any honest reasons to pay cash?

Sounds like he is trying to hide something. Wire transfers are easy these days and are a good way to go. If you are dealing with a larger amount a wire transfer is the way to go as there has been some circulation of fraud cashiers checks out there.

 

The guy probably runs a cash business and doesn't want our friends at the mafia (IRS) knowing about his transactions.

 

There's nothing illegal about large cash transactions, but if it's drug money or stolen money, I wonder what your liability would be if the buyer was busted.

I'd have done the deal after getting some legal advice to confirm I'd be okay.

Ken

 

I would've had bank verify cash and not used his name on the form. Or just bought one of those "money checking pens"....you can get them at any office supply place.

 

i'd think about your need to have alot of cash otherwise you'll get flagged for making a large cash deposit. are we talking 308, 355 or 360 money???

 

You did the right thing. I would have done the same and said let's go to the bank and let them handle it. If the guy has nothing to hide than doing the bank thing would not be a problem. If he does have something to hide you probably don't want to deal with him.

 

As far as I know, it's not illegal to have large amounts of cash, nor illegal to do a transaction with large amounts of cash. It's funny/ironic how the government prints it as "legal tender", then makes the public feel uneasy about using it in a transaction.

Why wouldn't you do a transaction with cash? If the buyer is willing to go with you to the bank for verification of the bills (for your protection), what difference does it make to you? Yes, you will fill out the form for over $10k & the bank will probably fill out another internal form/report, but as long as you have a true, legal and legitimate explanation of where the money came from what's the difference?

 

No way.......you did the right thing........

 

Cash is the BEST way to do business IMHO. I wish I would get all my fees paid in cash. I bet a lot of the Katrina victims wish they had their cash rather than money in a bank that is now closed until who knows when. The only currency more accepted around the world than US dollars/cash is guns...guns are the only true international currency. And, I have taken guns as payment of legal fees before.

 

Not a chance. You did the right thing. I would wait for a more legitimate buyer. Its not worth losing it all. You don't need to be dragged into this persons issues. Feds don't play nice, ever.

 

LOL... after all, you should always pay for toys with cash!

 

Not illegal to take the cash, however, it is illegal not to file the IRS report, and that carries some pretty nasty penalties. His refusal to provide his name, etc., had you gone alone with it, could have cost you dearly. You did the right thing. Guy was probably into something illegal, either avoiding taxes, or running an illegal business. Those are people best avoided.

Art

 

Is that IRS form required with a private sale ?

 

If you get paid cash and it it turns out to be drug money - you lose the cash... Government has a right to seize it...

 

And what is your "cash discount" percentage, Frank?????? LOL!!!!

That's so cliche, man.....

"Yea, meet me in the 16th St. bridge, at midnight, bring red Halliburton Zero and 110g's, all small bills, non sequential serial numbers.........come alone...."


*click*

 

I was under the impression that it didn't make a difference wether it was a private sale or not. The money is still changing hands. I thought the only loophole was a "gift" which in cash can be 12k(almost 95% sure atleast in MN) and not really sure what value they limit gift cars to.

 

Of course, I left my checkbook back on the Cessna which is parked on a discrete runway in the everglades.....

or,

I could use my Visa, but I just wanted to get rid of all my spare American change before I return home to Bolivia.....

or,

Taxes, Texas Ranger?...we don't need to pay any stinking taxes!

 

You did the right thing. When you deposit 10K or more in cash, your bank will send a form to the IRS reporting the deposit. Then, they can come looking for you and ask where the cash came from. "The guy would not give his name" would not be considered an adequate answer. Even if you are guilty of nothing, the potential hassle would not be worth it.

Dave

 

If the Buyer wouldn't give his name/license/ID, then I wouldn't have done the transaction anyways (regardless of it were cash or not) since I would require a notarized Bill of Sale with both parties information so that in the event the Buyer gets into an accident or something happens to the car you have proof that the car was sold, so you avoid liability.

BTW, It wouldn't be the Buyer who fills out the form, it would be you when you go to deposit that money into your account. With a signed, notarized, bill of sale indicating both parties (to establish where you got the money), the sales price (to establish the amount of money), the date and all the other things that go into the Bill of Sale, you will more than likely be ok.

If, however, the Buyer wouldn't even give their name/ID, I would NOT do the deal for BOTH the liability as well as source of funds reasons.

 

You would have to deposit/spend the cash slowly over several years. If you make a habit of depositing $9999.00 every other day a red flag will still come up. However if you used the cash to buy groceries every other time you went shopping, to pay for all of you entertainment needs like going to the movies, etc....it would be hard to trace. The problem for you the seller is, what is the upside? Only if you were in mid-divorce and wanted to hide assets would it make sense UNLESS he was paying 25% above market value. He wanted you to launder his money basically, if he deposited the $$$ himself he would have to pay 35% tax on it. It like when a guy offers to knock off the 6% sales tax when he pressure washers your house if you pay cash, let's see "you'll knock off twelve WHOLE dollars, yet I am saving you $70 in taxes, here's my check, let's hope it does not bouce like the one I wrote yesterday".

 

If you are paid with a cheque and it turns out to be from an account that was filled with drug money don't the feds confiscate the loot anyway?

I think the problem here isn’t the method of payment (other than a bit of hassle) but rather the overtly shy nature of the potential purchaser.

 

Makes me suspicious. Sorry. Cash may be king, but these days, doing deals in cash in any serious numbers raises more questions than are worth the trouble. My next door neighbor when we lived in Brooklyn Heights was a very nice Albanian fellow who was always extremely helpful- he was the super of the small apartment building next door to our brownstone, and did basic handywork, and kept an eye on our place. As a small time contractor, i assumed he dealt in cash sometimes, but was totally unprepared when he called for legal advice some years later. Turns out he was allegedly involved in a money laundering scheme involving kickbacks from large building maintenance operations in NYC- millions were involved in each transaction; he would apparently go to some place in Brooklyn and actually cash some of these checks for CASH.
I'm told he beat the rap; for his sake, i hope so; but, the moral here is that he was an unassuming 'little' guy, neighborhood type, well regarded family kinda guy, involved in some pretty heavy stuff, and who'd a thunk it?

 

Really? One guy has his cash stashed away under his mattress that is now under 10 feet of water in an evacuation zone. Another guy has it at the bank with access to ATMs, electronic funds transfers, and on-line banking anywhere in the world. Who do you think gets their money first?