Federal law requires that businesses report cash payments of more than $10,000 and/or suspicious currency transactions regardless of amount to the federal government by filing IRS/FinCEN Form 8300. State law requires businesses to send a copy of a completed Federal Form 8300 to the Florida Department of Revenue no later than 15 days after the date the transaction is required to be reported to the IRS.

Any purchaser for whom you were required to file a Federal Form 8300 in the prior year, must receive a notice by January 31, that your dealership filed the form with the Internal Revenue Service. The statement must show the name, telephone number, and address of the dealership, the total amount of the reportable cash received, and indicate the information was provided to the IRS. Don’t forget to keep a copy of the correspondence for your own records.

Note: According to an IRS technical advisement, if a business filed a Form 8300 on an individual and checked the suspicious transaction box, and a Form 8300 was not otherwise required, do not inform the individual that a Form 8300 was filed. Reporting of the suspicious transaction in this instance is voluntary. A business is only required to provide a statement to individuals if the filing of the Form 8300 is required. A business is prohibited from informing the buyer that the suspicious transaction box was checked.

For additional information, refer to the IRS Q&As for Motor Vehicle Dealers on Cash Payments. Dealerships should make sure they are using the most recent Form 8300 (Updated August 2014). Below is potential language you can use when notifying a purchaser that you filed a form with the IRS: (On Dealership Letterhead)

Dear Customer:

We are required by the Internal Revenue Service to report transactions involving more than $10,000 cash and cash equivalents, under the provisions of 25 U.S.C. 60501. We have filed a Form 8300 with the IRS on (month, day, year), indicating that you provided us with (dollar amount) in connection with the purchase of your (year, make, model). We wanted you to know that we have complied with this federal requirement. If you should have any questions, please contact [INSERT NAME OF CONTACT PERSON] at [INSERT NUMBER]. Again, we thank you for your patronage.

Where to file

Regardless of whether you file electronically or on paper, you must timely file a complete and accurate form.

Federally:

  • Electronic filing. You may electronically file Forms 8300 using FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing System. You’ll receive an electronic acknowledgement of each submission. For more information about Form 8300 e-filing, see the FinCEN news release announcing electronic filing.
  • File by mail. You may mail Form 8300 to the IRS at: Detroit Federal Building, P.O. Box 32621, Detroit, Michigan 48232.

Florida:

  • Electronic filing. You may electronically file Forms 8300 by email to the Department at [email protected]  .
  • File by mail. You may mail Form 8300 to the Florida DOR at: Criminal Investigations Process Owner, Florida Department of Revenue, 5050 W. Tennessee Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0100  .