Help for self employed that has used current account for years thinks may need a business account

Zanderman

dinosaur66 said:

same as tonymmm

i have been self employed for decades

street market trader / landlord / wholesaler /online ebay shop /house flipper/investor

no bank ever has insisted on me having a business account and nor has hmrc.

...

Not sure whether you mean, by the 'no bank has ever insisted', that you've actually got confirmation from a bank that a personal account is ok for business use. 

All banks (afaik) have strict terms in their personal account T&Cs that the account must not be used for businesses. And if they are they may close the account, sometimes instantly.  Many people do get away with doing that though, and sometimes for many years, sometimes for ever, because the banks don't necessarily notice.  But that doesn't mean they haven't insisted - they can't insist on something they haven't noticed.  But maybe one day they will!  Which is the point of the thread.

HMRC, as they have no interest in the detail of your banking arrangements, will never insist you have a business account.  All they want to know is that you can keep financial records.

dinosaur66

Zanderman said:

dinosaur66 said:

same as tonymmm

i have been self employed for decades

street market trader / landlord / wholesaler /online ebay shop /house flipper/investor

no bank ever has insisted on me having a business account and nor has hmrc.

...

Not sure whether you mean, by the 'no bank has ever insisted', that you've actually got confirmation from a bank that a personal account is ok for business use. 

All banks (afaik) have strict terms in their personal account T&Cs that the account must not be used for businesses. And if they are they may close the account, sometimes instantly.  Many people do get away with doing that though, and sometimes for many years, sometimes for ever, because the banks don't necessarily notice.  But that doesn't mean they haven't insisted - they can't insist on something they haven't noticed.  But maybe one day they will!  Which is the point of the thread.

HMRC, as they have no interest in the detail of your banking arrangements, will never insist you have a business account.  All they want to know is that you can keep financial records.

i change banks when my local branch closes down or i move property .

first bank was barclays /then tsb/then abbey /now nationwide that covers 42 years of self employment

never had a business account

when i open a new current account questions asked are 

/what is your occupation -SELF EMPLOYED

what is your income-

etc etc 

i do not ever use cash machines always go into branch / chit chat with cashiers most who know me as i worked at the biggest local street market for 28 years with a 25 x  25 foot stall on the main corner spot through fare .

my point the staff all know/the bank knows / and they do not care.

dinosaur66

copy and paste of a journalist i think he was asking bank question on this topic

Now it’s a given that if you have a limited company, you’re not going to get away with using a personal bank account (see our guide on opening a business account.

But what of all the sole traders out there? In my email to the banks I included a few scenarios:

A dance teacher working a number of schools in a local region being paid in either cash, cheque, or electronically, and all earnings being paid into a personal bank account.

A freelancer carrying out work for a single or multiple clients and being paid electronically, and paying for bills etc..

Here’s what the banks said:

Nationwide:

I can confirm that you can use the current account as a self employed individual to receive your wages from your clients/customers. Hence all the examples you’ve sited are not in breach of the terms and conditions of the current account, however it’s your responsibility to declare your earnings to HMRC.

dinosaur66

so holistic therapist with the nationwide at least , would be perfectly fine 

and hence myself as a landlord /street market trader/ebay shop as a sole trader they do not care about having a standard current account

Zanderman

dinosaur66 said:

Zanderman said:

dinosaur66 said:

same as tonymmm

i have been self employed for decades

street market trader / landlord / wholesaler /online ebay shop /house flipper/investor

no bank ever has insisted on me having a business account and nor has hmrc.

...

Not sure whether you mean, by the 'no bank has ever insisted', that you've actually got confirmation from a bank that a personal account is ok for business use. 

All banks (afaik) have strict terms in their personal account T&Cs that the account must not be used for businesses. And if they are they may close the account, sometimes instantly.  Many people do get away with doing that though, and sometimes for many years, sometimes for ever, because the banks don't necessarily notice.  But that doesn't mean they haven't insisted - they can't insist on something they haven't noticed.  But maybe one day they will!  Which is the point of the thread.

HMRC, as they have no interest in the detail of your banking arrangements, will never insist you have a business account.  All they want to know is that you can keep financial records.

my point the staff all know/the bank knows / and they do not care.

doesn't alter the point that it may breach T&C.

dinosaur66

Zanderman said:

dinosaur66 said:

Zanderman said:

dinosaur66 said:

same as tonymmm

i have been self employed for decades

street market trader / landlord / wholesaler /online ebay shop /house flipper/investor

no bank ever has insisted on me having a business account and nor has hmrc.

...

Not sure whether you mean, by the 'no bank has ever insisted', that you've actually got confirmation from a bank that a personal account is ok for business use. 

All banks (afaik) have strict terms in their personal account T&Cs that the account must not be used for businesses. And if they are they may close the account, sometimes instantly.  Many people do get away with doing that though, and sometimes for many years, sometimes for ever, because the banks don't necessarily notice.  But that doesn't mean they haven't insisted - they can't insist on something they haven't noticed.  But maybe one day they will!  Which is the point of the thread.

HMRC, as they have no interest in the detail of your banking arrangements, will never insist you have a business account.  All they want to know is that you can keep financial records.

my point the staff all know/the bank knows / and they do not care.

doesn't alter the point that it may breach T&C.

5.7 million business in uk

5.4 million of those are micro business

55 % of these micro business use current accounts and do not have business accounts

this is from a nationwide study done by nationwide themselves

Zanderman

dinosaur66 said:

Zanderman said:

dinosaur66 said:

Zanderman said:

dinosaur66 said:

same as tonymmm

i have been self employed for decades

street market trader / landlord / wholesaler /online ebay shop /house flipper/investor

no bank ever has insisted on me having a business account and nor has hmrc.

...

Not sure whether you mean, by the 'no bank has ever insisted', that you've actually got confirmation from a bank that a personal account is ok for business use. 

All banks (afaik) have strict terms in their personal account T&Cs that the account must not be used for businesses. And if they are they may close the account, sometimes instantly.  Many people do get away with doing that though, and sometimes for many years, sometimes for ever, because the banks don't necessarily notice.  But that doesn't mean they haven't insisted - they can't insist on something they haven't noticed.  But maybe one day they will!  Which is the point of the thread.

HMRC, as they have no interest in the detail of your banking arrangements, will never insist you have a business account.  All they want to know is that you can keep financial records.

my point the staff all know/the bank knows / and they do not care.

doesn't alter the point that it may breach T&C.

5.7 million business in uk

5.4 million of those are micro business

55 % of these micro business use current accounts and do not have business accounts

this is from a nationwide study done by nationwide themselves

Not disputing that, not sure why you think I am.
The point I was making remains - that use of a personal account for business does breach T&C.

Emmia

dinosaur66 said:

Zanderman said:

dinosaur66 said:

same as tonymmm

i have been self employed for decades

street market trader / landlord / wholesaler /online ebay shop /house flipper/investor

no bank ever has insisted on me having a business account and nor has hmrc.

...

Not sure whether you mean, by the 'no bank has ever insisted', that you've actually got confirmation from a bank that a personal account is ok for business use. 

All banks (afaik) have strict terms in their personal account T&Cs that the account must not be used for businesses. And if they are they may close the account, sometimes instantly.  Many people do get away with doing that though, and sometimes for many years, sometimes for ever, because the banks don't necessarily notice.  But that doesn't mean they haven't insisted - they can't insist on something they haven't noticed.  But maybe one day they will!  Which is the point of the thread.

HMRC, as they have no interest in the detail of your banking arrangements, will never insist you have a business account.  All they want to know is that you can keep financial records.

i change banks when my local branch closes down or i move property .

first bank was barclays /then tsb/then abbey /now nationwide that covers 42 years of self employment

never had a business account

when i open a new current account questions asked are 

/what is your occupation -SELF EMPLOYED

what is your income-

etc etc 

i do not ever use cash machines always go into branch / chit chat with cashiers most who know me as i worked at the biggest local street market for 28 years with a 25 x  25 foot stall on the main corner spot through fare .

my point the staff all know/the bank knows / and they do not care.

The decision to close your account for breaching T&C's is unlikely to be made by the people in your local branch, who you're chatting up / befriending...

Instead it would probably be made by a computer identifying patterns of behaviour and someone/a team in a central office tasked with reviewing flagged accounts.

dinosaur66

copy and paste t & c from nationwide

Here are some terms and conditions for opening a Nationwide current account:

• Eligibility: You must be at least 18 years old, a UK resident, and not have more than four existing Nationwide current accounts. 

Purpose: The account must be for personal use only. 

Interest: You may not receive interest on the money in your account. 
Charges: You can find details of charges in the Current Account Interest Rates and Charges leaflet, on the Nationwide website, or at any Nationwide branch. 
Statements: You can receive monthly statements or request statements on demand. You can also request mini statements from any Nationwide cash machine in the UK. 
Communications: You can choose to receive communications electronically or by post. 
Taxes and costs: You may need to pay other taxes or costs that are not charged by Nationwide. 

• 
  

Sole traders are not legally required to have a separate business account and can usually use their personal bank account for both business and non-business finances

from nationwide

marmitewasere

dinosaur66 said:

Zanderman said:

dinosaur66 said:

same as tonymmm

i have been self employed for decades

street market trader / landlord / wholesaler /online ebay shop /house flipper/investor

no bank ever has insisted on me having a business account and nor has hmrc.

...

Not sure whether you mean, by the 'no bank has ever insisted', that you've actually got confirmation from a bank that a personal account is ok for business use. 

All banks (afaik) have strict terms in their personal account T&Cs that the account must not be used for businesses. And if they are they may close the account, sometimes instantly.  Many people do get away with doing that though, and sometimes for many years, sometimes for ever, because the banks don't necessarily notice.  But that doesn't mean they haven't insisted - they can't insist on something they haven't noticed.  But maybe one day they will!  Which is the point of the thread.

HMRC, as they have no interest in the detail of your banking arrangements, will never insist you have a business account.  All they want to know is that you can keep financial records.

i change banks when my local branch closes down or i move property .

first bank was barclays /then tsb/then abbey /now nationwide that covers 42 years of self employment

never had a business account

when i open a new current account questions asked are 

/what is your occupation -SELF EMPLOYED

what is your income-

etc etc 

i do not ever use cash machines always go into branch / chit chat with cashiers most who know me as i worked at the biggest local street market for 28 years with a 25 x  25 foot stall on the main corner spot through fare .

my point the staff all know/the bank knows / and they do not care.

Re the what's your income how did you answer the questions on the app about employment status and income?