A question for bankers

... However, my girlfriend who is a realtor used to do this when she was getting ready to divorce her husband. He ended up busting her when he reconciled her 1099's BUT he was a CPA.
The only other point might warn you about is that some banks now scan check deposits to be viewable online. If she's paying attention, then she could match up an inconsistency. Or, her divorce lawyer could.
That said, if your wife is that suspicious, you're probably already fucked... Originally Posted by Your Naughty Muse

What Muse presents is the issue. However, it's the Partnership or S-corp "K1" that's the item of concern for you. That reports your share of income and also reports the amount of the distributions. So if your SO is actually a wife that signs a joint tax return, she may have seen the document but not understood it, or has not kept track of what you said were the distributions. As Muse mentions, any basic divorce/family law attorney knows this stuff. Or, has access to a CPA, or has a CPA on retainer to help understand the income cash flow.

So have a hobby she knows about and then some of the $$$ that she thinks is spent on that goes to the other hobby.

I am delighted at the info exchange my question has generated and I am learning much here. Thanks. I remember a scene from "Body Heat" (God Kathleen Turner was hot). William Hurt was talking to Micky Roark. "That's all there is to it?" "No, that's not all there is to it. You've gotta get in. You've gotta get out. Someone once told me that for every crime there are 100 ways to get caught. If you can think of 25 of them you're a genius, and you're no genius. Do you remember who told me that counseler?". Just trying to get to 26. The money is not the crime, the rest is. Now trying to avoid the next 74. Again, thanks guys. And if there is more, keep it coming.

A mandatory SAR will be filed for any transaction of $10,000 or more. However, a consistent pattern of consecutive transactions adding up to $10,000 or more could trigger a SAR if the bank deems it suspicious (it's called Stacking). You can't fool them by splitting the transactions. As long as it is random and seldom, you don't really have to worry.....unless you are doing something illegal (like paying women for sex)....then you should worry!!

Stacking is also referred to as structuring.

So, WhatOut, what's your cover story if your wife finds out you like to withdraw $1000 in cash?

Due to my work, I am required to do annual review of and education on Anti Money Laundering procedures. I don't think, as I understand it, that taking cash out of checks is an issue that will trigger so much of a SAR as it is the depositing of cash, So yes, 10k is the threshold, but if you deposit $1000 in cash multiple times, the idea is that you may be trying to break up deposits to stay under the $10k threshold.

The big concern with AML procedures, and SARs, as I understand it, is that "bad" money is trying to be made "good." The goal of money-launderers is to legitimize the money "earned" in illegal activity. So, unless you are a drug dealer with loads of cash you are trying to get that money out of cash and into the "legitimate" money stream, or if you are a pimp or hooker trying to legitimize your money, what you are doing should not be an issue. Mind you, I'm not an attorney, or an accountant, but I know what I have been trained to look for, and what you're doing is not it.

Now if you were taking cash out of checks meant to be deposited into your company accounts, you might have an issue with your partners..... Originally Posted by Smooth Sailing

A mandatory SAR will be filed for any transaction of $10,000 or more. However, a consistent pattern of consecutive transactions adding up to $10,000 or more could trigger a SAR if the bank deems it suspicious (it's called Stacking). You can't fool them by splitting the transactions. As long as it is random and seldom, you don't really have to worry.....unless you are doing something illegal (like paying women for sex)....then you should worry!! Originally Posted by Ed Highlight

Possibly I should start another thread, but I am now wondering about this from the view point of depositing cash into an account. Say I deposit cash into a checking account to pay bills and yearly taxes, will I be on a list?

Good question about the cover story. I usually have them to cover my hobby activities but that one is much harder. Guitars come to mind.

Possibly I should start another thread, but I am now wondering about this from the view point of depositing cash into an account. Say I deposit cash into a checking account to pay bills and yearly taxes, will I be on a list? Originally Posted by gigi_gypsy

A one time occurrence ... no. Establish a pattern ... yes. Buy a car/boat/motorcycle/RV/etc with cash and the retailer will have to file a Form 8300.

Good question about the cover story. I usually have them to cover my hobby activities but that one is much harder. Guitars come to mind. Originally Posted by watchoutthegameisrigged

Although mentioned by Muse and I, and as you acknowledged, this bears repeating for emphasis to all:
Always have a cover story. And, my point of the moment is: Not just for funds.
For example, what if you happen to take a friend to dinner/drinks, or shopping, and bump into someone you know? Someone you bump into is more likely to actually remember that you were out with someone, if you stumble, or have other difficulty, introducing your date.
Or, what if you're going somewhere and someone wrecks into you? Ignoring that you may learn each others real ID, a traffic cop is going to think something's weird if you don't know each other first, or a MIDDLE name that at least matches the middle initial on a drivers license, or a common NICKNAME derived from first or middle names. Granted these are probably low risk items, and the dinner/drinks thing may not apply to single guys.

A mandatory SAR will be filed for any transaction of $10,000 or more. However, a consistent pattern of consecutive transactions adding up to $10,000 or more could trigger a SAR if the bank deems it suspicious (it's called Stacking). You can't fool them by splitting the transactions. As long as it is random and seldom, you don't really have to worry.....unless you are doing something illegal (like paying women for sex)....then you should worry!! Originally Posted by Ed Highlight

Mr Highlight, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this is only on deposits. Am I correct? Or is it any transaction, i.e. a withdrawal?

Possibly I should start another thread, but I am now wondering about this from the view point of depositing cash into an account. Say I deposit cash into a checking account to pay bills and yearly taxes, will I be on a list? Originally Posted by gigi_gypsy

"on a list"? not sure what the list would be .... the original poster is referring to a SAR (Suspicious Activity Report) which are required to be filed by banks, brokerage firms, and other financial institutions that take deposits when they are suspicious of a transaction or series of transactions. SARs are investigated by the Department of the Treasury. Though the 10k thing has been in place for a long time, it has really been stepped up since 9/11 as a way to track the potential funding of terrorism.

There's not a guarantee that your bank will file a SAR, but if you establish a pattern of significant enough transactions, in a short enough period of time, and it gets noticed, they could file one. But as long as you have a legitimate money trail, i.e., receipts, ledgers, bookkeeping entries, you should be fine upon investigation.

That's so true about small towns. And yes I know my bank scan's every check that comes thru my account and it shows up every month on my statement. Originally Posted by Worldtravler

I would want to cash it at the payor's bank, then deposit cash at your joint account... or simply bankroll the whole bonus and treat myself for the next quarter.