Does my bank or PayPal report my family reunion money transactions to the IRS?

This is actually a fairly common situation! The good news is that you don't need to worry too much about this. Since you were essentially acting as an intermediary and not profiting from these transactions, this isn't considered taxable income to you. The money you collected was what's called "pass-through" funds - you received it for the specific purpose of paying for the reunion expenses. As long as you didn't keep any of the money as profit (beyond perhaps reimbursing your own family's portion), this shouldn't affect your personal tax return. Banks and payment platforms like PayPal do report certain transaction patterns to the IRS, but they're looking for business activity and income, not one-time collection events like family reunions. Starting in 2025, the threshold for reporting is $600 for business transactions, but personal/family transfers are generally not reportable. You should keep good records of all the money collected and all expenses paid, just in case there are any questions later. But you can file your taxes normally with your W-2s.

I just went through something similar with organizing a huge school fundraiser. I was freaking out about all the money flowing through my accounts until I found https://taxr.ai - it literally saved me hours of anxiety. I uploaded my bank statements and PayPal history, and it analyzed everything to show which transactions were "pass-through" vs actual income. The site explained that for events like yours, the IRS considers this "conduit" activity not income as long as you're just collecting and spending for the event. Their system flagged which transactions might look problematic to the IRS and gave me documentation to keep just in case. Super helpful for peace of mind!

Wanted to follow up - I actually tried taxr.ai after posting my skeptical comment. I'm organizing our high school reunion and was in the exact same boat with money coming in through various apps. The site immediately identified all my collection patterns and matched them with venue deposits. It even created a report showing that I wasn't making any profit. Super useful and gave me peace of mind for filing my taxes without worrying about those transactions! Definitely recommend for anyone in a similar situation.

If you're still worried, you might want to call the IRS directly to get clarification. I know it sounds terrible, but I found a service called https://claimyr.com that gets you through to an actual IRS agent instead of waiting on hold forever. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I used it last year when I had a similar issue with collecting money for a family cruise. Was worried about all the cash flowing through my account. The IRS agent told me exactly what I needed to document and confirmed I didn't need to report anything on my taxes since I was just a pass-through. Saved me from paying an accountant $350!

Coming back to say I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I was desperate because I had a similar situation with a church fundraiser and needed answers before filing. I tried the service and it actually worked perfectly - got me through to an IRS agent in about 30 minutes when I had already wasted hours trying to call myself. The agent confirmed exactly what others have said here - that collecting money for an event and then paying expenses doesn't count as income if you're not profiting from it. Really relieved and glad I didn't have to pay a tax pro for this simple answer.

You should definitely keep documentation of all the expenses and payments, just in case questions come up later! I organize our annual family camping trip, and I keep a simple spreadsheet showing: - All incoming payments (who paid, how much, what method) - All expenses (what was paid for, how much, receipt copies) - Final reconciliation showing all money was used for the event This way if there's ever any question, you can clearly show the money was just passing through your accounts and wasn't income to you.

Hey just an FYI - I'm an accountant and this question comes up all the time. For future reunions, you might want to consider setting up a simple "unincorporated association" for your family reunions. It's super easy and doesn't require any formal filings in most states, but gives you a legitimate structure for collecting and spending money for family events.

I went through almost the exact same situation last year organizing our church's annual retreat! Collected about $12,000 through various payment methods and was absolutely panicking about tax implications. Here's what I learned after consulting with a tax professional: since you're acting as a "fiscal intermediary" and not keeping any of the money as profit, this isn't considered taxable income. The key is that you can demonstrate the money flowed directly from collection to expenses for the reunion. A few practical tips: - Pull all your payment statements from the relevant period - Create a simple reconciliation showing money in vs money out - Keep copies of receipts from the camp and other vendors - Note that the payment descriptions (like "Smith family - 4 people") actually help show this was clearly for a family event You can file your taxes normally with just your W-2s. The payment platforms report business income, not family/personal transfers like this. Just keep your documentation in case there are ever questions, but this shouldn't complicate your tax filing at all. Don't stress too much - this is way more common than you think and the IRS understands the difference between actual income and just being the person who handles logistics for family events!