An inmate canteen account is a facility-managed account that holds money deposited by family and friends so an incarcerated person can buy approved items from the commissary and cover mandatory charges like medical co-pays. In federal facilities it’s called a trust fund account. The incarcerated person never touches cash: deposits come in through a facility vendor or the mail, purchases and deductions go out on the facility’s books, and whatever is left stays in the account until release or transfer.
Knowing how deposits post, what gets automatically pulled from the balance, and what the caps are will save you rejected transfers, lost time, and money that disappears into fees.
What the Money Pays For
Commissary stock varies by facility, but most systems carry shelf-stable food, snacks, drink mixes, hygiene products that supplement what the facility issues, basic clothing like sweatpants and thermals, and small electronics such as radios, MP3 players, and headphones. Stamps, envelopes, and copy cards are usually sold through the same account.
Many facilities also let the account fund electronic messaging, email, and prepaid phone minutes through a contracted communications vendor. For a lot of people inside, those communication credits are the single largest ongoing expense.
Medical Co-Pays
Federal facilities deduct $2.00 from the trust fund account each time someone requests a health care visit. The fee does not apply to emergency care, mental health visits, staff-referred appointments, prenatal care, follow-ups for chronic conditions, or preventive services.1eCFR. 28 CFR Part 549, Subpart F – Fees for Health Care Services State facilities set their own co-pay amounts, and some are considerably higher.
What You Need Before Sending Money
Three pieces of information drive every deposit, and a mistake in any of them usually means the money is returned or sits unposted for weeks.
- The full legal name as it appears in facility records. Not a nickname. The person inside can confirm the exact spelling.
- The identification number. In the federal system this is an eight-digit Bureau of Prisons register number; state systems use their own inmate or Department of Corrections numbers. Automated systems match deposits to accounts by this number, not by name, so this is the single most important field.
- The facility name and location, or in some cases a vendor-specific facility code. Mailed money orders often go to a centralized lockbox rather than the facility’s physical address.
Most facilities contract with a third-party vendor — JPay, Access Corrections, ViaPath/GTL, or TouchPay — to handle deposits. The vendor’s site or app walks you through the required fields once you pick the right facility.
How to Deposit Funds
Online or by Phone
The fastest option. The facility’s contracted vendor takes credit or debit card payments through a website or app. In the federal system, MoneyGram’s ExpressPayment program processes online deposits with Visa or MasterCard, and funds post within two to four hours during business hours.2Federal Bureau of Prisons. Sending Funds Using MoneyGram State systems vary, but most online deposits post within 24 hours.
Lobby Kiosks
Many facilities keep kiosks in visiting-area lobbies that accept cash or cards. You get an immediate receipt, and the deposit usually posts the same day.
Walk-In MoneyGram
Federal inmates can receive funds through any MoneyGram agent location — grocery stores, pharmacies, check-cashing shops. You fill out an ExpressPayment form using receive code 7932 and the register number followed by the inmate’s last name.2Federal Bureau of Prisons. Sending Funds Using MoneyGram Cash is accepted, and funds post within hours.
Mailing a Money Order
The slowest but cheapest route. For federal inmates, mail a U.S. Postal Service money order to a centralized lockbox in Des Moines, Iowa, not to the facility itself. Write the inmate’s full committed name and eight-digit register number clearly on the money order. State systems often use their own lockbox addresses. Plan on roughly one to two weeks between dropping it in the mail and seeing it in the account. Non-postal money orders and non-government checks sit under a 15-day hold in the federal system.3Federal Bureau of Prisons. Sending Funds Using the United States Postal Service
Fees You Pay as the Sender
Every electronic deposit method carries a service fee charged by the vendor. The incarcerated person doesn’t pay it; you do. Fees depend on vendor and deposit size but generally fall between about $2 and $5 for smaller deposits and climb higher for larger ones. Mailing a postal money order sidesteps the vendor fee, though you still pay the post office’s money order fee, currently $1.75 for amounts up to $500 and $2.40 for amounts up to $1,000. If cost matters more than speed, mail is the cheapest path.
Spending and Deposit Limits
Facilities cap both how much a person can spend and, in many cases, how much can come in at once. The federal Bureau of Prisons sets a monthly commissary spending limit. Certain items — stamps, phone credits, and medical co-pays — usually don’t count against the cap. Someone who refuses to participate in the federal Inmate Financial Responsibility Program is held to a stricter limit of no more than $25 per month.4eCFR. 28 CFR 545.11 – Procedures State facilities set their own weekly or monthly caps, with amounts that vary widely.
On the deposit side, the federal MoneyGram online system caps individual transactions at $300.2Federal Bureau of Prisons. Sending Funds Using MoneyGram In-person MoneyGram and mailed money orders allow larger amounts. Some state systems restrict how often a single sender can deposit within a given period. If you’re not sure what applies, the vendor’s checkout page will usually show the limits before you confirm.
Automatic Deductions That Come Off the Top
This is the part that catches most families off guard. Money you deposit doesn’t necessarily stay available for the commissary. Several categories come out of the account before the person inside can spend anything.
Court-Ordered Obligations
Federal inmates with outstanding restitution, fines, special assessments, or court costs are enrolled in the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program. The facility sets a payment plan and pulls money from the trust fund account on schedule. Federal regulation sets a priority order — special assessments, then restitution, then fines and court costs, then state or local obligations — protects $75 per month to preserve phone access, and sets minimum quarterly payments of $25 for most work assignments. Refusing to participate carries real consequences: no performance pay above maintenance level, no furloughs, no UNICOR job placement, and the reduced $25 monthly commissary cap.4eCFR. 28 CFR 545.11 – Procedures
State systems handle this differently. Some withhold a fixed percentage of every deposit regardless of the person’s payment plan status. If the person you’re sending money to owes restitution or fines, expect part of your deposit to go toward that debt before anything reaches the commissary balance.
Court Filing Fees
If an incarcerated person files a federal lawsuit or appeal and qualifies for in forma pauperis status — meaning they can’t afford the full fee upfront — the court doesn’t waive the fee entirely. It orders the facility to collect an initial payment equal to 20 percent of either the average monthly deposits or the average monthly balance over the prior six months, whichever is greater. After that, the facility forwards 20 percent of each month’s incoming deposits until the fee is paid. These deductions happen automatically once a court order is in place.
Medical Co-Pays
The $2.00 federal co-pay noted above also comes directly off the account each time it applies. Over months of ongoing medical needs or active litigation, the small amounts stack up.
Transfers, Release, and Unclaimed Balances
When someone moves between facilities, the balance follows them. The Bureau of Prisons runs a centralized accounting system, so federal funds stay accessible regardless of assignment. State systems typically close the account at the sending facility and reopen it at the receiving one, which can delay spending for a short time.
On release from federal custody, the Bureau of Prisons pays remaining trust fund balances as cash up to $500, with anything above that issued as a U.S. Treasury check.5Federal Bureau of Prisons. Trust Fund/Deposit Fund Manual Outstanding restitution, fines, and special assessments come out before the payout.
Many state and local facilities issue prepaid debit cards at release instead of cash or a check. These cards come loaded with the balance but carry monthly maintenance charges, ATM withdrawal fees, balance inquiry fees, and inactivity penalties. Someone released with $200 on a card can lose a meaningful share of it to fees within weeks. If you’re helping someone plan for release, ask the facility whether it uses prepaid cards and look at the fee schedule before the money lands there.
If someone’s whereabouts are unknown after federal release, the Bureau of Prisons holds the account for 90 days before transferring the balance to the U.S. Treasury’s unclaimed funds account. Claims for money deposited six or more years ago into accounts where the person’s location is unknown are not processed.5Federal Bureau of Prisons. Trust Fund/Deposit Fund Manual State systems generally follow their own unclaimed property laws and turn abandoned balances over to the state after a dormancy period. Make sure the facility has a current mailing address before or right after release, or the money can end up somewhere difficult to recover from.
Tax Thresholds for Large Senders
Most people sending $50 or $100 at a time have nothing to worry about from the IRS. Two thresholds matter if you send much larger amounts.
The annual gift tax exclusion for 2026 is $19,000 per recipient.6Internal Revenue Service. Gifts and Inheritances If your total deposits to one person’s account cross that amount in a calendar year, you’re technically required to file a gift tax return (Form 709) by April 15 of the following year. You likely won’t owe anything because the lifetime exemption is very large, but the filing obligation exists.
Separately, any business or entity that receives more than $10,000 in cash in a single transaction or in related transactions must file a Form 8300 with the IRS.7Internal Revenue Service. Form 8300 and Reporting Cash Payments of Over $10,000 Correctional trust accounts qualify. Facilities and their vendors can also voluntarily report smaller cash deposits that look suspicious. None of that means you’ve done anything wrong — it’s standard anti-money-laundering compliance. Structuring deposits to stay just under $10,000, however, is itself a federal crime.