Is a checking account required. Is an individual entrepreneur (IE) obliged to have a current account

A newly minted individual entrepreneur, having received the documents necessary for official work, as a rule, is lost in thought about how to fix the calculations. Let us consider in more detail whether an individual entrepreneur can do without a current account and what are the features of work in this case.

What the law says

For 2017, there are 4 ways of conducting cash flows for an entrepreneur:

• Cash.
• Bank account.
• Bank card for an individual (personal account).
• Set-off of mutual claims with counterparties (Article 410 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

The law does not prohibit an entrepreneur from carrying out commercial activities without opening an account, unlike legal entities. From April 2, 2014, in connection with the cancellation of clause 1 of part 2 of Art. 23 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, there is even no need to notify the Federal Tax Service and social funds about the opening of new accounts in your name. However, this is another reason to check the cash flow.

The law does not prohibit an entrepreneur from carrying out commercial activities without opening an account.

Advantages and disadvantages

If an individual entrepreneur does not have a current account, you can save money on opening and maintaining it (it costs around 500-1000 rubles per month). Perhaps this is the only advantage. It is clear that for a company with an annual turnover of tens of millions, these expenses are completely invisible.

Taxes can be paid through Sberbank by issuing a receipt or personal account. This move works if the number of cashless payments is insignificant.

But the lack of a current account has more disadvantages:

1. It acts as an indicator of entrepreneurial “usefulness”. Income and expenses within the business occur without claims from the tax authorities and banks. When transactions are carried out on a personal account together with personal ones, many of them will have to be confirmed and proven not to be involved in business activities.
2. It is much more difficult to conclude large transactions with legal entities without a current account. Funds in your favor can be regarded by different authorities as the wages of a citizen.
3. In the agreement on opening a personal account, a note is sometimes put that the bank prohibits conducting business transactions on it (this should be checked before using it for business purposes). For deviation from the rule, the account is closed.

It is much more difficult to conclude large transactions with legal entities without a current account.

Many entrepreneurs open two personal accounts. One is used for work, the other for personal needs. This is also legal and convenient.

Today, the competition between banks for the right to open and maintain a current account of an entrepreneur is high, thanks to which you can always find advantageous offers. Some banks provide permanent free service of the cash register or the first months of using the account.

Thus, individual entrepreneurs who are planning transactions from 100 thousand rubles and work by bank transfer cannot do without a current account. But for some specific areas of activity (trade on the market, selling kvass or ice cream in season), working exclusively with cash is quite logical. In this case, the current account is an unnecessary financial burden, and it is easier to keep reporting through the KUDiR.

A bank account has long been no longer an indicator of the owner's well-being, but simply a convenient payment tool. Now almost every second person has a plastic payment card, and a bank account is tied to it, in turn. Does an individual entrepreneur need a current account or is he entitled to make payments through a personal one?

The question is far from idle. If the account is intended for private purposes, then the bank charges interest on this money, and the client has to pay for operations on the current account. Of course, I would not want to incur additional costs. In this article, we will answer frequently asked questions from our users:

• is it possible for an individual entrepreneur to work without opening a bank account;
• whether the entrepreneur has the right to indicate his personal account for settlements in business;
• whether the individual entrepreneur is obliged to open a current account specifically for business purposes;
• what are the possible consequences if you do not open a current account, but make business payments through a personal one;
• Is it obligatory to pay taxes and insurance premiums by bank transfer?

Why open a current account

Can an individual entrepreneur work without a checking account? Yes, if you comply with the limit of cash payments (no more than 100 thousand rubles) within the framework of one agreement with another entrepreneur or legal entity. When settlements with employees and ordinary individuals, the limit is not established by law.

For example, an entrepreneur rented an office from a commercial organization. The rent per month is 10 thousand rubles, the lease term is 11 months, which means that the total amount under the contract is 110 thousand rubles. This exceeds the possible limit, so payments must go through the bank.

Important: legal entities will have to open a bank account in any case. The reason is that the organization has the right to transfer taxes only by bank transfer. There is no such requirement for an individual entrepreneur; an individual can settle with the budget both in cash and by payment order.

In principle, if the limit for cash payments with other entrepreneurs and organizations is met, then you can not open a current account in the bank. The question is - how convenient is it? You can pay in cash to a partner in his accounting department or at the bank using a receipt. If an individual entrepreneur does not open a current account, then you will have to waste time on the road and queues.

In addition, when conducting cash transactions, one must follow the rules, which, although they allow a simplified procedure for individual entrepreneurs, are rather contradictory. Finally, there is the problem of the security of cash payments and the safety of money. It turns out that although a current account is not required for an individual entrepreneur, in practice it turns out that it is difficult to do without bank payments.

Are you going to start your own business? Do not forget to reserve a checking account. To select a checking account, try our bank rate calculator:

The calculator will select the most advantageous banking offer for settlement and cash services for your business. Enter the volume of transactions that you plan to carry out per month, and the calculator will show the rates of banks with suitable conditions.

What will be the consequences if you use a personal account in business

Can an individual entrepreneur use his personal account in business? Until 2014, Article 23 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation had a clause that explicitly prohibited the use of an individual's current account for entrepreneurial activity. Now this provision of the Tax Code has lost its force, but in fact the ban continues to apply, and the individual entrepreneur cannot use a personal account in business. Why?

1. Instruction of the Central Bank No. 153-I, which is in effect in 2019, prohibits transactions on current accounts related to business or private practice. The bank may simply refuse to conduct transactions if it considers that constant cash receipts are related to business activities.
2. If you receive large sums of money as an ordinary individual, and not as an individual entrepreneur, then be prepared for questions from the bank's security service about the source of these funds. As part of the fight against the financing of terrorism and the laundering of illegal proceeds, the bank has the right to terminate suspicious transactions.
3. Your business partners may refuse to transfer payment to an individual's current account with the bank. The reason is that the IFTS in such cases considers them to be tax agents and obliges to withhold 13% of the income tax from the transferred amounts and transfer the tax to the budget.
4. The basis for non-cash payments for your counterparties is an agreement concluded with the entrepreneur. If you transfer the amounts under such an agreement to the current account, and not to the current account for the individual entrepreneur, then the costs of the transaction will be difficult to justify before the tax authorities.
5. The tax authorities will try to tax not only income received to a personal account from a business, but also other own funds of an individual not related to entrepreneurship.
6. On OSNO, STS modes Income minus expenses, Unified agricultural tax, an individual entrepreneur must confirm the costs associated with the business. When paying expenses from the current account of an individual, the tax inspectorate will not accept them in order to reduce the tax base. As a result, you will have to part with a larger amount when paying taxes.

Let's summarize. The answer to the main question of the article: "Is it possible for an individual entrepreneur to work without opening a current account" is positive. But whether an individual entrepreneur needs a checking account, decide for yourself. By making only cash payments or using a personal account of an individual, you largely limit yourself:

• cannot conduct online payments at any time and place where there is Internet;
• do not allow your customers and customers to pay by card or payment order;
• you risk being suspected by the bank of laundering illegal income;
• you are subject to additional taxation of non-business income;
• narrowing the circle of business partners, most of whom work by bank transfer;
• bear the risks associated with keeping cash.

But the price of the issue is not so high. The monthly payment for maintaining an account and online banking will amount to a little more than 1,000 rubles, depending on the chosen tariff.

Starting your financial activities, an individual entrepreneur has the right to open a current account in any chosen bank... According to the law, this action is not mandatory.

But those businessmen who have decided to disregard such a right, in the process of economic activity, may face the question of how to make settlements with a partner and at the same time not violate cash discipline. In such a situation, the presence of a checking account may become a necessity.

How necessary for 2019

It should be noted right away that in 2019 the procedure for opening a current account by an individual entrepreneur remained the same... An individual entrepreneur can conclude on a voluntary basis or in case of urgent need.

The current account performs an important economic function. It helps separate personal money from commercial funds.

In addition, the documented receipt of revenue facilitates reporting and simplifies control over the fulfillment of contractual obligations.

The presence of bank details serves additional guarantee when concluding contractual relations with business partners. Cash turnover, which is reflected in the bank statement, can become a confirmation of the solvency of a businessman when receiving borrowed funds. The Bank is most willing to issue loans to customers who have stable financial activities.

The necessity of obligatory opening of a current account for an entrepreneur will arise only if settlements between counterparties under one agreement exceed the limited amount of 100 thousand rubles... Also, when paying for a large batch of goods, large wholesalers prefer exclusively cashless payments.

Due to the fact that plastic cards are often used in retail trade with customers, the need to open a current account is only growing every year.

Is it possible to use a personal account when doing business

In the practice of doing business, many individual entrepreneurs use a personal bank account to store funds. It has to do with getting some economic benefits:

1. The commission for servicing an account opened for an individual is much less.
2. Restrictions on cash withdrawals are not as strict as when conducting transactions on a current account.

From the point of view of the bank's client in other parameters, these accounts differ little from each other. It is also possible to transfer funds from third parties to a personal account.

The entrepreneur has the right to pay tax payments and settle accounts with suppliers. In addition, for the convenience of customers, banks issue plastic cards to the account, with which it is possible to carry out remote payments through the bank-client system.

Some entrepreneurs use a deposit account in their business. But this is not always convenient, since this type of money storage has many restrictions and an additional commission when paying with third parties.

What is the threat of using a current account

In accordance with the regulation of the Central Bank, it is possible to use current accounts and deposits of individuals only for the accumulation of funds not related to commercial activities. For business, banks must open checking accounts. But, despite this, there are no penalties for the misuse of the account by the financial institution.

Some banks, for the purpose of additional control over the movement of funds, ask to indicate in the payment documents the phrase that the transfer is not related to commercial activity, but such actions are illegal.

In turn, entrepreneurs are not always honest with the bank and, when settling with a counterparty, they do not report the real reason for payment.

Such behavior threaten individual entrepreneurs some risks:

1. Firstly, a financial institution may delay the transfer of money if the counterparty indicated in the line the recipient "IP Petrov P.P.", and not just "Petrov P.P." The bank argues for such a delay by the fact that the name of the beneficiary does not coincide with the owner of the current account and it is impossible to identify the payment.
2. Secondly, the use may cause confusion among buyers, especially if the entrepreneur asks not to indicate IP in the recipients. It is quite possible that the document flow, drawn up in this way, will arouse the interest of the inspection authorities. Cash receipts in the name of an individual can be mistaken for the taxable base for income tax, as a result of which the tax office will charge fines and penalties, and funds will recalculate contributions.
3. Thirdly, if a situation arises when an entrepreneur needs to return erroneously transferred payments from the budget or fund, then this can hardly be done to the current account.

If the bank detects violations when using a personal account, the financial institution can terminate the contract and close the account. Many banks warn their clients in advance in writing that it is prohibited to carry out transactions related to commercial activities on the current account.

Before choosing a financial institution, you need to familiarize yourself with the reliability rating. This is especially true during a period of economic instability in the country, when banks' licenses are often revoked.

It is also very important how long it takes a client to get to a bank branch. In this regard, it is necessary to select a financial institution on a territorial basis.

An important fact is the cost of settlement and cash services, monthly debited from the account balance. Its size has a fixed rate, which may increase depending on the number of payment documents being processed. Also, the bank will withdraw money for the very opening of the account.

If a client is going to use the services of a client-bank, then you should find out in advance the prices for this service. Some institutions charge lower rates to attract customers, which miraculously rise after a few months.

In order to optimize payments, an individual entrepreneur should be interested in the timing of the transfer of money. Reliable banks try to make transfers within 24 hours. This is especially true when taxes are listed.

You need to choose a bank very carefully, since this institution financial safety of funds depends... When choosing, you can use the advice of friends and customer reviews.

More details about the need for a checking account can be found in this video.

What documents will be required

Despite the fact that the packages of documents in all banks are different, there is a basic list that must be provided when opening a current account:

• passport of an individual entrepreneur;
• certificate of registration with the tax authority;

In addition to the above, the bank will ask you to fill out an application for opening an account, a detailed client questionnaire, a card with the right to sign and a settlement and cash service agreement. If all submitted documents are in order, this procedure will not take much time.

The documents requested by the bank to open an account must be original. If necessary, the financial institution itself makes copies and certifies them. It is worth noting that some securities have a limited expiration date. For example, an extract from the USRIP remains valid for 30 days. After this period, you will have to order a new document.

When signing the contract, you should carefully read all the points and familiarize yourself with the established prices. If in doubt, you should seek legal advice.

Some banks may ask an individual entrepreneur to put an imprint of their own. Guided by the fact that an individual entrepreneur can conduct economic activities without an official stamp, many entrepreneurs confirm the contractual relationship only with a personal signature.

Pros and cons of using in activities

From the point of view of economic feasibility, the current account can have as positive and negative specifications. After conducting a thorough analysis of the benefits and costs, each entrepreneur individually decides whether he needs a checking account or not.

The main advantages can be summarized as follows:

TO cons you can include additional costs for settlement and cash services, the need to visit a credit institution for collection and receive an extract. Also, if you have a current account, you must follow a certain discipline related to keeping cash.

Obviously, there are much more advantages in this matter, therefore, in order to build a civilized financial activity, it would be more expedient to open a current account and entrust the bank with control over money transfers.

How does an individual entrepreneur work without a current account? Details on the video.

Carrying out entrepreneurial activity, regardless of the form - as an LLC or individual entrepreneur, its subjects can open current accounts with a credit institution. The legislation does not provide for a direct obligation for an enterprise and an entrepreneur. However, it will be more rational and more convenient to use non-cash payments, especially since various banking projects can be connected to them. What documents do you need to open a current account?

Is it possible to maintain an individual entrepreneur without a checking account

In accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, an entrepreneur can work without a current account.

But at the same time, he must comply with a number of conditions, the main of which is compliance with the cash settlement limit between legal entities. It is equal to 100,000 rubles. The legislation in this matter equates individual entrepreneurs with enterprises and organizations.

That is, if an entrepreneur for his finished products (goods, works, services) intends to receive amounts or pay with suppliers and customers in excess of this amount, then he must choose a bank and open an account in it for making settlements.

The provisions of the law allow individual entrepreneurs to transfer taxes and insurance premiums in cash through the appropriate banks. Consequently, a checking account for an individual entrepreneur is generally optional, but it will be much more convenient for an entrepreneur to carry out his activities with it.

Life hack! However, restrictions on the circulation of cash between legal entities are considered within the framework of one agreement, so if you have exceeded 100 thousand rubles under one agreement, you can conclude a new agreement. On the one hand, this carries some inconvenience, but you can bypass the restrictions.

Is it possible to run an LLC without a checking account

LLCs can work without a current account. Legislation does not prohibit them from this. However, cash transactions for businesses are more controlled by the competent authorities than for entrepreneurs.

In addition to the limit of settlements between legal entities, there is a limit on the balance of cash at the cash desk (for an individual entrepreneur, it is optional), as well as a strictly established list of expenses that an organization can pay in cash. If the company will actually carry out business activities, it just needs to open a current account. This also applies to the transfer of taxes and fees.

As a general rule, they should be made non-cash, and in the bank, if a non-individual is indicated in the receipt, it will simply not be accepted. In some regions, the IFTS allows such payments to be made on behalf of the director of the organization, but very often these transfers fall either to unclear ones or to his personal account, which leads to controversial situations. In this case, the company may be charged penalties for late payment.

In addition, legislators periodically raise the issue that companies should transfer employees' salaries to their cards. Once these projects are accepted, a checking account with the firm will become mandatory.

Can an individual entrepreneur use his personal account

Nowadays, many people have their own current personal bank accounts. This also applies to individual entrepreneurs. Very often, the question of the possibility of using an individual's account in carrying out entrepreneurial activities began to be raised.

The norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation do not distinguish between a citizen and an individual entrepreneur, therefore, there is no direct prohibition on making settlements through his personal account.

The problem arises with the bank itself, because it has various agreements, tariffs, etc. for individuals and individual entrepreneurs. The incoming payment will arrive without problems, but the transfer will most likely fail. An employee of a credit institution will not miss him.

How to open a current bank account

Having chosen a bank, you need to ask him for a list of documents provided for this procedure, as well as how to draw them up. At the same time, future clients are issued applications and contracts to fill out. As a rule, this package is standard, it differs for.

It is necessary to present both the originals and their certified copies (by a notary or in the institution itself). Some banks also ask you to fill out forms on their forms with customer profiles and letters of beneficiary.

Documents for opening an LLC current account

• Account opening application;
• Bank agreement;
• Company registration certificate ();
• Tax Registration Certificate (TIN) (no longer required to present - changes from September 1, 2016);
• Company charter;
• Protocol (decision) on the establishment of the company;
• Protocol (decision) on the appointment of the director;
• Extract from the register of the Unified State Register of Legal Entities with a registration date of no more than 1 month;
• Director's passport (if a second signature is issued - the chief accountant);
• Card with sample signatures of the director (and chief accountant) and seal imprint.

Documents for opening an individual entrepreneur current account

• Account opening application;
• Bank agreement;
• Certificate of registration as an individual entrepreneur ()
• Passport;
• Tax Registration Certificate (TIN);
• Rosstat letter on registration and assignment of statistical codes;
• Licenses (if there is such a type of activity);
• Card with samples of signatures of an entrepreneur and a seal

Currently, there is no need to notify the regulatory authorities about the opening of current accounts.

How to choose a bank

An economic entity needs to approach this issue seriously. It is advisable to find out in advance the entire liver of credit institutions that provide settlement services in the region. After that, call or get information about the services provided, additional services, operating hours and current tariffs through the banks' websites. When making a decision, the location of the institution must also be taken into account.

If the organization works with regular partners, it makes sense to get to know their servicing banks. Current accounts in one institution allow for more efficient interaction with each other and quick payments. The main thing when choosing a credit institution is to find out its business reputation and full information about its activities, which can be viewed on the website of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

You should also make sure that the bank is included in the deposit insurance system. At this point, an individual entrepreneur appears in a more favorable light, since in the event of a bankruptcy of a credit institution, an entrepreneur, as an individual, can receive insurance compensation in the amount of 700 thousand rubles, including interest. For an LLC, it is somewhat different - the organization will be included in the general list of debtors and the settlement will be carried out after the sale of the property, so you may not see the money.

How to close a current account

Let's take a closer look at how to close a bank account for individual entrepreneurs and LLCs.

Such a decision is made by business entities if they have opened accounts with other banks on more favorable terms, and the old account is not used. However, most often they are closed due to the cessation of activities. At the same time, one must take into account the fact that the account is closed only after the debts to all creditors have been paid off.

The procedure for closing a current account for an LLC and an individual entrepreneur is no different from each other. It involves filling out an application for closure in the form established by a specific bank. This document is submitted by an authorized person who has the right to sign.

Before sending a document on closing an account, it must be reset to zero by transferring money to other accounts or cashed out. Banks in accordance with the concluded agreement have the right to close accounts themselves in the absence of transactions on them.

When closing a current account, the tax authorities, as it was before, is not required to notify.

It's nice to do in this life the thing that you like the most. It is even more pleasant when the chosen occupation brings not only great moral pleasure, but also good profit. much easier than becoming a founder of a limited liability company. To become an individual entrepreneur, you need. But should an individual entrepreneur open a current account? This issue must be understood by every person who is going to engage in entrepreneurial activity.

Do you need it or not?

In fact, the legislation in no way provides for mandatory measures regarding the fact that every individual entrepreneur must open a current account in his own name. This measure is advisory in nature. Therefore, whether an individual entrepreneur needs to open a current account or not is up to him to decide.

Previously, it was a little different. Before state registration, an entrepreneur had to collect a "registration package". It included:

• passport and its photocopy;
• TIN and its copy;
• notification of the opening of IP settlement in the bank.

From the first days of the current year, the last requirement is no longer mandatory. It is this fact that drives many people "into a dead end" and they do not know whether it is necessary to open a current account for an individual entrepreneur.

Why should an individual entrepreneur open a current account?

At the legislative level, it was decided that, in principle, there is no need for an entrepreneur to open it if he himself does not want to do it. The bulk of future entrepreneurs often, before submitting documents for state registration, is interested in whether it is necessary for an individual entrepreneur to open a current account. Not really. You only need to open your line at the bank if:

1. You are going to carry out transactions with your counterparties for amounts exceeding one hundred thousand rubles. In other words, if you are going to pay with individual entrepreneurs or legal entities in non-cash form, or, conversely, receive payment from them for an amount exceeding the specified one, also by "non-cash", then you must have your own bank account for the individual entrepreneur.
2. You want to pay contributions to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation by bank transfer.

Can an individual entrepreneur not open a current account with, the Mandatory Health Insurance Fund,? Yes. An individual entrepreneur can make all the necessary contributions independently and by means of a money transfer.

Is an individual entrepreneur obliged to open a current account in order to receive a seal?

In order for, an individual entrepreneur does not need to have a line to the bank and collect other documents. Private firms are engaged in the production of stamps and it does not matter to them how you pay them for work - in cash or by bank transfer. Before making a seal, they will require a passport, TIN, etc. from you. This is necessary in order for the print to fully comply with these documents.

But the bank may require you to have a seal. Rather, this is a rare exception to the rule, but even for it you should be prepared.

Right choice

To begin with, you need to take care of the correct choice of the right institution. Pay attention to what conditions the bank sets for you, what it requires from you and what it offers in return.

If the chosen option suits you completely, then do not forget to also issue a plastic card in your bank. This measure is needed so that you can withdraw money at the right time. On average, the payment for servicing the card costs up to two hundred Russian rubles.