Will the bank get suspicious if I deposit $150,000 in cash into my checking account?

Is it legal to deposit a large cash inheritance (such as $150,000) in a bank? The money is not currently in a bank account and is not part of the estate – assuming it’s just cash in an envelope – and I live in a state with no estate tax. I thought I could make this deposit legally and there would be no tax consequences. Am I right? Do I have to provide a recent death certificate?

Lone Ranger

Related: 2025 is a hell of a year. In 2026, consumers should experience more “silent pain.”

I don’t know why or how the money was withdrawn from the bank and put into the envelope – and I’m not sure I want to know.

Regardless, depositing more than $10,000 in your bank account may trigger the filing of mandatory currency transaction reports with the IRS and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network under the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970. This is standard procedure for detecting potential money laundering activity. It doesn’t mean you did anything wrong, so as long as you didn’t – well – do anything wrong, it shouldn’t cause you problems. But there should be a paper trail in case you are audited.

What if you were to deposit the money in $10,000 increments to avoid triggering the alarm? Reporting that deliberately disrupts financial transactions to avoid triggering legal requirements is known as “structuring” and is illegal. Authorities can discover structured transactions during a Bank Secrecy Act audit, a Form 8300 review, or an income tax audit. While there are similarities between transactions designed to avoid different reporting requirements, investigators will look at them with a magnifying glass.

You may be asked to provide probate documents, a letter from the executor, or a death certificate to confirm that the cash came from a legitimate source. However, this is less likely to happen if the cash already belongs to you legally and was not transferred directly from the deceased’s account. In most other cases, you will need to submit a certified copy of your death certificate to your financial institution in order for inherited funds to be transferred or deposited into your account. Banks use these official documents to confirm an individual’s death.

Only a handful of states impose estate taxes — Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey and Pennsylvania — and the amount owed generally depends on the heir’s relationship to the deceased. While there is no federal estate tax, the IRS does impose a federal estate tax, and the exemption threshold is adjusted annually for inflation. In 2026, estates generally must file and potentially pay federal estate taxes only if their taxable value exceeds $15 million, up from $13.99 million in 2025.

Estate taxes are paid by the beneficiaries and the amount usually depends on the heirs’ relationship to the deceased. In contrast, inheritance tax is paid by the estate itself before any assets are distributed, although any interest or investment gains accrued after you receive the assets are taxed. This includes the federal estate tax, which is administered by the Internal Revenue Service. In other words, beneficiaries generally do not pay federal estate tax directly; it is settled by the estate before distributions are made. (Read more here.)

If you don’t need the money, TurboTax recommends putting it into a trust fund. “A trust allows you to transfer assets to your beneficiaries after your death without going through probate,” it states. “A trust is similar to a will, but a trust generally avoids the probate requirements and associated fees that a will typically must go through. With a revocable trust, the grantor can withdraw assets when necessary. An irrevocable trust typically seizes the assets until the grantor’s death.”

Bottom line: When you deposit a large amount of cash (in this case, a $150,000 inheritance), the bank teller will verify your identity, record your explanation of the source of the funds, and process the deposit normally. An automated monitoring system then reviews the transaction, and if inconsistencies arise, the bank may request documents such as estate paperwork. As for the $150,000: It’s better to have it in a bank account than in a drawer. Follow the rules and you won’t – fingers crossed – run into any problems.

Don’t miss: ‘It’s my money’: My $800,000 inheritance could be used to buy a $1.6 million house. Shouldn’t it be up to me to decide where my husband and I live?

Previous columns by Quentin Fottrell:

“The house quadrupled in value”: My brother and I bought a house, but he didn’t put up the money. How can I solve this problem?

My sister is buying her parents’ $3 million home but wants to deduct $100,000 of renovation costs. Who is right?

“I’m just exhausted”: I’m 55 years old and have a $1.3 million pension. Can I retire next year?