I am in the process of moving some of my savings to gold but don’t want to trigger the IRS reporting or anything else for that matter. If I withdrawal $3,500 a day or a few times a week, will that cause problems? I have been saving for a while, and so it is definitely out of the ordinary for me to withdraw that kind of money frequently, however, I did tell them what I was doing, and even inquired about safety deposit boxes to store the gold I am buying.
don’t want to trigger the IRS reporting
This behavior is itself illegal. Do not do this you’ve already admitted why.
This is called “structuring” do not do this.
I once drew out $8000 cash to buy a car for my daughter. You paid taxes when you earned the money, fuck the IRS, its not their business.
As others already said, avoiding reporting is considered a crime, regardless of whether what you do with the money is or isn’t a crime itself.
If there’s a reason for the withdrawals (e.g. the seller puts a quota on how much you can buy daily/weekly) that’s legitimate, but splitting the transactions of your own accord could carry aditional headaches as opposed to filling out the report.
Although, I’d recommend using a direct credit transfer as that’s more traceable so you’ll be safer. Firstly if the IRS sends someone to inquire they’ll have a trail if the money, and secondly if anything happens with the gold/seller you’ll also have evidence to back up your claims.
Have you ever had your kitchen remodeled? Those withdrawals wouldnt even begin to cover the deposit to start the work. I can’t imagine anyone is going to ne shocked by that amount (not saying it’s not significant money, just that such transactions, even in cash, happen often).
You’re much better off just doing it in one go. What you are considering doing is called structuring, and will, unlike making a large transfer, result in mandatory reporting and a money laundering investigation.
Contrary to popular misunderstanding, [the reporting requirement] does not apply to checks or electronic transactions. Financial institutions suspecting deposit structuring with intent to avoid the law are required to file a suspicious activity report (SAR).
Yes. What OP is asking about is a surprisingly serious crime. You don’t even have to be doing it on purpose to be guilty, but if you are doing it on purpose, you’re ultra fucked.
Edit: I am wrong about the statute I think, listen to sugar_in_your_tea, intent matters.
OP: Since you now have put out basically undeletable evidence of your intent, please don’t
They have to prove you did it on purpose to try to avoid reporting or whatever, so you’re highly unlikely to be found guilty if you just happen to need to move a lot of money over a few days in pieces. If you get a call, just tell the truth and the investigation should be closed pretty quickly.
you’re highly unlikely to be found guilty
This is untrue. People have been found guilty of this even when they had a perfectly legitimate explanation, which OP doesn’t. I don’t know that OP is likely to get investigated simply for a single instance. Maybe. If they are investigated, I do know that it’s a big deal and they’re likely to be found guilty. I also know that OP is far more guaranteed to be completely fine if they just take it all out at once and do the IRS reporting. The IRS gets these reports all the time for all kinds of things. They’re not going to care about a single withdrawal right above the limit.
If you get a call, just tell the truth and the investigation should be closed pretty quickly.
This is some of the absolute worst possible advice I have ever seen on the internet.
Absolutely fucking not. If the feds call you and want to talk with you about a crime they suspect you of, get a lawyer. Any talking they want to do that will be to your benefit can happen after you talk to your lawyer. There are some scenarios, before you become a suspect, where it is useful to be communicative with the cops. Once you’re a suspect, those scenarios are 0.
Without a lawyer’s guidance, you can have a 30-second conversation with them which will torpedo your defense and send you to prison when you would have been able to fight the case and walk away a free man. They are extremely skilled at making it sound harmless and friendly, and like a good idea to talk with them so you can air your side of the story and clear your name. It is not. They are lying. Get a lawyer.
Even if you didn’t do anything illegal (which, again, OP did in this scenario), don’t say a goddamned word. Tell them you’d like to speak with your lawyer first, show them ID, cooperate in general, but don’t say a goddamned word.
