No requirement to notify your own cash withdrawals to HMRC, contrary to online claims

A video on social media with 1,500 shares wrongly claims a person can no longer withdraw certain sums of cash from their bank account without first notifying HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). But this is not true.

In the clip, a man speaking to the camera says: “If you want to withdraw your cash from the bank, you are now not allowed, basically, especially if it’s at large sums, and I’m talking only £3,000 or more, that you have to notify HMRC that you’re withdrawing that money, and you need to be able to supply evidence and why, basically, what you’re using it for, and the proof and evidence that you’ve used it for the purpose that you’ve declared what you’re using it [sic].”

It has been shared with the caption: “Not allowed to take cash out the bank #uk”.

But it is not true that people have to notify HMRC when withdrawing cash, including sums of £3,000, and there have been no recent changes to this effect.

When approached, HMRC told Full Fact that “there are no rules requiring taxpayers to report cash withdrawals to HMRC”, but added that “individual banks may have their own rules around cash withdrawals”.

It’s true that many banks have limits on how much cash can be withdrawn per day from cash machines, and they may have certain requirements for large cash withdrawals in-person at a branch, such as providing extra information about the withdrawal and advance notice to ensure enough cash is in stock. We have seen some evidence that banks may not always be able to fulfil large cash withdrawals.

The Financial Conduct Authority told Full Fact that most banks have daily limits on cash withdrawals, such as at cash machines, for operational reasons and that these are set by individual banks based on several factors. Banks must also comply with regulations to prevent financial crime, such as identifying and verifying customers, as well as protecting them from fraud and scams.

We’ve contacted the account sharing this Facebook video for comment, and will update this article if we receive a response.

Banks have some requirements for large cash withdrawals

There are daily limits on the amount of cash customers can withdraw from cash machines (ATMs), which are decided by banks themselves, not HMRC. These limits vary depending on the bank and the type of account. For example, the Royal Bank of Scotland has a daily limit of £250 for some accounts, £300 for others and a £750 limit for another type of account.

For cash withdrawals in-person, banks may need some advance notice for withdrawals over certain amounts. They may also require identification and evidence for how the money will be spent, and may ask further questions about the withdrawal.

For example, Lloyds says it has no limit for in-branch cash withdrawals, but says “please order large amounts in advance”, while HSBC told the money section of the MailOnline in a March 2025 article that “withdrawals larger than the customer’s normal daily limit would be assessed on a case-by-case basis”. It also said not all of its branches have counter facilities where cash can be taken out, and advised those wanting to withdraw significant amounts of cash to go to their nearest branch with a counter.

Barclays’ website says: “There’s no limit to how much money you can take out over the counter in our branches—as long as you’ve got the money in your account. If you want to withdraw over £2,000, please give us 24 hours’ notice so we can make sure the money’s ready for you to collect.”

Nationwide also recommends at least one business day’s notice for withdrawals over £2,000, and says a person may need to answer a few questions for “larger withdrawals” to “keep your money safe and check for scams”.

NatWest says “ideally” it requires 24 hours’ notice for withdrawals between £5,000 and £19,999 and three business days’ notice for sums above this. It notes that, in addition to a debit card and PIN number, customers may need to show secondary identification and “relevant paperwork” about how the money will be spent, and may be asked questions about the withdrawal.

It says: “In some cases, we may choose to decline the cash withdrawal based on the information you’ve given us. This would only ever be in situations where we need to protect our customers because we have concerns about an account.”

So while it’s true that in theory you should be able to withdraw a large amount of cash from your bank, other factors, like not giving notice, not answering their questions in a satisfactory way or not having the correct paperwork, may mean you can’t do this—at least, not right away.

Moreover, banks are required to report any suspicions of money laundering to the National Crime Agency, which may include large, unexplained cash withdrawals that are inconsistent with a customer’s usual transactions.

We recently debunked a similarly false claim circulating on social media that people in Spain are required to notify their tax agency at least 24 hours before withdrawing €3,000 in cash.

It’s important to consider whether information you see on social media comes from a trustworthy and verifiable source before sharing it. Our toolkit provides some advice about how to do this.