How to safely deposit a cash payment over $15,000 from a client

Thanks, that's really helpful! So I won't get in trouble just for depositing cash, the bank just needs to file some paperwork on their end? Do I need to tell them it's for freelance work specifically, or just that it's a payment from a client? And will this trigger any kind of audit or extra scrutiny from the IRS?

The bank will handle all the CTR paperwork - you just need to answer their questions truthfully. They'll ask about the source of funds, so just explain it's payment for freelance services you provided. Being honest and straightforward is the best approach. As for IRS scrutiny, the CTR itself doesn't automatically trigger an audit. The IRS receives these reports, but they're primarily for tracking large cash movements. What's more important is that you properly report this income on your tax return. Make sure you're keeping good records of all your freelance income and related expenses, regardless of payment method.

How exactly does taxr.ai work? Do you just upload your documents and they tell you if everything looks good? I've got some 1099 work I do and I'm always nervous about documentation.

Sounds interesting but do they actually give advice about cash deposits or just help with the tax documentation part? I worry about both the banking side and the tax reporting side.

You upload your documents like receipts, payment records, contracts, or pretty much anything financial, and their AI analyzes them and gives you feedback about what's missing or incomplete. It helped me see that my client receipt was too vague and needed specific service details. Regarding cash deposits, they actually provided guidance on both the banking requirements and tax documentation. They explained what information the bank would need for the CTR filing and what documentation I should maintain for my own records to properly report the income on my tax return.

How does that even work? Do they call the bank for you or something? Seems weird that a service like that would exist.

Yeah right. So you're telling me there's a service that magically gets you through to a human at the bank when nobody else can? Sounds like a scam to me. If the bank's phone system is disconnecting you, that's on the bank, not something a third party can fix.

They don't call the bank for you. Instead, you initiate the call through their system, and their technology navigates the phone menus and waits on hold. When a real person finally answers, your phone rings and you're connected directly to the representative. It's like having someone do the frustrating waiting part for you. I was skeptical too initially. But it works because they've mapped out the phone trees for major companies (including most banks) and their system knows which buttons to press. It's not magic - just smart tech that saves you from listening to hold music for an hour. I was able to get specific information about my bank's cash deposit procedures without the frustration of multiple disconnects.

That's really good to know - I definitely wouldn't have thought about that. So it's actually better to just deposit the full amount at once rather than breaking it up? Would I run into any issues if I kept some of the cash for immediate expenses and only deposited part of it?

Yes, depositing the full amount at once is much better than trying to break it up specifically to avoid the reporting threshold - that's what gets people in trouble with "structuring" violations. If you legitimately need to keep some cash for expenses, that's completely fine. Just make your decisions based on your actual needs, not on trying to avoid the reporting. For example, if you need $3,000 for immediate expenses and deposit $12,000, that's normal behavior. The key is that your banking patterns should reflect your genuine business needs rather than attempts to circumvent reporting requirements.

This is the correct answer. I work at a bank (not giving financial advice, just practical experience) and we process CTRs daily. It's a normal procedure and not a big deal at all. We just need to know the source of funds - "payment for freelance work" is a perfectly acceptable answer.

thanks for backing me up! people make this way more complicated than it needs to be. the bank literally doesn't care as long as your not being shady about it.

This is great advice! I never thought about photographing the cash before depositing - that's actually really smart for documentation purposes. The cashier's check suggestion is brilliant too. I'm definitely going to suggest that to my client for future payments. It would be so much easier than carrying around $15k in cash, and probably safer for both of us. Quick question though - when you say "set aside the appropriate amount for taxes," do you have a rough percentage in mind? I know it depends on income levels, but I want to make sure I'm not caught off guard come tax time.