Do you have a separate account for tax and VAT?

[Saffra]

If so, why/why not.

Just wondering whether to set up a separate account for corp tax (have ltd co)/VAT.

TIA

do you mean bank account?
if no, NO - banks charge for business accounts !

I don't.

I have spreadsheets.
like Talkin says - they charge you for bank accounts.

no. i am not registered for vat but have thought about it for tax.. in my accounts i have a running total of what i think the tax is i'll owe and it's in with my savings - it's a bit of a pain sometimes having to cross-reference each time to see what my spendable balance is...

I have two accounts with the same bank and when I go into my account online I see the totals for both. One is my 'working' account, the other is my 'savings' account and every month when I do my invoicing I move the approx amount of tax I'd have to pay on those invoices into my savings account, so keeping them separate. I don't look at my accounts from a tax pov till year end, although I have a column on my 'jobs' spreadsheet where I note any expenses directly relating to that job, eg travel. And I have a tab on that spreadsheet for unrelated to job expenses, eg pc repairs.

That said, I don't buy in raw ingredients or have many real expenses so it's quite easy to keep track.

I do - and I don't get charged for it as far as I'm aware!
I put the tax and VAT in as I receive payments - or that's the idea, anyway!

It's very helpful as a) it builds up interest whereas my current account earns nothing, and b) I'd spend it otherwise!

Note that this is a limited company. I cannot see any reason to maintain a bank account for the tax liabilities of a limited company separate from the company's normal current and deposit accounts.

that's true, MrAnchovy, but it is a cost implication, which is why we say maybe not.

In this case, it might be worth looking into a Business Savings account - try to find one that is free or very small fee.

I have a HSBC Current Account and a Business Money Manager (think that's what it's called) so that i can shuffle money across into it for saving.

I don't really think of it as putting money aside for Tax & Vat as i do sometimes dip into it but it does generate a tiny amount of interest.

We're only charged for the cheques we pay into our Current Account (no other fees) and i'm trying to persuade everyone to pay us electonically.

Thanks, I'll probably just leave things as they are then.