Do you have to have a business account by law?

Mrs_Arkwright

Hello

Can anyone tell me if it's illegal to run a business but not have a business bank account i.e. put the cheques through a normal current account? Is there any law that states you have to have a specific business account?

Thanks in advance

MrsA

Mark7799

It is not a legal requirement (providing you dso not have a trading name to your business) If you are operating as a limited company you are required to have a separate bank account. Although not a legal requirement, a bank can ask you to open a business account if it sees you are running a business through a personal account and can close the account you are operating your business from.

Can you give some more detail so we can answer a specific case?

Mikebuk_3

Hi,
I just saw the thread and wondered the same. My circumstances are that I freelance in my spare time and only do jobs maybe two or three times a year. Obviously as I only need to have payments from clients deposited two or three times a year it simply isn't worth the fees for a business bank account. I do have a trading name but if the clients make cheques payable to me and not the company name, is it possible to not to have a business bank account? Many thanks.

richt71

I'd always recommend having a seperate account for any business so you can determine what income and outcome you've had when it comes time to pay your taxes etc. My friend had major issues as he just used his personal account for his business and had a 'bit of a do' with the tax office about what income was personal and what was business etc.
Doesn't need to be a business bank account but be warned some banks will request you upgrade to a business bank account if you have lots of transactions running through a personal account each month.