2

I am trying to completely separate my spouse's business from our personal finances. He is doing business as a single owner LLC / disregarded entity.

Can he use an existing credit card in his name for all his business expenses, or does that pierce the corporate veil?

If I open a new credit card in the business name, it will show up on his credit report. We are going to buy a house soon, so I don't want any extra inquiries.

Improve this question
1
  • 1
    This is ultimately a question for a lawyer, but: nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/… If only one (or two) people are really in control of the business, a court can find that there is no such thing as a corporate veil in the first place - the LLC is little more than a DBA (Doing Business As - an alias), or "alter ego" for the individuals. The rules are complex and open to interpretation, so if this is a serious concern you'll really need to talk with a lawyer on this one; you might be so far from having a corporate veil that its moot.
    – BrianH
    Jan 23, 2016 at 5:06

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

Can he use an existing credit card in his name for all his business expenses, or does that pierce the corporate veil?

That would be a question to a lawyer, since there's no definitive answer but rather circumstantial.

Generally it is safer to separate the finances completely than to try and guess what the court would rule if it comes to that. It is not hard to get a separate card for a LLC (especially if it is a sole proprietorship).

We are going to buy a house soon, so I don't want any extra inquiries.

I guess it depends on the bank and the type of card. My Citi business card doesn't show up on my personal credit report.

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    I agree with the part of this about seeking a lawyer. Don't take legal advice on something so specific and important from here. If you are going to use the personal card to pay business expenses then at least make sure that you've got a documented and accurate paper trail of how you reimbursed yourself from the company and tracked those expenses back to a company account. Paying from a business account in the first place though, is definitely preferable.
    – user32479
    Jan 24, 2016 at 0:55

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .