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Sole trader bank account
- £200 head start when you open a business bank account in June.1
- No monthly account fee for 12 months, then £8.50.
- Free HMRC-recognised Making Tax Digital software if your business comes under new HMRC rules.
From 10 July 2026, some of the fees for our Business Account are changing. Read the guide to changes for details.
Benefits of a sole trader bank account with Lloyds
Why open a sole trader business bank account?
A dedicated business bank account for sole traders and freelancers makes self-employed finances simpler. Focus on the work, not the paperwork.
£200 to kick things off
Open a Business Account with us online and get £200. How’s that for a helping hand?
Three steps to unlock your £200 business boost:
Apply between 1 June and 30 June, then by 30 September:
- Have your account opened.
- Spend £100 on your business debit card.
- Set up 2 direct debits.
Terms and conditions of the £200 offer
Your approvers are people listed as signatories on your account. You can find this information on your bank mandate. Your bank mandate is the set of instructions given to us when your business account is opened. Contact us on 0345 072 5555 if you have any queries.
Be ready for Making Tax Digital with a sole trader bank account
Can I apply for the sole trader business account?
What to consider when opening a sole trader business bank account
How to open a sole-trader business bank account
Looking for other accounts?
Find all the other accounts we offer, including those for schools, charities and community organisations.
Save with Business Debit Cards
Boost your start up with Business Debit Card offers - including LinkedIn Premium and Google Workspace.
£200 new business account offer – Terms and Conditions
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These Terms and Conditions explain how this offer works, including who can take part, and what you need to do to receive the payment.
In these terms and conditions “we”, “us” or “our” means Lloyds Bank plc.
1. About this offer
This offer is available to new business customers who apply online for a Business Account between 1 June and 30 June 2026, subject to the eligibility requirements below.
This offer is also available to customers who switch an existing current account held with another bank to us, using the Current Account Switching Service (CASS), once their new account with us is open.
The Business Account, and any transactions made on the account, will be subject to the terms and conditions for the account. Fees and charges may apply.
2. Who can take part
You can take part, if both of the following apply:
- You submit an online application for a new Business Account with us between 1 June 2026 and 30 June 2026. Saved or incomplete applications won’t be eligible.
- You do not already hold a Business Account with us or Bank of Scotland plc.
3. What you need to do to receive the £200
You’ll qualify for the £200 payment if, by 30 September 2026, we have opened your Business Account and:
- You spend at least £100 using your Visa debit card on eligible purchases.
- You set up two direct debits from your new account.
Make sure there’s enough money in your account, or that you have an authorised overdraft in place (if available on your account) before you spend on your debit card or your direct debits are taken. If you don’t, your account may go into an unauthorised overdraft, and you may be charged fees and interest as set out in your account terms and conditions.
Eligible debit card spending
Debit card spending means purchases of goods or services using your Visa debit card.
Excluded transactions
The following do not count towards the £100 spend requirement:
- Cash withdrawals
- Bank transfers made with or without your debit card
- Debt repayments
- Direct debits and standing orders
- Transactions classified as gambling
- Financial services transactions (money transmission orders, purchases of foreign currency or travellers’ cheques and purchases of financial services such as insurance or investments.)
- Cryptocurrency transactions
- Refunds and chargebacks
- Bank charges, fees, interest, and any other non-purchase transactions
- Fraudulent transactions
Direct Debits
Direct debits must be set up with the organisations you’re paying.
If you’re switching to us using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS), any active direct debits moved to your new account as part of the switch will count towards the requirement to set up two direct debits from your account.
4. What do we mean by ‘opening your Account’?
Your Business Account is opened on the date we send you your sort code and account number. This will be after you applied online.
5. When we'll pay you
If you meet the eligibility requirements above, we’ll pay £200 into your new Business Account by the end of October 2026. We’ll email you before we make the payment to let you know when to expect it.
Your Business Account must be open and able to receive payments at the time we try to make the payment.
We can’t pay the £200 into any other account or by cash or cheque.
The £200 payment is made gross, and you’re responsible for paying any tax due on the payment you receive.
We won’t contact you if your Business Account doesn’t meet the offer requirements.
6. Other important information
- Only one £200 payment is available per customer. If you open more than one account with us, including accounts with Lloyds Bank or Bank of Scotland, we’ll only check the first account you open to see if it meets the offer requirements.
- Only Business Accounts are eligible for this offer. Charity and Community Accounts, and accounts that can’t be opened online (such as School Accounts), are not eligible for the incentive.
- Existing customers already holding a Business Account are not eligible for this offer.
- This offer isn’t transferable, and we may change, pause or withdraw it at any time. If you’ve already opened your Business Account when we make a change, or pause or withdraw the offer, it won’t affect you, as long as you meet the offer requirements.
- We won’t cover any fees or interest you incur if your account goes into an unauthorised overdraft as a result of making payments using your Visa debit card or direct debits.
- The £200 payment cannot be exchanged for any other benefits.
- Our decision on eligibility and payment is final.
Frequently asked questions
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It’s highly recommended. You could use a personal account, but mixing business and personal transactions makes it harder to track profit and loss, increases the chance of missing deductible expenses, and can complicate your self-assessment for income tax.
A business account also helps you build a commercial credit profile, which can be important if you apply for lending later.
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A personal account is exactly that - designed for personal use. A dedicated sole trader bank account is usually the better option for your business. With a sole trader business bank account, you can see exactly what’s happening with your business finances, making it easier to track income and expenses and prepare for your income tax self assessment. And it can help you build a commercial credit profile, which may be important if you apply for lending later.
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HMRC is digitising Income Tax reporting for sole traders and individual landlords already registered for Self Assessment. If your qualifying income for the 2024/25 tax year was over £50,000, there’s new rules for how you report information for Income Tax.
Instead of submitting a single Self Assessment tax return once a year, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income will need to:
- keep digital records of income and expenses in software that works with HMRC’s Making Tax Digital for Income Tax service
- send quarterly updates that summarise income and expenses
- submit tax returns by 31 January
A Business Account from Lloyds can help you follow these new rules. If you open a Lloyds Business Account and your business meets the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax requirements, you’ll get access to our new accounting tool. It’s HMRC-recognised and designed to make it easier for you to manage your tax obligations.
And, if you’re self-employed, there are more benefits to having a sole trader bank account with Lloyds Bank:
- no account fee for the first 12 months – then £8.50 a month
- free debit card
- access to lending options
- business support resources
- make and receive international payments online or using the business banking app
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A dedicated sole trader bank account keeps your business income and personal spending in separate places, which makes Self Assessment significantly easier. When tax time comes around, your business transactions are already in one place, making it straightforward to calculate turnover, expenses, and profit – instead of looking through 12 months of mixed statements.
Lloyds Business Account holders also get free Making Tax Digital software, automatically available if your business falls under the new HMRC rules. It’s a practical head start for self-employed people navigating the shift.
It won’t file your return for you, but it gives you the clean financial record HMRC expects.
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What is the difference between a personal account and a sole trader bank account? expandable section
A personal account is designed for everyday spending. A sole trader business account is built for how a business actually runs: separating your income from your personal finances, making expenses easier to track and giving you a professional payment record from day one.
Sole traders don’t need to have a separate account. But mixing business and personal money is one of the most common headaches experienced by new business owners. A new business bank account makes the distinction clear from the start and keeps it that way.
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Yes. You can easily switch banks to a Lloyds Bank sole trader business account using the Current Account Switching Service (CASS). Once you’ve given us your details, you can sit back and we’ll manage the rest for you.
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If you’ve already started an online application, you can continue or check the status of your application at any time using the log on button in your welcome email, which you’ll get once you’ve shared your personal details.
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Find out more about our Business Account fees and charges.
Lloyds Business Bank Account fees and charges. Payment type
Charges
Payment type
Introductory offer
Charges
No monthly account fee for 12 months if it’s your first business account with us
Payment type
Monthly account fee
Charges
£8.50 after 12 months
Payment type
Electronic payments in2
Charges
Free
Payment type
Electronic payments out2
Charges
First 100 a month are free / £0.20 each after that
Payment type
Cash payments (in or out)
Charges
£0.85 for every £100 at an Immediate Deposit Machine / £1.50 for every £100 over the counter
Payment type
Cheques (in or out, any amount)
Charges
£0.85 at an Immediate Deposit Machine / £1 over the counter
Payment type
Credit paid in at branch or ATM
Charges
£0.85
Payment type
Credit paid in at an Immediate Deposit Machine, Automated Deposit Machine, through the app
Charges
Free
Payment type
BACS
Charges
File submission: £5.50
BACS Item: £0.15 (a set up fee may apply)
Payment type
CHAPS
Charges
£30
Payment type
Sending and receiving money abroad
Charges
Payment type
Balances below £0 (going overdrawn)
Charges
Payment type
Other account services
Charges
No credit interest is payable on this account.
See the full account rates and charges (PDF, 232KB) and product terms and conditions.
Estimate with our calculator how much your business account could cost per month after the first year.
Get a bank account that works for your business
Protecting your money
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protects up to £120,000 of the eligible money you hold with us.
Independent service quality survey results
Business current accounts
Published February 2026
As part of a regulatory requirement, an independent survey was conducted to ask approximately 1,200 customers of each of the 17 largest business current account providers if they would recommend their provider to other small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs*). The results represent the view of customers who took part in the survey.
Overall service quality
We asked customers how likely they would be to recommend their business current account provider to other SMEs.
*SMEs include businesses, clubs, charities and societies with an annual turnover/income of up to £25m (exclusive of VAT and other turnover-related taxes).
Ranking
The requirement to publish the Financial Conduct Authority Service Quality Information for business current accounts can be found here