Invoices and VAT claims

[Daxo]

I recently opened a business account with HSBC. The debit card they’ve provided is in my personal name, not the business name.

As far as I can tell, this means I cannot make purchases in the business name using this card.

HSBC have said that it is their policy to only provide business debit cards in a personal name, and not the business name. (I didn’t even realise this was a question I should ask before opening the account, I assumed it would be fine because natwest automatically provided my cards in the business name)

Anyway, if I make purchases using the card, how can I possibly reclaim VAT when the invoices will be in my personal name?

If the address the card is registered to includes the business name, then will having that on the invoice make it valid to reclaim VAT?

For example, the invoice name and address would be as below:

Name: Sam Jones
Address: Yellow Tree Limited, 123 Hypothetical Street, Manchester.

Would the above be valid to reclaim VAT?

Or does the invoice literally have to be in the name of the biz with no personal names stated; and so having the business name stated only as part of the address still wouldn’t make it valid for VAT claims?

I would greatly appreciate any advice.

Thanks in advance.

 

[S2K]

My business debit card doesn't have the business name on it and it's with a different bank.

What matters is whether the bank account is on the business name or not. Check the account name as it appears on bank statements.

You can however claim VAT on what you purchase on your own debit card (your personal bank account) for example assuming that the expenditure is for a business purpose and you can produce a VAT invoice or receipt. You can then make a claim for the purchase and the company will reimburse you in full or you can keep the balance in the director's loan account.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

If the card is for the business account it is a business card. Nothing to do with how you pay or VAT.

Why will invoices have your name and not your businesses?

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

I recently opened a business account with HSBC. The debit card they’ve provided is in my personal name, not the business name.

As far as I can tell, this means I cannot make purchases in the business name using this card.

HSBC have said that it is their policy to only provide business debit cards in a personal name, and not the business name. (I didn’t even realise this was a question I should ask before opening the account, I assumed it would be fine because natwest automatically provided my cards in the business name)

Anyway, if I make purchases using the card, how can I possibly reclaim VAT when the invoices will be in my personal name?

If the address the card is registered to includes the business name, then will having that on the invoice make it valid to reclaim VAT?

For example, the invoice name and address would be as below:

Name: Sam Jones
Address: Yellow Tree Limited, 123 Hypothetical Street, Manchester.

Would the above be valid to reclaim VAT?

Or does the invoice literally have to be in the name of the biz with no personal names stated; and so having the business name stated only as part of the address still wouldn’t make it valid for VAT claims?

I would greatly appreciate any advice.

Thanks in advance.

My company business card is in my name too but it doesnt mean you arent buying supplies for your company. You can still make sure the supply is made to your limited company and the invoice shows the correct name on it.

 

[Daxo]

If the card is for the business account it is a business card. Nothing to do with how you pay or VAT.

Why will invoices have your name and not your businesses?

Because as mentioned, the card is not in the business name. for example, when one purchases from amazon, one is asked to enter card name and address. Since the card name is in my personal name, then the VAT invoice which is automatically produced from the transaction will bear my name, not the business name.

There is no feasibility of asking amazon to specifically produce custom invoices made out to a specific name.

You can still make sure the supply is made to your limited company and the invoice shows the correct name on it.

How so?

Most online transactions, such as on ecommerce sites produce invoices in an automated way based on what's entered as the card name during the checkout process. How could I ensure the correct name shows on the invoice?

And based on your comments about the "correct name" are you therefore saying an invoice which bears my name and not the business would be "incorrect" and therefore not valid for a VAT claim?

Am I misunderstanding the whole thing?

Would appreciate advice. Thanks

 

[Daxo]

What matters is whether the bank account is on the business name or not. Check the account name as it appears on bank statements.

The account name as it appears on statements is:
Sam smith
yellow tree limited

So would that suffice for a VAT claim, even if the invoice accompanying the expenditure is in my pesonal name, though of course paid for using the business debit card?

Is that right?

 

[StevensOnln1]

Just add your business name as the first line of the address when ordering online. Also, Amazon now do business accounts which provide proper VAT invoices addressed to your business.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/business

 

[Daxo]

Just add your business name as the first line of the address when ordering online. Also, Amazon now do business accounts which provide proper VAT invoices addressed to your business.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[DontAsk]

Most suppliers I deal with cater for different delivery, invoice and card holder addresses or at least some combination.

So long as the data you enter for the card holder matches up to what the bank know, the payment will go through apart from the odd occurrence that triggers over-sensitive fraud detection systems. A simple 'phone call to the card provider gets things going again in those cases.

 

[S2K]

Daxo, in reply to your post above (I can't quote from my phone), the main two tests that a purchase needs to pass for VAT to be reclaimable by a VAT registered business are a) the expense is a business expense and b) there is a valid VAT invoice or receipt. Who and how it makes the payment matters less.

The bank account in question is the company's account , so you should be fine. Have you tried to type in the company name instead of your name?