What are the rules regarding a business bank account (both checkings and savings)?
If your plans to work as a freelancer are succeeding, more money will enter into your company than should exit. But, now there's more money left in your account. You don't know what to do with it, so you'll leave it to (try to) accumulate interest on a business bank account? The only question that remains is are you allowed to do so?
The question is more difficult that might appear at a first glance. For example, you have the option to leave your business bank accounts out of your box 3 taxes (wealth tax), because these accounts are not for private use. In order to do so, you need to meet a few criteria. The requirements for a checkings account are pretty straightforward:
- You're (almost) exclusively using the account for business purposes. If you have one accounts which you also use to e.g. pay for groceries, it's not a business account and you can't claim it as such.
- You can deduct the banking fees (and potential interest) in your company as an expense.
There's more criteria to savings accounts. You can have a business savings account if:
- You want to save up for expensive business expenses, such as investments for the company (a company car, new computer, etc). Please keep a clear goal in mind, and don't put money away for a to be determined goal.
- You want to keep some money on the side so you can pay for your expenses in more troubled times. How much you can save of course depends on how much you need, and your expected cash flow. Saving money so you can buy groceries if you can't find a new project is not considered a business use.
- You want to put money apart to pay your VAT returns with, so you have the amount required every quarter. This happens a lot if you happen to use Profit First. Keep in mind that saving for income taxes is considered saving for private uses! This is because the courts decided that income tax mainly is a private tax, even if you pay taxes over your business profits.
- You keep a so called Fiscale Oudedagsreserve (a way to save for your pension within your company). In that case, you can leave the reserved amount in your accounts.
- If you receive interest, it counts towards your profit.
The one thing you should not do is use your business bank accounts as a private piffy bank. Always keep your accounts in balance, and transfer money out on time to your private accounts. In this way, you keep your box 3 exemptions.
Pleae note that these are the rules that the belastingdienst uses to decide whether an account can be considered a business account or not. Having an account considered a business account by them is not the same if you have a business bank account from your bank. The latter is a service provided by your bank; these types of accounts have other rates and requirements connected to them than a private account.