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12/17/2014 9:46:05 AM EDT
Anyone use a Personal Account rather then a Business Account?  If you have no employees and your LLC is set up to file as Sole Proprietor with the IRS then can your bank account be Personal rather then business?
12/17/2014 11:54:00 AM EDT
[#1]
Quoted:
Anyone use a Personal Account rather then a Business Account?  If you have no employees and your LLC is set up to file as Sole Proprietor with the IRS then can your bank account be Personal rather then business?
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That's going to be up to the bank, probably.  Many banks prohibit using low or no-fee personal accounts for businesses in their terms of service, forcing business owners to get business accounts which charge more fees, as a way to offset the larger amount of transactions associated with business accounts, or the business use of personal accounts.

I used my personal account for my sole proprietor FFL business for over ten years.  One particularly good Obama-driven quarter got it investigated, and US Bank cancelled my account I'd had with them for almost 20 years, saying business use of the personal account violated their terms.

If your number of transactions is reasonably low, you'll be able to get away with using a personal account for business for many years.  If you have a lot of transactions, you'll get flagged and investigated a lot sooner.
12/17/2014 12:13:30 PM EDT
[#2]
...and depending on where you bank, you may well be able to get free business checking.  In SC, for example, First Citizens business checking is free with up to 150 items paid or deposited per month; fees apply above that.  My wife and I have several accounts with them and have had excellent service.  Here's a listing of some other free business checking accounts across the country:  http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/banking/find-free-business-checking-account/

Though a single-member LLC with no employees doesn't need to get a federal tax ID, the bank will almost certainly want one to open an account for the LLC.
12/17/2014 4:34:52 PM EDT
[#3]
Thanks for the info.  I guess Ill just wait and see what my bank is going to require.
12/17/2014 8:29:51 PM EDT
[#4]
Quoted:
Anyone use a Personal Account rather then a Business Account?  If you have no employees and your LLC is set up to file as Sole Proprietor with the IRS then can your bank account be Personal rather then business?
View Quote

Many banks (like Chase) will refuse to allow you to deposit checks made out to your DBA into your personal account.
(they want you to have a separate business account)
12/18/2014 7:35:01 AM EDT
[#5]
Quoted:
Anyone use a Personal Account rather then a Business Account?  If you have no employees and your LLC is set up to file as Sole Proprietor with the IRS then can your bank account be Personal rather then business?
View Quote


My accountant told me separate if only for the reason of IRS audits. If you have them together as one account and you are audited for either your business or personal taxes, you open your books (business and personal) to the IRS.
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