My credit score is really bad, it used to be in the high 700s but is now about as bad as you can imagine. I owe a lot of debt including IRS, credit cards, banks, loans, etc.

I now need to start a business for a website I am going to be selling goods on.

If the business is in 2 peoples name. Mine and a partner who is helping.

If the IRS comes after me and tries to freeze my assets, can they touch the business bank account? My partner is worried this might happen and he will be out of luck as well? I would rather not put it all in my partners name though.

  • 1
    Just a tip: the IRS won't freeze your assets if you're talking to them in good faith about what you owe. If you ignore them, like many people do, they'll get nasty. – Pete Becker Sep 24 '15 at 16:04

If the business is legally separated and not commingled - they probably cannot. What they can do is put a lien on it (so that you cannot sell the business) and garnish your income. If the corporate veil is pierced (and its not that hard to have it pierced if you're not careful) - then they can treat it as if it is your personal asset.

Verify this with a lawyer licensed in your state, I'm not a lawyer or a tax professional.

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    +1 Legal separation is the key issue. A Corporation is considered a separate "person" for many legal purposes, while if you are a proprieter, you and the business are one and the same. Lots of special rules for other structures such as LLC, S-Corp, etc., definitely see a lawyer on these. However, just the fact that it is a "business" account versus a personal checking account is not likely to help you much. Please be advised that the IRS can do more than just "freeze" the account, they can also garnish and sieze assets they deem to be yours. – JAGAnalyst May 22 '13 at 19:09

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