Here's What Happens if You Deposit More Than $10,000 in Cash Into Your Savings Account

Image source: The Motley Fool/Upsplash

It's probably not every day that you're looking at depositing more than $10,000 into your savings account . But it could happen.

Say you sell your car and someone pays you $12,000 for it. Similarly, you might sell your home only to have the buyer ask if you're willing to sell them a bunch of your furniture, too. They might conceivably write you a check for more than $10,000 for it.

You should know that any time you deposit more than $10,000 into a savings account, your bank is required to report it to the federal government. But that's not necessarily a problematic thing for you.

Don't stress about a large deposit

If you're depositing a large amount of money you obtained illegally, then yes, you should be concerned about this activity getting flagged. You should also be concerned about going to jail. But if that money is yours and you obtained it through legal channels, then there's not much to worry about even if you make a deposit of over $10,000 and it is flagged by your bank.

Banks are required to report transactions over $10,000 under the Bank Secrecy Act. That's because larger transactions can, in some cases, be indicative of money laundering and other criminal activity.

But relax. The police aren't going to come busting down your door simply because you sold your car for $12,000 and put the money into savings instead of spending it. In that scenario, your bank will probably report the transaction and you won't even know it did that.

Should you be depositing over $10,000 into a savings account?

You shouldn't hesitate to make a deposit of over $10,000 into your savings for fear of repercussions. But the question you should be asking yourself is whether that much money belongs in your savings account vs. a different kind of account.

If you need the money for emergency bills or a near-term goal, then a savings account is your best bet. And if you want the best interest rate on your money, check out this list of the best high-yield savings accounts on our radar .

But if you don't have near-term plans for that money and you don't need it for emergency fund purposes, then you may want to consider investing it instead. Over the past 50 years, the S&P 500's average annual return has been 10%, accounting for both good years and bad.

If you put $12,000 into an investment portfolio that gives you a 10% return every year, in 20 years from now, that deposit will be worth about $80,700. Even if a savings account pays you 4% a year over the next 20 years, which is unlikely because rates aren't usually that high, you're only looking at about $26,300. That's a tremendous difference.

So remember, while you may not get in trouble for depositing more than $10,000 into a savings account, doing so may not necessarily be your best move. Investing it with one of the best stock brokers could put a lot more cash in your pocket over the long term.

Alert: highest cash back card we've seen now has 0% intro APR into 2026

This credit card is not just good – it's so exceptional that our experts use it personally. It features a 0% intro APR for 15 months, a cash back rate of up to 5%, and all somehow for no annual fee!

Click here to read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes.

We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .