Read This Before Depositing or Withdrawing $10K From Your Bank Account

Sometimes, you need to put a lot of money in your bank account or take a lot of money out. This could happen for lots of reasons, such as a generous gift or a need to make a big purchase in cash.

Before you withdraw or deposit $10,000, though, you need to learn about a very important U.S. law -- so you don't accidentally find yourself facing legal problems.

$10,000 is an important number for banking

So, what's the big deal about depositing or withdrawing $10,000? That dollar amount matters because when your banking transaction involves more than $10,000 in cash, the financial institution must report it.

Under the Bank Secrecy Act, financial institutions must file a report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). This report is not optional, and the report must include details about the depositor, including their Social Security number and government-issued identification.

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The purpose of the Bank Secrecy Act is to stop money laundering by making sure government agencies are notified about big deposits or withdrawals. The government is really serious about this, so there is also an anti-structuring provision in the law.

Basically, the anti-structuring law prohibits you from structuring your transactions to avoid the reporting requirements. In other words you can't just break up a $10,000 checking account deposit, say into two $5,000 deposits or a $9,000 deposit and a $1,000 deposit.

If you make a bunch of small transactions like this, the bank has to file a suspicious activities report that could actually end up leading to a criminal investigation. If the government can prove you broke up the deposit to avoid reporting rules, you could face felony charges and a lengthy prison sentence.

Here's what to do if you're making a large deposit

You don't want to get into legal trouble, so you may be concerned about what to do if you must make a large deposit that totals over $10,000.

The good news is, there's a really simple option available to you. Just deposit the money in one transaction and provide the bank with the requested information.

If you do this, you'll avoid triggering a suspicious activities report like you would if you made small deposits. In the vast majority of situations, this will be the end of the story -- as long as you are not actually engaged in unlawful money laundering.

If you do end up making multiple deposits that add up to more than $10,000, you should also still be fine as long as you had a legitimate reason for it, such as getting a bunch of cash gifts or selling items over time and depositing the money all at once, for example.

The only way you're going to have problems is if you're trying to hide money from the government, or if you look as if you are doing so. If you aren't breaking the law, you really have nothing to worry about and your bank is just going to have a little extra paperwork as a result of your activities.

Be smart about what bank accounts you put your money into, too. While all banks must comply with reporting requirements, they don't all offer the same benefits and perks on checking, savings, and other accounts. Take a look at the best free checking accounts to see if one of them might be a good place for your money if your current bank isn't treating you right.