PSA: A tax workshop in Austin made me stop mixing my personal and work money

I went to a free tax help thing at the Austin library last month, mostly to kill time. The guy running it, a retired CPA, asked to see a sample of my bank statements. He pointed out how I was paying for Netflix and groceries from the same account I used for client deposits. He said that's asking for trouble if you get audited, even if you track it all later. I mean, I knew it was messy, but hearing it from someone who used to work for the IRS made it real. So I opened a separate business checking account the next day, and it's already way easier to see what I actually made. Has anyone else had that 'oh crap' moment with their money setup?

4 comments

4 Comments

abbyf791mo agoMost Upvoted

So what kind of stuff were you putting on the business card that raised the most red flags?

hollyscott4mo ago

Learned that lesson after a very confusing tax season.

oliver_baker494mo ago

Separate accounts saved me a huge headache last year.

laura_wilson4mo ago

My bookkeeper friend told me that mixing money is the number one mistake she sees. She said even with perfect records, an auditor sees personal stuff like a coffee purchase next to a client payment and it raises flags. It just looks sloppy. I totally get what oliver_baker49 means about avoiding the headache, it's not worth the risk.