Current account, cash withdrawal: limits and risks

Cash withdrawal from the current account, are there any risks? Given that the Revenue Agency can reconstruct every movement on the bank or postal account, remember laleggepertutti.it, whether it is incoming (transfers, cash or checks payments) or outgoing (withdrawals at the cash desk or ATM), it is good know which of these operations may lead to tax assessments. The issue has been dealt with several times by the Supreme Court. The Court has already dealt with explaining which taxpayers are most exposed to the controls of the tax office, which are the suspicious transactions to which the meaning of evasive maneuvers can be given and, last but not least, what can be the protections that the taxpayer , in the course of investigations, can provide in its favor. From time to time we will make the point below, commenting on a recent order with which the Court has focused its attention on the withdrawal of cash from the current account. Payments: what risks? The taxman can assume that every payment of cash or checks and every transfer received into the account constitutes taxable income, that is, taxable income. It is up to the taxpayer to provide proof to the contrary. Proof to the contrary must necessarily be in writing and have a certain date (ie certified by a time stamp or by the public official). Therefore, the taxpayer has two possible solutions: – either declares the amount paid to the account, reporting it on their tax return and, consequently, paying us the personal income tax, thus eliminating any risk of assessment from the start or does not declare the amount (i.e. it does not indicate it in the tax return) but must keep written evidence of the exempt nature of the same. Evidence which could be a deed of donation from a parent, the sale of a used item, a win from gambling or betting, compensation. Is there a limit on payments to the current account? There is no limit to the payment of cash into the account. However, for anti-money laundering purposes, the bank can ask for information on the origin of the money. A number of hypotheses could arise at this point. The first: in the case of sums received by the same subject beyond the traceability threshold (1,000 euros starting from January 2022), the bank can report this circumstance to the Anti-Money Laundering authorities for the purpose of applying the related penalties (from 1,000 to 50,000 euros). The second: if the reasons offered by the account holder regarding the origin of the money are non-existent, generic or give rise to suspicion, the bank informs the UIF, the Financial Intelligence Unit (through the Sos procedure, Reporting of suspicious transaction) that it will proceed if necessary , if he believes that there is evidence of a crime, to forward a report to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Which taxpayers are at risk from levy controls? The presumption of the availability of greater income, inferable from the results of the accounts and, in particular, from the payments, does not refer only to holders of business or self-employed income, but extends to the generality of taxpayers. All taxpayers are therefore called to justify the payments and transfers received on the current account, especially those who do not have an income and who, therefore, will be asked to explain how they obtained the availability of this money. Withdrawals on the current account: what risks? Unlike deposits, current account withdrawals are not subject to any checks. Therefore, they do not constitute proof to hypothesize income not declared to the tax authorities. The law allows the financial offices to recalculate the declared income by using unjustified bank transactions to be considered as “higher income”; but this concerns only payments and not also unjustified withdrawals. The Supreme Court thus upheld the taxpayer’s appeal, establishing that for different income, the withdrawals, even if without justification, can never establish a tax assessment and cannot trigger the presumption of tax evasion (as instead happens for withdrawals ) [3]. And this regardless of the prior proof that the taxpayer carries out a specific activity and the lawful or illegal nature of the activity itself. Withdrawals have a presumptive value only for holders of business income (ie for entrepreneurs). For the latter, there is an obligation to justify all withdrawals exceeding € 1,000 per day or € 5,000 per month. Is there a limit to withdrawals from the current account? Although withdrawals cannot justify tax assessments by the Revenue Agency, for anti-money laundering purposes the bank must always ask the account holder for the destination of the money (as happens with withdrawals). And, to this end, if the amount withdrawn exceeds 10,000 euros in a month (even if operated with distinct operations), the credit institution must inform the UIF, which in turn will evaluate whether to notify the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Repubblica for the purpose of verifying the commission of serious crimes such as money laundering, organized crime, drug or arms trafficking.