Is an airplane ticket in cash a big ticket item or a red flag purchase since I have to put my name on the ticket?

Is an airplane ticket in cash a big ticket item or a red flag purchase since I have to put my name on the ticket?
Good question, I don't know but I'm sure if they wanted to find out where all your money went they could, they'd really have to have a real serious reason to wanna look that far tho. Sorry I'm no help





How pricey of a ticket are we talking, & would it be feasible to cover it (theoretically) w/ the earnings that you're declaring (hopefully not-theoretically) from your vanilla job?
I bought a plane ticket+hotel+car rental bundle today for a trip abt 6wks from now. Cost just under $600. W/ my vanilla job that's perfectly feasible, I have the bank/payroll statements to prove it, & anyway Idk if that's a big enough number to be red-flagged.
A friend of mine who travels every yr or every other yr to Thailand, tho … that's her home country btw … we were talking abt this just a couple nites ago & she was telling me an adult ticket is in the $1800 range & child's ticket smtg like $1200-$1400. Now you're getting into potentially worrisome numbers.
Every flight purchase does not get reported to the IRS, so, no, don't worry about paying for a flight and getting audited down the line because of it.
Since you will have to go to the airport to pay for your flight with cash, I would urge you to at least not do that the day of your flight. While it won't raise red flags with the IRS, it may raise red flags with airport security and you could find yourself "randomly selected" for additional screening.
Now that I think about it, you could also probably pay cash by buying a flight through a local travel agent, though I assume you will pay a mark-up for that "convenience" since they have to make money somehow.

Its a trip to Japan so I'm talking like a $1500 ticket...so yea it's a bit much. My vanilla job actually pays pretty well so I mean it's something within my means of I save up for it. But id rather spend my cash you know?
Im sure melonie would know 4sure, she always knows this kinda stuff.
If you're concerned and have the means to cover it with your vanilla income, why not put it on a credit card and pay it off with those earnings, and just use your cash in Japan? It's a pretty expensive country, so you'll certainly be able to spend more than enough of it there!





^^^ Shanna Dior has indeed hit upon the best option under the circumstances. Paying for the $1500+ airline ticket via credit card will raise far fewer security eyebrows than paying in cash. Carrying $1500 in cash in your purse through airport security versus a planned 'vacation' in a foreign country shouldn't raise any eyebrows either. But if the amount was much higher ( like over $3000 ), security problems could potentially follow.
In regard to possible exchange of information between the TSA, US Customs, and the IRS, from what I have gleaned from acquaintances this is possible ... but only in fairly 'extreme' circumstances where the amount of cash is fairly large, where the 'explanation' offered by the traveler as to why they're carrying a fairly large amount of cash is out of the ordinary, etc. The two primary areas of gov't interest are money of 'illegal' origin or intended to fund 'illegal' activities, or money being carried out of the country for tax evasion purposes. Cash amounts less than $3000 shouldn't draw any undue attention.





The IRS probably won't care. But, TSA will. Cash tickets are a major red flag for them. The only thing worse is a one way cash ticket. If there is any other way to buy the ticket, do so. A debit card, a credit card, a friend. Anything is better than the "enhanced scrutiny" you will receive from TSA.





The $10,000 cash declaration limit is for US Customs ... and comes into play when an international border will be crossed. As far as I am aware, there is no legal limit on the amount of cash carried during 'domestic' air travel.
However, that doesn't mean that doing so isn't risky ... from
(snip)In February 2014, Drug Enforcement Administration task force officers at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport seized $11,000 in cash from 24-year-old college student Charles Clarke. They didn't find any guns, drugs or contraband on him. But, according to an affidavit filled out by one of the agents, the task force officers reasoned that the cash was the proceeds of drug trafficking, because Clarke was traveling on a recently-purchased one-way ticket, he was unable to provide documentation for where the money came from, and his checked baggage had an odor of marijuana. (He was a marijuana smoker.)
Clarke's cash, which says he he spent five years saving up, was seized under civil asset forfeiture, where cops are able to take cash and property from people who are never convicted of -- and in some cases, never even charged with -- a crime. The DEA maintains that asset forfeiture is an important crime-fighting tool: "By attacking the financial infrastructure of drug trafficking organizations world-wide, DEA has disrupted and dismantled major drug trafficking organizations and their supply chains, thereby improving national security and increasing the quality of life for the American public."
But the practice has become contentious, in part because agencies are generally allowed to keep a share of the cash and property they seize. In cases like Clarke's, where local and federal agents cooperate on a seizure, federal agencies typically keep at least 20 percent of the assets, while local cops split the remainder among themselves. Critics argue that this creates a profit motive and leads to "policing for profit."(snip)
... which brings us back to the original topic. Buy your ( preferably round trip ) ticket at least several days in advance, using a credit card !!! Keep the amount of cash you'll be carrying below state cash transaction reporting limits ( i.e. $3000 ). Carry the cash in a 'normal' manner ( i.e. do not try to 'hide' it in some unusual location ). Have an explanation ready as to where the cash originated from ( personal savings ), and what the cash is for ( vacation spending ).
Last edited by Melonie; 07-17-2015 at 03:28 AM.
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