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4.26.10.9 (01-01-2003)
Clerk of Court Provisions
- IRC Section 6050I(g) requires any clerk of a Federal or state court who receives more than $10,000 in cash as bail for an individual charged with any of the following specified criminal offenses to file Form 8300:
- Any Federal offense involving a controlled substance
- Racketeering
- Money laundering and
- Any state offenses substantially similar to the three listed above.
- If someone other than the clerk receives bail on behalf of the clerk (such as a sheriff), the clerk is treated as having received the bail. The clerk must file the Form 8300 if the other filing requirements are met.
- If multiple payments are made to satisfy bail reportable under this section, and the initial payment does not exceed $10,000, the initial payment and subsequent payments must be aggregated, and the information required by Section 6050I(g) must be filed by the 15th day after receipt of the payment that causes the aggregate amount to exceed $10,000. However, payments made to satisfy separate bail requirements are not required to be aggregated.
- The court clerk is required to provide a statement of the aggregate amount of reportable cash to each payer of bail. This requirement can be satisfied either by sending a single written statement with an aggregate amount listed, or by furnishing a copy of each Form 8300 relating to that payer of bail. NOTE: This is the only instance where the regulations allow copies of the Form 8300 to satisfy the requirement to furnish the statement.
- A copy of each Form 8300 filed by the court clerk must also be sent to the United States Attorney in the jurisdiction in which the individual charged with the specified crime resides, and the jurisdiction in which the specified crime occurred, if different. This copy must be sent by the 15th day after the date the reportable cash bail is received.
- Exception for Federal Courts – Normally, compliance reviews are not recommended for the Federal Courts because Policy Statement P-2-4 prohibits penalties against another Federal entity and adequate self-audit procedures exist. Educational contacts are suggested. Before visiting a Federal Court, please notify Headquarters SB/SE Office of Reporting Compliance sixty (60) days prior to your planned visit. This will allow time for coordination with the Administrative Office of the Federal Courts’ Audit Branch.
- Various penalties may be applicable for failure to timely file Form 8300, failure to include complete and correct information on the form, intentional disregard of the filing requirements of the form, and failure to furnish notification to the payer of the filing of Form 8300. Criminal penalties may be applicable if required criteria are met.
- Civil penalties and applicable rules are as follows:
- Negligent failure to timely file, IRC Section 6721(a)(2)(A): $50 per violation, not to exceed $250,000 per calendar year ($100,000 for persons with gross receipts of not more than $5,000,000);
- Negligent failure to include all required information on the return or inclusion of incorrect information, IRC Section 6721(a)(2)(B): $50 per violation, not to exceed $250,000 per calendar year ($100,000 for persons with gross receipts of not more than $5,000,000);
- If any failure under IRC Section 6721 is corrected on or before the 30th day after the required filing date, the penalty is reduced to $15 in lieu of $50 and the maximum amount imposed shall not exceed $75,000 ($25,000 for persons with gross receipts of not more than $5,000,000);
- Negligent failure to furnish correct payee statements, IRC Section 6722(a) and (b): $50 per failure, not to exceed $100,000 per calendar year;
- Intentional disregard of the requirement to timely file or to include all required information, IRC Section 6721(e)(2)(C): the greater of: (1) $25,000, or (2) the amount of cash received in the transaction, not to exceed $100,000 (with no calendar year limitation applicable);
- Intentional disregard of the requirement to furnish a correct payee statement, IRC Section 6722(c)(1)(A): $100 per failure, or if greater, 10 percent of the aggregate amounts of the items required to be reported correctly (with no calendar year limitation applicable).
- Under IRC Section 6724(a), no penalty shall be imposed for any failure due to reasonable cause. Guidance on waivers or abatements of penalties due to reasonable cause may be found in IRM 20.
- Any person required to file Form 8300 who willfully fails to file, fails to file timely, or fails to include complete and correct information is subject to criminal sanctions as a felony under IRC Section 7203. Sanctions include a fine up to $25,000 ($100,000 in the case of a corporation), and/or imprisonment up to five years, plus the costs of prosecution.
- Any person who willfully files a Form 8300, which is false with regard to a material matter, may be fined up to $100,000 ($500,000 in the case of a corporation), and/or imprisoned up to three years, plus the costs of prosecution. (IRC Section 7206(1).)
- Under IRC Section 6724(b), penalties relating to information returns are due “in the same manner as tax.” Thus, the statute of limitations found in IRC Section 6501 applies to filed Forms 8300.
- Nonfiled forms are subject to the exception of IRC Section 6501(c)(3). No civil statute of limitation is applicable to such nonfiled Form(s) 8300. However, the criminal prosecution statute for willful failure to file Form 8300 is three years from the date the Form 8300 was due. See IRC Section 6531.
