Is there a limit on how much money I can deposit in my bank account?

No you would have to give some of it to me. :D

Googling resulted in a mention of a $100,000 cap of the FDIC would cover. So, I think @WestRiverrat has it right.

As long as you can prove you came by it legally you can deposit it all at once without repercussions. I think you would want to break it up between several banks, as the FDIC would only cover a portion of that in one bank if it went under.

$100,000 is how much the FDIC will insure you for. But there’s no limit to how many bank accounts you can have.

You can deposit as much as you want, but over $10k it is reported and can be investigated.

@KatetheGreat it is now $250,000.

Any one deposit into one account that exceeds $10,000 dollars is investigated by the FBI. This is to catch drug dealers. If you deposit this amount of money into one account, you can look forward to a visit by an FBI agent.

I would divide my money between several different banks that are covered by the FDIC.

@john65pennington I don’t think you automatically get visited by the FBI over $10k, like they show up at your door? I think it just can be investigated. If the deposit seems on the up and up I doubt they contact you. Or, am I wrong? People get checks for over $10k all the time. Sale of a house, gift money from a relative, sale of a car, etc. Or, do you mean cash deposit?

You can deposit what you want into a bank account. The banking institute is obligated to report “cash” transactions over $10,000 to the IRS. You aren’t obligated to report anything. If you deposit $1 million through the sale of a home or whatever, and the deposit is through a cashier’s check for instance, the bank isn’t obligated to report anything to the IRS. It is cash transactions that set the wheels in motion on the bank’s part or any businesses when the transaction is in “cash” over $10,000.

My aunt gave me my inheritance while we were both alive. The amount was well over 10K and nothing was checked that I was aware of. No visits or black helicopters. They might look into it but you will not wake up to someone flipping your mattresses looking for brown people.

@bkcunningham You put cash in quotes. So is it just cash, dollar bills? Or, personal checks also?

@JLeslie just cash, dollar bills.

@bkcunningham Oh. I thought maybe personal checks were also a trigger.

Banks are required, under federal law, to file a currency transaction report for every deposit, withdrawal or exchange over $10,000 in cash.

I think overseas deposits from any but a few trusted sources are flagged if they are over $10k, whether they are cash or other securities.

@JLeslie noncash, wire transfer or checks do not require a CRT. Banks must also file a SAR or suspicious activity report when they suspect or have a reason to suspect that a transaction of at least $5000 involves monies from illegal activities. This even means money laundering.

@WestRiverrat That sounds possible. I know foreigners cannot come into the country with more than a certain amount of cash. Maybe it is $10k? Can’t remember? My husband had to be aware of that rule when he came here for school. I would guess tranferring money internationally would be the same.

You can deposit all you want. If you want the FDIC to insure it though, you may want to split up the cash into multiple accounts.

As long as you got that money in a legitimate way, you have nothing to worry about.

If you had millions you’d want to put it in a bank?? I would convert it to gold boullion and place it in a safty deposit box. The growth potential is way better than what a bank would pay, the rest I would put into real estate, again over all more growth potential then what the bank would give on interest.

[mod says] Let’s stick to answering the actual question, folks. Take the other discussion to PMs.