Bookkeeping & receipts · 6.9
Clearing account: When you pay for the GmbH or vice versa
Short answer
The clearing account (Verrechnungskonto) tracks what you owe the GmbH and what it owes you. If you pay for company expenses privately, you have a claim against the company. If the company pays for personal expenses, you owe it money. It is important that this account is settled regularly.
Key points
- You pay for the GmbH: for example, a software tool with your personal card. The GmbH reimburses you against a receipt.
- The GmbH pays for you: This should be the exception. The amount is a claim of the GmbH against you.
- If you owe money to the GmbH on an ongoing basis, it is treated as a loan: without interest, it constitutes a hidden profit distribution (verdeckte Gewinnausschüttung, vGA).
- If it is foreseeable that you will not repay it, the tax office treats the entire amount as a distribution.
- In an insolvency, any debt owed to the GmbH must be repaid.
- The simplest approach: Pay company expenses exclusively via the company bank account, and get out-of-pocket expenses reimbursed promptly.
Legal basis
Continue
- Next video: Company car and travel expenses: What applies?
- Related: Can I lend money to my GmbH or borrow money from it?
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