wanted to avoid it" is the admission.
The penalties
Under 31 U.S.C. 5324(d), a person who violates the section can be fined under title 18 and imprisoned for up to 5 years. If the violation occurs while violating another federal law, or as part of a pattern of illegal activity involving more than $100,000 in a 12-month period, the maximum rises to 10 years.
Structuring with businesses, too
The same concept applies to cash paid to a business. Form 8300 must be filed by a business that receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction or related transactions. IRC 6050I(f) prohibits any person, for the purpose of evading that requirement, from causing a business not to file, causing it to file a return with a material omission or misstatement, or structuring or assisting in structuring a transaction with one or more businesses. 31 U.S.C. 5324(b) has a parallel prohibition for nonfinancial trades or businesses under the Title 31 reporting rule.
The IRM notes that the prohibition in section 6050I(f) applies to any person involved in a transaction, including the business and its owners and officers and its employees. A contractor who tells a homeowner to pay $9,000 in cash this week and $9,000 next week so no form is needed is assisting in structuring. See our guide to Form 8300.
How structuring gets noticed
Banks watch for it. The IRM notes that a pattern of transactions structured to circumvent reporting may warrant a Suspicious Activity Report by the financial institution. It also describes common patterns examiners look for, including transactions at multiple branches or institutions to stay under $10,000 at each, and numerous small transactions over several days.
The IRS's civil Bank Secrecy Act examiners focus on financial institutions and businesses with reporting duties. The IRM says the IRS does not have delegated authority to conduct a civil examination of structuring by customers of financial institutions who are not themselves financial institutions; information implicating an individual is forwarded to an IRS liaison who reviews it for, among other things, income tax issues that warrant an examination referral and willful violations that warrant a referral to FinCEN. A customer who structures should not assume the absence of a civil audit means the absence of exposure.
Structured deposits also show up in income tax examinations. When an examiner analyzes bank deposits in a cash business audit, a pattern of deposits just under $10,000 stands out. See our guide to bank deposit audits.
Who files what
| Report | Who files it | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Currency transaction report | The bank or other financial institution | 31 U.S.C. 5313 |
| Form 8300 | A trade or business receiving more than $10,000 in cash | IRC 6050I and 31 U.S.C. 5331 |
| Suspicious activity report | The financial institution, when warranted | Bank Secrecy Act rules |
Structuring can target any of the first two. Arranging deposits to keep the bank from filing is structuring under 31 U.S.C. 5324(a). Arranging payments to keep a business from filing Form 8300 is structuring under IRC 6050I(f) and 31 U.S.C. 5324(b).
A currency transaction report is not an accusation
This is the point to take away. A bank filing a report on your $15,000 deposit is routine. It is not an audit, not a referral and not evidence of anything. A business that deposits its cash as it comes in, in whatever amounts the business produces, is doing exactly what the law expects.
The risk comes from trying to avoid the report. So:
- Deposit cash receipts intact, on a regular schedule, in the amounts you actually received.
- Do not split deposits across days, branches, accounts or people to stay under $10,000.
- Do not ask employees or family members to make deposits for you in smaller amounts.
- Do not tell customers to split payments to avoid a Form 8300.
- If a teller asks a question, answer it honestly.
Family members and employees
Structuring does not require that the business owner walk into the bank personally. The IRM's description of customer structuring includes using multiple third parties to conduct transactions, a practice it calls "smurfing." Asking a spouse, a manager or a cashier to make several smaller deposits on the same day exposes them as well as you.
If it already happened
If you have been keeping deposits under $10,000 on purpose, stop now and talk to a lawyer before you talk to anyone else, including the bank, your accountant or an IRS employee. Structuring exposure is criminal exposure, and what you say about why you made deposits the way you did is the central fact. Get legal advice first, from a lawyer, about what to say and to whom.
If the cash was all reported on your returns, that matters, but it is not a complete defense to structuring under the law the IRM describes. The firm's small business IRS problems guide explains its approach to sensitive cases. Restaurants handling heavy cash should also read our guide to how the IRS audits restaurant sales.
The bank report is harmless. Dodging it is not. Deposit what you earned, when you earned it.