...if you do decide to do it all at once it better be money to can acct. for and had paid your taxes on. The teller is required to report you on funds (differs somewhat I have heard from bank to bank) over 10,000. They then do an investigation on you and if you can legally prove you made that money and paid the tax you set. otherwise your screwed.
How misunderstood most people are about all this, yes, some of this is true and CAN happen, BUT, unless you are under investigation it really doesn't matter how much money you put in the bank at a time. Also paying taxes on money earned is usually done quarterly (estimated taxes) or annually, so you don't pay taxes on money earned right away so there would NEVER be proof you paid taxes on the money once you deposit it unless you got the money from a source that issues 1099 with the money they give you like a casino or something like that. Not to mention that during the course of a year you could possibly loose money from what ever it was that earned you the money so you might never really owe taxes on this money anyways. So what if the bank reports it to the fed? Unless you are selling on a regular basis and it is creating a large amounts of illegal cash for you then who cares? It is up to the Feds or DA to PROOVE you didn't legally make the money, I am sure you can find friends and family that have paid you back loans they borrowed from you right? These kinda transactions happen every day and are not reported right? Hell if they seize it and they can't make a case they pay you back with interest. RULE #1 NEVER HAVE THE CASH AND INVENTORY AT THE SAME LOCATION. <-- much harder to tie the two together
I have made plenty of deposits of more than $10K and I NEVER HAD TO PROVE where it came from, NEVER EVEN BEEN ASKED! I have deposited anywhere from $10K to over $40K in cash at once... ever sell a car/boat/motorcycle? hint, hint, I am sure you could buy something low and sell it high, turning a profit right? Not all of these kinds of transactions are taxable, I'm sure you could find a few if you investigate enough. You people have watched too many movies, now if the person HAS a large income coming from illegal activities then all of the other investigations could tie it all together and then you get fucked. If you have half a brain you can do your own taxes with a tax program from your local electronics dealer and create a hobby/business that generates income and report it there, not so hard if you ain't reporting large income.
Safety Deposit boxes with gold bars would solve some problems (earning interest or losing value, gold is more stable most of the time but not always!) unless you can't access the boxes when you need to or can't sell off the gold quickly enough but probably not a bad idea if you want it more for longer term stash cash. Also the only reason you HAVE to report the contents of a box is if you wish to have it federally insured so they know how much to file with the FDIC on your behalf, you don't have to report it if you don't mind the risk, keeping things safe and secret is the idea behind the boxes in the first place.
Anyways sounds like you don't really want to deal with a financial institutions and have plenty of money invested and this seems like 'mad' or 'emergency' money and want easy/fast access if needed.
If you hide it in your house.... WHAT EVER YOU DO MAKE IT FIRE PROOF!!!!! Fires DO HAPPEN, I know!!! Fire insurance DOES NOT insure CASH!!! I know this for a FACT, along with many things like auto/motorcycle accessories stored in garage or large amounts of jewels (unless you specify and pay extra) and they send inspectors out that document EVERYTHING they find. Explain why the inspector found several crispy 100's in the attic again?
I would also avoid storing in items that could easily be found 'by accident' like a can of beans in the cupboard, what about when family comes over and is helping make diner? Or something that could be stolen easy like in a computer or electronic device that some kid or junkie out for kicks could snatch if (s)he broke in. Any yeah the coppers are smart about these kind of stash items.
I think that burying it someplace that is not too obvious that it is your property but enough that someone isn't gonna dig a fence post and find it or in a garden that is along your foundation that maybe had dirt tilled regularly so it doesn't look like a fresh hole when you need to access it or the PVC idea making it look like a septic connection or something like that, I would put a false top so if a plumber is making some repairs it isn't found with a quick glance if this is the method used.